Leverless .36 revolver

[cachelapoudre]

Can anyone shed some light on this .36 cal. leverless revolver?

From what I've been able to discover it falls under the 1849 Colt Pocket model and the misnomered Wells Fargo model. Any thoughts?

thanks,

 

[Zonie]

It's commonly called a Wells Fargo.
The (unproven) idea is that the riders were either issued or bought their own '49 pocket pistols to carry on their rides.

Their light weight and small size and the lack of a loading lever seemed to fit this idea.

FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE says of this model:

"So-called "Wells Fargo" model; made without loading lever, 3" octagon barrel with breech extension and long frame (both standard on all M. 1849's); small rounded trigger guard.
Quantity approx. 4,000. Specimens appear mixed in with serial range 15,000 to 164,000. Origen of terminology obscure; no known affiliation with Wells Fargo so exercise caution should such markings be seen (spurious examples known)..."

 

[Wes/Tex]

I'm with Zonie on this one. Are you certain it's a .36 and not a .32 like all the M.1849s? The originals were, obviously, not brass framed but steel. Outside of that, this one is is an Italian copy with a brass frame. I've never heard of or seen one in .36.

 

[cachelapoudre]

I'll find out when I receive it. The seller could not find any stamping which indicates the calibre, just the "Black Powder" only stamp.

Does anyone know if a "Loading Mushroom" is made by any company? I will eventually make a loading jig but wondered if the brass mushrooms have been commercially.

 

[hawkeye2]

I'm not aware of any "loading mushrooms" being made for those revolvers. I believe you will find you couldn't use one on that model for two reasons; There isn't room between the front of the cylinder and the back of the barrel lug to insert a round ball, there is no hole in the barrel lug for the "mushroom" to pass through. I have heard that it is possible to load the cylinder off the revolver using the cylinder arbor to press the ball into the chamber but it sounds like a good way to injure some fingers to me.

 

[Zonie]

First off, I've never seen a 1849 Colt that is in .36 caliber. The gun in the picture is a .31 caliber pistol.

If it really was a .36, it would have the same rebated (stepped) cylinder that was used on the Colt 1862 or Colt Pocket Model Navy.

As for loading the cylinder if one had to they can use a small block of wood to rest the rear of the removed cylinder on.
Then, pour the powder charge, place a slightly oversized ball on the mouth of the chamber and tap it into place with a small mallet or even a stout stick.
After the ball is in the cylinder it can be pushed/tapped down until it is setting on the powder charge.

In other words, a cylinder loading press is nice but it's not really required to load the gun.

 

[cachelapoudre]

Arrived today.

It is a .31 calibre pistol; never fired, never touched.

Getting the barrel off will be a chore since the original grease is caked inside everything.

Now to figure how to move the barrel assembly.

 

[Adui]

Brake cleaner or penetrating oil will loosen that grease for you. Id try the oil first as break cleaner will dry pretty quickly

 

[Pete44ru]

Arrived today.

It is a .31 calibre pistol; never fired, never touched.

Getting the barrel off will be a chore since the original grease is caked inside everything.

Now to figure how to move the barrel assembly.

I would suggest tapping out the bbl wedge, removing the grip, then giving it a swim in a pail of new/clean kerosene (@ most Hess gas stations) before levering the bbl off towards the front with a flat lever across the front face of the cylinder (if needed).



.

 

[Zonie]

If your pistol had a loading lever, getting the barrel off would be simple.

Disengage the barrel wedge from the barrel by lightly tapping the small end. A brass or aluminum rod may help.
The wedge doesn't have to come all the way off of the gun but for the first time disassembly it might be a good idea.

If it had a loading lever, at this stage put the hammer at half cock.
Lower the loading lever so the ram is pushing on the cylinder between the chambers.
Push the loading down to lift the barrel off of the frame.

With the Wells Fargo, use a non-metallic mallet or a block of wood to tap the sides and bottom of the barrel. It should come loose so just hand force can pull it off of the arbor.