J a n a , vintage identification

[sethwyo]

It's a reproduction of an 1847 Walker.
Technically this was one of the very first successful breach loading firearms, as you loaded the ammunition behind the breach,
hope I don't get reprimanded.

But wondering if anyone here can tell me who made it and when ?
It does say made in Italy stamped on the barrel but I have never found any proof marks and cannot find one thing online about the j a n a.

 

[ppg1949]

sethwyo , JANA was an importer. They imported all types of modern firearms and replicas. Mostly in the ‘70’s I think. Look under the ramrod to see is there a manufacturer’s cartouche. If you can’t find it there, then take the ramrod off and look again. Usually three initials and sometimes in a diamond. If it is there post a photo of it. Also post a close up of the right side of the frame below the cylinder. There will be makings there and one should be the code for the manufacturing year. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TreeMan]

It's a reproduction of an 1847 Walker.
Technically this was one of the very first successful breach loading firearms, as you loaded the ammunition behind the breach,
hope I don't get reprimanded.

But wondering if anyone here can tell me who made it and when ?
It does say made in Italy stamped on the barrel but I have never found any proof marks and cannot find one thing online about the j a n a.

Breach loading? A Walker was as far from a breach loader as you can get.

 

[sethwyo]

sethwyo , JANA was an importer. They imported all types of modern firearms and replicas. Mostly in the ‘70’s I think. Look under the ramrod to see is there a manufacturer’s cartouche. If you can’t find it there, then take the ramrod off and look again. Usually three initials and sometimes in a diamond. If it is there post a photo of it. Also post a close up of the right side of the frame below the cylinder. There will be makings there and one should be the code for the manufacturing year. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for sharing, found what you told me to look for, looks like uberti made it in the mid-70s.
Half a century old and it needs a part, the cylinder won't line up or lock in place when the hammer is locked back.

Did j a n a have their own mail order catalog? Do you remember ever ordering anything or purchasing one of their muzzleloaders back in the good old days of the 1970s?

 

[sethwyo]

Breach loading? A Walker was as far from a breach loader as you can get.

Can you imagine loading a cap and ball revolver by pouring the powder down the barrel into the cylinder and then using a footlong ram rod to drive a ball through the barrel into the cylinder . . .

I recently read an article how soldiers did not like colts revolving rifle because they were scared of chain fires and they refused to use them,
I wonder if anyone pointed out they could still load one round in the cylinder and spin it into place with the barrel thus eliminating the risk of a chain fire (which probably was not really a problem) and still be able to load a round a lot faster than having to dump powder and ram a ball all the way down the barrel into the end of the barrel.
The breach is the back of the gun,
The bullets are loaded in the breach.
I figure, It is a breech loader. And getting near 200 years now they've been successful and a heap of fun

 

[TreeMan]

Can you imagine loading a cap and ball revolver by pouring the powder down the barrel into the cylinder and then using a footlong ram rod to drive a ball through the barrel into the cylinder . . .

I recently read an article how soldiers did not like colts revolving rifle because they were scared of chain fires and they refused to use them,
I wonder if anyone pointed out they could still load one round in the cylinder and spin it into place with the barrel thus eliminating the risk of a chain fire (which probably was not really a problem) and still be able to load a round a lot faster than having to dump powder and ram a ball all the way down the barrel into the end of the barrel.
The breach is the back of the gun,
The bullets are loaded in the breach.
I figure, It is a breech loader. And getting near 200 years now they've been successful and a heap of fun

This has to be a parody lol. What in the name of Jed Clampett are you talking about!? I’m gonna opt out of this conversation before I have to start drinking enough to figure this out.

 

[ppg1949]

Thank you for sharing, found what you told me to look for, looks like uberti made it in the mid-70s.
Half a century old and it needs a part, the cylinder won't line up or lock in place when the hammer is locked back.

Did j a n a have their own mail order catalog? Do you remember ever ordering anything or purchasing one of their muzzleloaders back in the good old days of the 1970s?

