What gun is that in this cowboy's holster?

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Tue May 05, 2009 10:35 pm

By gosh...is that a broom handle stick'n out of there?

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Tue May 05, 2009 10:35 pm

Broomhandle mauser?

airedaleman · Post by **airedaleman** » Tue May 05, 2009 10:37 pm

Cutting edge, man! He's got a Mauser C-96, the broomhandle...

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Tue May 05, 2009 10:58 pm

That's sure what it looks like to me.

CEMENTHEAD · Post by **CEMENTHEAD** » Tue May 05, 2009 11:01 pm

Double action Colt Thunderer? Dunno.....

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Tue May 05, 2009 11:07 pm

Dang it, I always end up getting in here a day late and a dollar short when I actually know the answer.

The Han Solo special.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:41 am

I'm with y'all that say it's a broomhandle Mauser.

Jaguarundi · Post by **Jaguarundi** » Wed May 06, 2009 2:01 am

kimwcook wrote:I'm with y'all that say it's a broomhandle Mauser.

+1 on it being a C96.

Post by **Hobie** » Wed May 06, 2009 6:46 am

My immediate thought as well, that is a Mauser. Maybe, a "bolo" although I now see that the holster may be deeper than I thought it was.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Wed May 06, 2009 7:05 am

Andrew wrote:Dang it, I always end up getting in here a day late and a dollar short when I actually know the answer. The Han Solo special.

+1 It came from a galaxy far, far away!!!

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Wed May 06, 2009 7:33 am

That's Cool!

One well funded Cowboy!

jb

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:00 am

That looks a bit heavy. Might slow him down a bit on the draw, but once he managed to haul it up there, the lead would come pretty fast.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:59 am

Are you guys sure?

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:02 am

Could be a Bergman.

Hard to tell on my monitor.

jb

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:28 am

My initial impression was Broomhandle Mauser, but the shape of the triggerguard and the hammer makes me think it's not.

Either a Colt Thunderer, or maybe a Brit wheelgun (the Belgians and French also made a couple revolvers that look like that).

Hard to say off just that picture, but going by the shape of the hammer, it's NOT a Mauser.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:34 am

It does look like some sort of weird Webley, but my knowledge is sadly lacking in the foreign revolver category.

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:48 am

IMHO, it is a broomhandle Mauser in a wheelgun holster.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:51 am

I have looked at every handgun picture I can find and none fit all the requirements. It definitely has a hammer and foreign looking loading gate.

Naphtali · Post by **Naphtali** » Wed May 06, 2009 11:57 am

Could it not be a Danish Bergmann (sp??), or Astra or Chinese copy of the C-96? The grip profile could be any of these, I think.

71fan · Post by **71fan** » Wed May 06, 2009 11:57 am

This one looks close but still not quite there. The shape of the butt is slightly off (French 1872):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flingues-p1030069.jpg

But I think this may be it. It seems like a match (Go to the 7th revolver on the page, item #220): http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/pistols/armpr.htm

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:05 pm

Jeez, those French revolver are FUGLY! Never fired, only dropped once.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:12 pm

71fan, I believe your right on.

A six-shot, double action rifled barrel revolver by Robert Adams from about 1870, manufactured by his own company. This is an improvement on his percussion pistol (Weapon No 214) when he was a partner of Deane, Adams & Deane.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:16 pm

Well my first impression was that it was a Broomhandle but after seeing the largest of the blow ups I wonder if it's not a Russian Calvary pistol.

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:33 pm

I'd agree with 71fan except that the pistol shoots Pinfire ammo and the ammo in the belt is centerfire ammo...Close but no cigar

Here's what I've got my money on:
http://www.sunblest.net/gun/Gass80.htm

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:54 pm

I agree that just about has to be a european sixgun.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Wed May 06, 2009 2:06 pm

If it weren't for the rounded butt, I'd think it could be a Webly Mk1 or RIC/Bulldog (1887-1899).

