.32 Is it a good deal?

[The New Guy]

I was just at my local (usually overpriced) gun shop picking up some BP and I happened to notice a Traditions .32 C&B Revolver with a 4" barrel. Since this store usually doesn't sell traditional BP guns I was shocked. What would a decent price for this gun be and can anyone tell me what model this might be? The cylinder is engraved with a scene that had a man walking in front of or away from a covered wagon or stagecoach. My eyes aren't that great at seeing fine things such as this without my glasses and I didn't have them with me. The bore looked great. I'm thinking I might just need it. Thanks for any help or info you can provide.

 

[Poor Private]

The big questions is does it index correctly? Is there any play backward and forward on the pin? What condidtion are the nipples? doews it have the 3 clicks when cocked? If all are good you can expect a decent shooter. It looks like to me that the gun may be a 1977 gun. hundred bucks don't sound bad to me. But I am not there handling it either.

 

[The New Guy]

It does index correctly and the nipples are all good. I didn't think to check for clicks on the hammer. Never owned or even thought about buying a revolver before. Everything seemed to be functional and tight fitting. Just a bit of wear here and there.

 

[Zonie]

The pistol is a brass framed reproduction of the Colt 1848 "Baby Dragoon".

I should mention that the original Baby Dragoon had a steel frame but beyond that the pistol represents the later issue pistol.

The scene on the cylinder is the "Stagecoach Holdup" where our Colt armed hero is chasing off the bad guys. Engraved cylinders were one of Colts methods of making the gun easily identifiable as a real Colt.

As others have mentioned, the only real problems with these small Colt reproductions is many of them have problems rotating the cylinder exactly right and engaging the cylinder bolt.

It can be fixed with some careful filing but I would recommend that you try cocking it slowly 5 times before you buy it.

It should index the cylinder bringing it to a locked position each time the hammer is fully cocked. If it does it could be a fun gun to own.

Don't worry too much about the cylinder moving forward and aft. That can usually be fixed by adjusting the depth the barrel wedge is inserted.

Price? If it were a steel framed gun I would guess somewhere around $125- $180.

Brass framed? My guess would be $75-$140.

Oh, these pistols are really a .31 caliber gun but the roundball that's used in them is .320.
Some have used buckshot successfully.

edit:
The Colt 1848 was underpowered but it and the Colt 1849 (which was a round trigger guard improvement on the 1848) still was a very popular gun with the East Coast people who wanted a repeating pocket pistol. Something that was new to people at the time.

They were also very popular with the fortune seekers who made the trip to California during the Gold Rush although they weren't of much use during the trip except for popping a few rabbits for dinner.

 

[The New Guy]

As always Zonie, you are a wealth of information and your response goes above and beyond what I had hoped to receive. After talking a bit with one of the shop owners we settled on $80 if I decided to buy it. Thanks for all the info.

 

[bubba15301]

The big questions is does it index correctly? Is there any play backward and forward on the pin? What condidtion are the nipples? doews it have the 3 clicks when cocked? If all are good you can expect a decent shooter. It looks like to me that the gun may be a 1977 gun. hundred bucks don't sound bad to me. But I am not there handling it either.

it is not a traditions gun might be a cva

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Can not recall seeing this model with CVA markings.

I'm thinking it is an FIE and would be marked so on the butt unless the marking was removed.

If the shop owner is willing to take $80 it is a good deal and will likely be sold soon.

 

[The New Guy]

It was traded to the shop as a Traditions and it does have some sort of name that was once engraved on the bottom of the butt. Since i could not make out was was inscribed there (no glasses with me) one of the guys working there said it looked like ITALY. But he said it was hard to make out. I could have been FIE. I think I'm going to wait a bit first. Thanks for all the help and info you guys have provided.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Personally, I would pass on this one and safe a few more dollars for a good Uberti Colt, or at least a Pietta, most of the others a real junk.
Soft internals, nothing lines up........way too many problems.
A Uberti Police pocket is a joy to own and shoot, or a 1851 Navy.
$80 badly spent is most likely lost forever. :cursing:
All the best
Fred

 

[Bob Riegl]

Uberti---definitely for a couple C notes +..."Doc"

 

[fort fireman]

I think it might be worth your time to check out the selection of cap& ball revolvers that cabelas has. It will give you an idea of what these guns cost brand new and give you a ball park price. Most of what cabelas carries are Piettas. The ubertis from what I've seen are about 80 to 100 bucks more for the comparable model.

 

[hanshi]

I like these little guns. For $80 I'd buy it.