Boy, am I excited. :grin: Got my LeMat cavalry revolver today. Will get a chance to shoot 'er next couple of days. First observations: it is one heavy gun and I see why the cost is so high. Lots of bells and whistles. Looks new. If it has been fired, it has been cleaned up real well. Looks like I'm gunna love it. Let's see if it shoots.
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Got the LeMat
- Thread starter wpjson
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Some random comments.
1.Why is the frame of the Le Mat purple?
2.I do like a cylinder where you can load all chambers and set the hammer between the nipples. Anyone know how secure this feature is on the Le Mat? Feels tight, but looks a bit spooky.
3. Cavalry model, anyhow,breaks down for cleaning the cylinder very quickly and easily. Have not tried to remove the shotgun barrel.
4.The southern states did not have a lot of money anytime during the war, why did they spend so much for this hand gun?
Love the gun. :grin:
1.Why is the frame of the Le Mat purple?
2.I do like a cylinder where you can load all chambers and set the hammer between the nipples. Anyone know how secure this feature is on the Le Mat? Feels tight, but looks a bit spooky.
3. Cavalry model, anyhow,breaks down for cleaning the cylinder very quickly and easily. Have not tried to remove the shotgun barrel.
4.The southern states did not have a lot of money anytime during the war, why did they spend so much for this hand gun?
Love the gun. :grin:
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'evening,
On mine, the frame is blued to a very dark black, but the trigger guard is plum. I've seen some other pistols with this particular bluing on it. It's called plum blue. Not sure about the origin.
I don't have the half notches on the cylinder, nor does it come into time when cocked from that position. But the hammer does seem tight in that position, so I don't think it would slip easily.
I don't know that I'd pull the shot barrel off. I haven't shot mine yet (cleaning supplies for the shot barrel will be here Tues
), but I plan on cleaning it like a long muzzle loader.
Sorry to keep using mine as the reference point, but it's the only one that I've handled...
Happy New Year!
Calum
On mine, the frame is blued to a very dark black, but the trigger guard is plum. I've seen some other pistols with this particular bluing on it. It's called plum blue. Not sure about the origin.
I don't have the half notches on the cylinder, nor does it come into time when cocked from that position. But the hammer does seem tight in that position, so I don't think it would slip easily.
I don't know that I'd pull the shot barrel off. I haven't shot mine yet (cleaning supplies for the shot barrel will be here Tues
), but I plan on cleaning it like a long muzzle loader.Sorry to keep using mine as the reference point, but it's the only one that I've handled...
Happy New Year!
Calum
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I have no doubt these revolvers were "blued" or rather "blacked" by using the modern HOT "Bluing Salt" or AKA Hot Black Oxide treatment. The Plum Brown color can come from any of these things:
1. Contaminated or worn out solution in the tank.
2. Immersion of parts at the wrong temperature range.
3. Waiting too long after pulling the parts out of solution and before quickly immersing them in hot water and then rust preventative solution.
4. In the 1960's, Winchester made some Model 94 receivers out of steel that had some nickel in it or more than normal. They often to almost always come out "Plum Brown" in standard Black Oxide solution, however, the barrels stayed black. (These receivers come out Black in the Black Oxide for Stainless Steel Salts.) This happened to us and that is why we investigated it. We were going to "re-blue" the barreled receiver, but the owner liked it so much, he did not want us to do it.
Some folks have suggested it comes from improper cleaning of the metal before immersion in the tanks. Many people have attributed it to WD-40 not being cleaned off. However, in the huge number of guns we Hot Black Oxide treated guns over 20 years at Quantico, we found such improperly cleaned or contaminated guns took a spotty, sometimes wavy and generally not an even coat. It did not result in the Plum Brown color.
Around the mid 70's, we DID have one Smith and Wesson Revolver come out in that Plum Brown Color. I don't remember if the tanks had been allowed to cool down too far or were too hot, but it was due to improper temperature of the solution. The owner liked the color so much he chose not to re-do it. I saw that gun 10 years later and it was still a nice Plum Brown color.
Gus
1. Contaminated or worn out solution in the tank.
2. Immersion of parts at the wrong temperature range.
3. Waiting too long after pulling the parts out of solution and before quickly immersing them in hot water and then rust preventative solution.
