Shooting original revolvers

[Vairochana]

Gday,
I'm not a handgun shooter at present, but I am starting to get a bit of a collection.
I was wondering how many of you shoot originals?
And value issues aside what do you need to look at before you shoot one?
Should it be safe to shoot a small calibre revolver (.31 or .36) if it appears to be in good condition or is a more thorough inspection called for?
Cheers.

 

[Norinco]

Check for pitting in the barrel and chamber not to be too bad, preferably for the nipples not to be seized to the chambers, the gap between the cylinder and barrel throat to not be too large, for the cylinder to still time right, for the cylinder to lock up tight and in alignment, and for the parts to be free of cracks or weaknesses.

 

[Vairochana]

This is the one i have at the moment .31 Colt. Getting a .36 Manhattan after Xmas.
Looks pretty good, not sure about the 'cracks' in the lower frame- others who know what they are looking at say it is fine tho:

 

[D Sanders]

Gday,
I'm not a handgun shooter at present, but I am starting to get a bit of a collection.
I was wondering how many of you shoot originals?
And value issues aside what do you need to look at before you shoot one?
Should it be safe to shoot a small calibre revolver (.31 or .36) if it appears to be in good condition or is a more thorough inspection called for?
Cheers.

Just my two cents worth... :hmm:
I would take that old original firearm and put in a safe and never shoot it. It could be worth a lot of money. Original replacement parts are extremely hard to find or if not at all. If anything breaks, it will depreciate its value greatly. For about 200 bucks or so go out and buy a replica of the same gun and have fun shooting that one.

HH 60

 

[Poor Private]

A firearm was and is made to be shot. If it is in firing order then go ahead and fire it. How is it going to ruin it's value unless you ruin it. It has already been used more than likely. So you can't call it nib. Unless it is absolutely a collectable such as Gen. Custers last handgun--go for it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[CoyoteJoe]

An uncle and a couple of cousins got my dad and I into muzzleloaders in the 1950's. There were no replicas, everyone shot originals. A few people were building custom rifles at the time but 90% of the guns being shot in competition were originals. Rifles were often rebored or rebarreled, some new stocks were made to replace those which were totally hopeless but revolvers and shotguns were nearly always originals. Many an old Remington revolver had its barrel and top strap dovetailed for target sights but otherwise they suffered no harm from continued use.

 

[Norinco]

Not to mention that modern metalworking is much better. Those guns back then were most likely iron, since steel production of the era was measured in the tens of thousands of tons.

Though if I ever owned an original gun, I would either shoot it or put it in a museum.

 

[D Sanders]

A firearm was and is made to be shot. If it is in firing order then go ahead and fire it. How is it going to ruin it's value unless you ruin it. It has already been used more than likely. So you can't call it nib. Unless it is absolutely a collectable such as Gen. Custers last handgun--go for it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Check Cabelas gun library if you want to know what some of these guns go for. By the way, go ahead and try to order a hand spring or a trigger bolt spring for an original while you are at it! It's not my firearm. If they want to shoot it, It's not my business. Have at it

HH 60

 

[Vairochana]

Had a look at the Cabelas Library- interesting range of values.
Having said that I am aware of the value arguments against shooting them and was more interested in the hypothetical "what do I need to look for if I wanted to shoot them?" questions.
Down here in the People's Republic of Oz it is not as simple as
a)loading up an original or
b)picking up a cheap reproduction and having a bang.
BP guns are treated the same as centrefire handguns here and the Government and MFWs don't trust us with either! :cursing:

 

[Poor Private]

All I know is , that there is an original documented 1851 navy that was given out as a navy midshipmans gun at the start of the civil war and he brought it home at the end of the war. The asking price is $1500. the pistol is in pristine condidtion and if it was mine I would not hesitate in firing it on a rgeular basis. I have several friends who own long and short guns who fire them on a regular basis, and they have suffered no ill effects. Thier value hasn't changed except to go up in some cases. Why buy a gun and hide it in a gun safe, what enjoyment can you get out of it by doing that? If it's fro an investment, your better off buying gold bars out of a ATM.