Mk I: The first Webley self-extracting revolver adopted for service, officially adopted 8 November 1887, with a 4-inch (100 mm) barrel and "bird's beak" style grips.
Mk II: Similar to the Mk I, with modifications to the hammer and grip shape, as well as a hardened steel shield for the blast-shield. Officially adopted 21 May 1895, with a 4-inch (100 mm) barrel.[17]

The cartridges would be about right. The old .455 Webly was pretty short & fat.

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Wed May 06, 2009 2:24 pm

Just because he's got ammo in his belt, doesn't mean it's for the pistol.

A Tranter or Adams, maybe one of the odder Webley models (most had birds head grips, but you never know) is possible. Custer had a pair of Webley RICs.

Several of the Belgian revolvers made that are similar to the French ones got around as well.

And as to the French....... I hated them for 20 years until I visited France. Now I hate the French government (most French people are pretty decent). And as a reminder.... the French army conquered Europe under Napoleon, still did pretty well for themselves up through the 1860s. In WW1 they held the line for a good three years with the help of the Brits and lost a significant chunk of their population doing so. They didn't do so well in WW2, but neither did a lot of countries, and in Algeria and Vietnam, they did the best they could.

I've got friends in the Legion and have known some French troops, and I can't blame them for what their gov't screws up. I'd take a few of them at my back just like I would any of the foreign troops I served with or around (Brits, Aussies, Koreans, Canadians, Germans).

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed May 06, 2009 3:16 pm

Now this is getting interesting. Ben, your revolver even has a round lanyard ring and the the rest of the looks like it too.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm

I forgot about the Gasser... that's a .50cal (11.3mm) ta boot...

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Wed May 06, 2009 3:39 pm

http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/ggps/4976/
Check it out?????? Good job Ben!!!!!!!!!!

Gosh, thats a cool gun!!

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Wed May 06, 2009 3:46 pm

madman4570 wrote:http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/ggps/4976/
Check it out?????? Good job Ben!!!!!!!!!!

Gosh, thats a cool gun!!

Thanks for the pic of the webly with a birdshead grip.

I'm still leaning toward Webly Mk I because of the overall availability over the Gasser. I mean, it WAS an issue gun and the RIC & Bulldog variants had a pretty good following.

(I'd love to hava an SASS persona - in European duds & Bowler hat - that carried an 1880s Webly to compliment my 1900 Drilling...)

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Wed May 06, 2009 7:31 pm

O.I. makes good points about the pistol being an issue item and Webley availability to the public..but the holster looks waay too long for those models... Has anyone noticed the cowboy's killer vest? I got first dibs on it! In looking at it closely I think I see a US flag on it and in counting the stars in a vertical row I count 8 stars..6x8=48 .. not sure when we were united with 48 but I think it was some time in the (just a guess) 1920s... So that opens up the realm of availability of the pistol as a surplus item.. Just the kind of thing that Bannerman's might have got a batch of...My .02

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:19 pm

Thanks Ben, Type: Hinged-frame revolver
Calibre: 11.3x35Rmm 'Montenegrin'
Barrel: 235mm or 133mm, rifled
Magazine: 6-chamber cylinder

Similar

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:01 pm

rangerider7 Yep I have a pic of the similar one in a old book I have, I ran a search on the name of it:Montenegrin Gasser Revolver. It is the previous model to the one I posted. In the book it's in the same 11.3 caliber.
Edit: Forgot to say the cowboy must have to 235mm barreled one...Works out to be 9.25 inches.

Hagler · Post by **Hagler** » Tue May 12, 2009 11:33 am

...could it be like this one, marked "Heinen"?:

There is a discussion of it, right here:

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=374345

Shawn

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Thu May 14, 2009 3:31 pm

I've seen some Italian Bodeo revolvers around that age that look similar as well... don't discount them.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Thu May 14, 2009 7:18 pm

The picture has been deleted by photobucket

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:14 am

What my computer shows:

rangerider7 wrote:

Maybe I could've answered! Very likely not... but...

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri May 15, 2009 3:58 pm

Here you go fellows, sorry about that.