Guns International #: 102958386
Seller's Inventory #: 247864

Category - Smith & Wesson Revolvers - Antique - .44 Russian Revolvers

Category
Smith & Wesson Revolvers - Antique
.44 Russian Revolvers

c1880s Antique SMITH & WESSON .44 RUSSIAN DOUBLE ACTION 1st Model Revolver SINGLE or DOUBLE ACTION .44 Caliber Revolver

Description:
c1880s Antique SMITH & WESSON .44 RUSSIAN DOUBLE ACTION 1st Model Revolver

SINGLE or DOUBLE ACTION .44 Caliber Revolver

Here we present an antique Smith & Wesson .44 Caliber Double Action First Model Revolver made circa the late 1880s to early 1890s in Springfield, Massachusetts. Though the production run for this revolver was between 1881 and 1913, all frames were made between 1881 and 1898, making all of these revolvers antique. Smith & Wesson’s .44 Double Action First Model revolver seems to be one of that company’s more neglected designs. It tends to be overlooked as it came between the popular No. 3 Single Action and the various Hand Ejector Models. The primary chambering for this revolver was .44 Russian (.44 S&W), of which 53,590 were made between 1881 and 1913. Some 15,340 “Frontier” models in .44-40 were also produced, as was a .38-40 Win. Those guns were numbered in individual ranges and are basically considered separate models. The First Models continued to be listed in catalogs for a number of years after their production ceased to clear out old stock.

Following the lines of smaller and slightly earlier S&W .32 and .38 top-breaks, the First Model Double Action incorporated an excellent self-cocking mechanism that was as good as many British and Continental designs. It was also head and shoulders above Colt’s more popular Model 1877 “Lightning” and Model 1878 “Frontier” models, a happenstance that must have been more than frustrating to the folks at Smith & Wesson. Smith & Wesson’s First Model DA incorporated the company’s familiar curved grip frame, fitted with either hard rubber or checkered walnut stock panels. The revolver was available in blue and nickel-plated finishes, and barrels were 4, 5, 6, 6½ and 8 inches (rare) in length, with 5 inches being the most common.

First Model DA .44s employed the usual S&W top-break ejection system. The revolver could be fired in double or single action, though it had no safety position, and the hammer did not rebound after the trigger was released, resulting in a potentially dangerous setup if the gun were dropped. Even though the .44 Double Action was not one of S&W’s most popular products, it still had a following. In fact, Texas gunfighter and all-around bad guy John Wesley Hardin was carrying a .44 S&W Frontier when he was killed in the Acme Saloon by Constable John Selman in El Paso in 1895. Ironically, when Selman was killed a year later by George Scarborough, also in El Paso, he was toting a .44 New Model.

The overall condition is good+. Refinished in blue. The action is strong in double and single action modes. Occasionally, the trigger takes a tiny bit longer to reset after the hammer drops which can result in the next trigger pull advancing the cylinder without moving the hammer. The bore is in good condition with strong rifling. The grips and the front sight are replacements. Grips are solid. Numbers match.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 5 inches.

Caliber: .44 S&W Russian

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$1600

#247864
 

SOLD

Antique: Yes