 

[Norinco]

You're an Aussie right? Are Colt revolvers easy to come by? Do they carry much of a price premium over those in America?

 

[CoyoteJoe]

You can get gold bars out of ATM's now?? WOW, ain't technology wonderful!! :haha:

 

[mingo]

Great thing is that we mostly have the freedom to do as we please.

I tend to treat originals as artifacts and leave them alone.
I see obvious wear and tear on the repro's I shoot and don't want to do that to a collectable.
I once had a P38 fail, ruining the slide and locking block.
Also cracked a Luger breachblock.
Expensive eperiences and ruint original pistols.

 

[D Sanders]

I couldn't agree more!!! :thumbsup:

HH 60

 

[1911nutjob]

I have an original colt 1860 that I've been meaning to shoot for years now. I paid $950 for it. It has no bluing left, and some surface rust from decades of attic storage, but the cylinder scene is intact. It is mechanically sound and reasonably tight, but I still haven't brought myself to doing it yet because I have a charcoal blue replica handy for shooting. Maybe the time has come to shoot it once for the thrill before putting it away for good. The dealer I bought it from admitted he had fired two full cylinders for fun before putting it on the market. Without that knowledge, I would definitely have an expert look it over for safety reasons before firing. You should do the same.

 

[Vairochana]

I guess it is the safety/metallurgy questions I am interested in.
I have a Springfield Cadet(1878 serial number) which I shoot regularly.
I have 16ga perc cap shotgun which I haven't got around to shooting...

 

[1911nutjob]

If you're shootin' that '78 regularly, my guess is you're doing just fine. A new acquisition whose history is unknown, I would pay a reasonable fee to have checked out, I'm sure some outfits would even x-ray it for ya. It's no guarantee and it might blow up on me anyway, but it don't hurt none either. My body parts are at least worth that much to me. In the case of that 16 ga., is it damascus barrel(s)? If so, I would absolutely get that checked out before shooting it. Safe and happy shootin' to you. :hatsoff:

 

[Coot]

As you have seen, there are a variety of opinions re shooting originals, largely in the "made to be used" camp and the "endangering a valuable/historic artifact" group. Some random thoughts:

Any old or well used newer gun should be carefully checked out before firing to reduce risk to both gun and user. Some experienced users are quite capable of doing this for themselves, others should seek responsible help.

Looking at a copy of the Blue Book - the drop in value between a 100% gun and a 98% gun is roughly 20%. The drop in value between a 70% gun that has been fired 3000 times and a 70% gun that has been fired 3050 times is 0% - UNLESS something breaks during those last 50 rounds - in which case you might spend a fair amount to bring it back up to where it was or you might become the seller of "rare" parts.

Guns vs gold? Go with guns. If you had bought gold in 1980, 26 years later you would still be in the hole. ($850 in 1980, in 2006, a 26 year high of $730 (followed that same year by a fall to $543)). Now if you had bought in June of 2006 at $543 and sell before the current price crashes on ??? you will have done well indeed. As it is, you already have the gun so keep it.

There is no one correct answer. Your gun is not so rare or valuable (don't get me wrong - I would love to have it) as to say that it should never be risked by shooting & on the other hand, modern replicas of the same gun are plentiful. It is your call and either way, you will have supporters and critics.

My hope is that you will enjoy the gun for years to come, whether shooting it or not.

 

[Mike M.]

I own and shoot originals in MLAIC competition. Though I try to have at least one replica of each for training use.

I check the bore first. If a revolver, I also check the action and lockup.

If a gun is really 100%, I would sit on it as an investment. Otherwise, a little shooting will do no harm.

 

[B. Miller]

Hey, in the N-SSA we are shooting originals of every civil war firearm every weekend Sharps, Maynards, Spencers, Colts, Remingtons and R&Ss. We will think nothing of having a barrel relined. They were made to be shot. I will say one thing though, people who have relined the barrel are still thinking they have an original and asking imaginary prices for an altered firearm wether the get it or not I don't know.