4. In the 1960's, Winchester made some Model 94 receivers out of steel that had some nickel in it or more than normal. They often to almost always come out "Plum Brown" in standard Black Oxide solution, however, the barrels stayed black. (These receivers come out Black in the Black Oxide for Stainless Steel Salts.) This happened to us and that is why we investigated it. We were going to "re-blue" the barreled receiver, but the owner liked it so much, he did not want us to do it.
Some folks have suggested it comes from improper cleaning of the metal before immersion in the tanks. Many people have attributed it to WD-40 not being cleaned off. However, in the huge number of guns we Hot Black Oxide treated guns over 20 years at Quantico, we found such improperly cleaned or contaminated guns took a spotty, sometimes wavy and generally not an even coat. It did not result in the Plum Brown color.
Around the mid 70's, we DID have one Smith and Wesson Revolver come out in that Plum Brown Color. I don't remember if the tanks had been allowed to cool down too far or were too hot, but it was due to improper temperature of the solution. The owner liked the color so much he chose not to re-do it. I saw that gun 10 years later and it was still a nice Plum Brown color.
Gus
Thanks. The frame has two shades of plum. On the right the whole frame is a lighter plum while on the left the lower part above the trigger is a darker plum. I like it and thought it was deliberate. Did this ever happen to the originals?
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wpjson said:
Not sure because I have only seen/handled less than a handful of originals, but I doubt it. The bluing processes were also different back then and could have come out brown, if they wished it. However, I do not know of any on which it was done deliberately.
Gus
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wpjson said:
As you know, value has everything to do with condition, so a NIB properly blacked gun has the highest value and then it goes down from there.
Having said that, I would not recommend having the gun reblued. I don't believe the cost you will pay will increase the value of the gun as much. Unless you have a gunsmith or really talented bluing person, who knows how to disassemble and assemble the gun properly and also does the bluing, it could wind up in worse condition. That either by them messing up parts or incorrectly polishing/preparing the gun for bluing.
IOW if it doesn't bother you greatly; shoot it, clean and preserve it and enjoy it.
Gus
What Artificer said, “Immersion of parts at the wrong temperature range ”
Parts that are hardened or casehardened are more likely to come out purple.
They just need to be blued at a slightly higher temperature.
It doesn’t hurt anything, enjoy it, shoot it.
If it concerns you and you can’t send it back, reblue it.
William Alexander
Parts that are hardened or casehardened are more likely to come out purple.
They just need to be blued at a slightly higher temperature.
It doesn’t hurt anything, enjoy it, shoot it.
If it concerns you and you can’t send it back, reblue it.
William Alexander
As an aside, Navy Arms has a listing of many of their previous offerings in firearms, what they sell for today in various conditions from 100%, compared to the original MSR.
With very few exceptions, the guns, even in 100% condition, are worth LESS than the MSR!
Replicas just don't have the same cachet the originals do.
SHOOT it, and enjoy it for what it is. :thumbsup:
With very few exceptions, the guns, even in 100% condition, are worth LESS than the MSR!
Replicas just don't have the same cachet the originals do.
SHOOT it, and enjoy it for what it is. :thumbsup:
wpjson :
"Anyone know how secure this feature is on the Le Mat? Feels tight, but looks a bit spooky. "
it works fine. personally, i keep mine in position 2 when at the range and it's loaded.
"Cavalry model, anyhow, breaks down for cleaning the cylinder very quickly and easily. Have not tried to remove the shotgun barrel. "
actually, you cannot remove the smoothbore itself - per the mfg. it's easy to clean and the upper .45 barrel comes off very easily.
~daniel~
"Anyone know how secure this feature is on the Le Mat? Feels tight, but looks a bit spooky. "
it works fine. personally, i keep mine in position 2 when at the range and it's loaded.
"Cavalry model, anyhow, breaks down for cleaning the cylinder very quickly and easily. Have not tried to remove the shotgun barrel. "
actually, you cannot remove the smoothbore itself - per the mfg. it's easy to clean and the upper .45 barrel comes off very easily.
~daniel~