I only found out about JANA around ten or twelve years ago looking up another importer called EIG. I had bought a 10yo grandson an EIG shotgun that copied the Winchester model 37 and my research uncovered JANA. I came across FARA also. FARA Italian muzzleloaders is one of the Zoli brothers company but not Anthony Zoli. I would presume JANA had a catalog but it may have went dealers only. JANA I think was located in Denver. They imported Spanish double barrel shotguns, German revolvers and pistols and British rifles beside the Italian muzzleloaders. How long the existed is unknown to me. You have the extent of my knowledge about JANA. When you are trying to find out about importers a good place to start is the website Gun Values Board.com.
The lever that pushes the cylinder is called the hand. The piece that locks the cylinder is the bolt. The hand is attached to the hammer. The bolt extends up through the bottom of the frame into the notches on the cylinder. Under the trigger guard is a two “finger” flat spring that controls the bolt and trigger. I would take the trigger guard off first to see if the bolt side of the spring is broke. If that is the problem getting a replacement is not to hard. I have bought a lot BP revolver screws and springs off ebay instead of the traditional muzzleloader dealers. If that is not it you may need to post the question in the Handgun or General Muzzleloader forum here. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Rancocas]

Can you imagine loading a cap and ball revolver by pouring the powder down the barrel into the cylinder and then using a footlong ram rod to drive a ball through the barrel into the cylinder . . .

I recently read an article how soldiers did not like colts revolving rifle because they were scared of chain fires and they refused to use them,
I wonder if anyone pointed out they could still load one round in the cylinder and spin it into place with the barrel thus eliminating the risk of a chain fire (which probably was not really a problem) and still be able to load a round a lot faster than having to dump powder and ram a ball all the way down the barrel into the end of the barrel.
The breach is the back of the gun,
The bullets are loaded in the breach.
I figure, It is a breech loader. And getting near 200 years now they've been successful and a heap of fun

This thread had me so confounded that I wasn't going to get into it. However...
WHAT are you talking about? Are you just trying to be funny, or are you really that ignorant about cap and ball revolvers?
Sorry, I'm not meaning to offend. I am simply dumbfounded.

 

[Commodore Swab]

Technically this was one of the very first successful breach loading firearms, as you loaded the ammunition behind the breach,

No.
The breach is where in simple tearms the esplosion occurs. The muzzle is the front of the gun. All guns have a breach and must be loaded to be fired. A muzzle loader is simply saying the breach is loaded from the muzzle or front. To load the breach from the front powder goes in first then the projectile. To load the breach on a modern firearm (breach loader) the cartridge consisting of projectile, powder and cap are inserted into the breach with the projectile in before the powder.

 

[Commodore Swab]

Now to complicate things a "breach loading cannon" is actually a muzzle loader, and a Ferguson is a breach and muzzleloader at the same time

 

[andy52]

OK, a breech-loader when open you can see down the inside of the barrel.
Look at it this way, the cylinder is the breech and it is loaded from the front so look at it as a two-piece muzzleloader.

 

[Commodore Swab]

OK, a breech-loader when open you can see down the inside of the barrel.
Look at it this way, the cylinder is the breech and it is loaded from the front so look at it as a two-piece muzzleloader.

Or a very short gun with a barrel extension

 

[sethwyo]

It was the trigger bolt spring broken, it's broken right across the back where the bolt holds it to the top of the trigger guard.

I do have a replacement one and put it in this morning and loaded it up looks like I'm going to need to get a different ball mold this doesn't take .457s like my last one did. Quite a bit smaller cylinders then .457

 

[sethwyo]

seen this pn stamp on a lot of pieces over the years

 

[sethwyo]

I would have figured that ub would have been for uberti,

 

[sethwyo]

cip pn

But this one I know is a pietta

 

[sethwyo]

Uberti and pietta are different companies but they use the same year stamp identification?

 

[rickpa]

CL is 2006 and the PN is the proof mark. I think it means Poudre Nitro and certified it's safe to shoot. The stamps are government stamps, not specific to a company. They identify the company, year made, and safety proof. JANA is the importer. Back in the 70s I bought an 1858 2 band Parker Hale rifle from them. It was an English PH made in 1976. They imported a wide variety of M/L's.

 

[TFoley]

Where proofs in Europe are concerned, manufacturers don't get a choice of the format of the stamps. They have been long established by law, not some artistic whim.

In law in the CIP nations - fourteen of them, BTW - the firearm must be clearly stamped with an indented stamp with -

1. The country of origin in English.

2. A date or date code.

3. The level/type of proof - Black Powder or Nitro - depending on the country, the abbreviation for black powder might be in the native language. In this case, Italian, and the PN means Pulvero Nero - black powder.

4. The coat of arms of the city or state in which the proof house is located. In the case of the Italian national proof house, located in Gardone val Trompia, it is the coat of arms of that city. Same for the Spanish National Proof House, located in Eibar. Germany has fourteen states, each with its own proof house. UK has two.

5. The calibre of the arm, and often, the recommended maximum loads of BP. I'm not going into nitro arms and their particular specifics.

 

[B P Arn]

...Technically this was one of the very first successful breach loading firearms, as you loaded the ammunition behind the breach,
hope I don't get reprimanded...

Too cute by half.