Swiss 1882 Revolver

Kind of excited, scored this at Cabela's so it's a freebie. Add to that the price they were asking was under what they are going for, it was also on sale for 10% off which was not advertised, and I get a 5% military discount on top of that meaning I still have points left over.

It has been described as having an excellent bore, the one grip might be a replacement and the base of the butt has obviously been polished but I can live with that. One of the first 20,000 so it has the plastic grips. All visible numbers match.

It will be a couple of weeks before I have it as it's not local.

And somehow, my wife is mad at me over this. I can't win. I have been complaining for a month that they have seemingly doubled the prices on everything, so my points aren't going to go very far, and I end up getting what is a good deal on something I wanted.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../zh7lmiy-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Y84oc7T-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../a7cJyj4-1.jpg

Made in 1916. This was near the end of the Bakelite grips. They went to wood due to shortages caused by WWI.

Seems to be some conflicting information on whether you can shoot 32 S&W Long in it. The Swiss say you can but everyone else says the cases split at a high rate. Something about using 32-20 cases and cutting them down.

Looks like an interesting reloading proposition. Heeled bullets and in-barrel swaging can complicate matters.

I'd go the whole route of making from existing brass, like 32/20 if it works. I'd find out which cast bullet mold was closest and get makin'...looks like a neat revolver to warm up.

I hate waiting. They deducted my points on Sunday and removed the listing yesterday so progress is being made. In the meantime I'm watching videos.

The elephant in the room that no one seems to be able to address is why this was kept as a black powder round for it's entire production into the 1960's. The best explanation seems to be that the earliest revolvers had a top strap that was only 1mm thick. Smokeless powder could have cut through that eventually. But these were only the first 4000 so these could have been removed from service. They went to 3mm after that and finally to 4mm at 17,000.

I see that handloaders have developed some loads giving it slightly better performance, an additional 200 fps but only for the later made revolvers.

From what I understand, smokeless was tested for the revolver at least twice, once early on, and a second time with the strengthened 1929 upgrade. Evidently, these Swiss tests proved unsatisfactory, so they just kept on with the black powder loads for the revolvers right up to the end. Obviously, all their auto loading pistols from 1900 on used smokeless only.

It arrived. Got the call this morning and was working closer to Cabelas than home and finished early, skipped lunch and went and picked it up. Actually went smooth at Cabelas for once. It was paid for in advance with points and the background check went fast for once.

I have never seen so many numbers on any firearm, let alone one this small. Five-digit serial number on large parts, last three on smaller parts, a separate 3 or 2 number also on many parts. Not sure what this is, assembly number maybe. On top of this it has disassembly order numbers on it. I'll take some photos of this mess tomorrow and see what's what. Swiss cross on a lot of places also.

Bore is excellent, some cleaning of the exterior needed. The butt is very heavily polished. Wondering if this might have been an officers pistol and that is the portion that showed outside the holster. I don't have a holster to test this theory.

Everything works.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aragorn243

And somehow, my wife is mad at me over this. I can't win

---

If she makes you sell it let me know. Nicely crafted ,as are all things Swiss.

Here's some interior pics of the various numbers. It has a separate serial number and fabrication number, I don't know why. Serial number appears to be on everything, the fabrication number only on a few things, so far at least. I did not disassemble it which is supposed to be simple to do. You simply remove part 1 which holds the cylinder, then 2 the cylinder, then 3 and so on. Side frame is hinged. The frame itself appears to have been made by SIG as it is so marked on the bottom of the butt inside.

I cleaned the little bit of rust off it that I could find. Most of it near the muzzle and the front sight, a little on the trigger guard.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../NST9nZV-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../yXGkKek-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../B9GZewN-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../2Ml10U5-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../sJWu6lX-1.jpg

My wife claims she is no longer mad at me. She didn't realize I had enough points to buy it and thought I was spending cash three weeks after I bought the Steyr-Pieper off Mike.

Not exactly like I'm throwing money away in any case. Sitting in the bank, it's losing value. Guns just keep going up, faster than even inflation it appears.

Nice piece...

Gotta love accessible lock work, especially numbered for disassembly. The revolver's evolution during this time period is really interesting. Nice you could cash in some chips to snag this one. I was sorely tempted to get one myself when they came in, but was a bit short on the scratch to justify the purchase at the time. Enjoy!

Cabela's is fascinating sometimes. The one that I bought it from obviously knew what it was. Whether they didn't do the paperwork or the local Cabela's didn't I don't know but I'm looking at it while filling out the forms. Manufacturer - none, Model - none, Serial Number - 17478, Caliber - none, Type - Revolver. And none of them knew how to change it and the general response was, "If it goes through, let it be". Meanwhile, I'm telling them what it is, who made it, what caliber it is and even the year it was made. Four people questioned the details, and one fellow went so far to dig up a French 1873 on his phone to say it looked just like "this one".

I'm even wondering it this needed paperwork, but I didn't bother asking because the last one I bought I knew didn't need it they insisted on doing it anyway. This was made in 1916 so the 1898 rule is out but the ammunition is obsolete and unobtainable which should put it on the list.

I hated doing it but I've been watching prices for a couple of weeks now and they seem to be hanging around $300 for an original holster. Found this one for $200 and jumped on it. Don't have it yet. Could have gotten a repro for a fraction of that but as nice as this pistol is, I wanted the real deal.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...OyCzrpng-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...HT55upng-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...M5c5spng-1.jpg

Holster came today. 1944 production with a 1951 strap. It's fit would seem to confirm that the butt was deliberately polished (or chromed) as it can be seen outside the holster.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../2M4LWGy-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../iuuBjul-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../jjgrcjB-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../YTAqKJM-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../ILT4j4G-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../vHUE1e0-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../mQAH8FX-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../9kEkQYk-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../EE0ugHi-1.jpg

Got the cleaning tool kit for the revolver yesterday. It's the first thing of Swiss manufacture that I'm not impressed with. The tool itself is great but the problem is the cap that holds it all together. It's not screwed in which I had assumed but simply pushed it and held with minor compression. If you shake it repeatedly, you can get the base to come off. Just seems a poor design leading to lost cleaning tools. Same basic design for both the Luger and the Ordnance Revolver so they must have liked it and maybe it isn't as big a problem as it seems to me. No place for it in the holster which means it has to be carried separately.

The screwdriver tip which you can see is held in with a screw. Take the screw out, push the tip forward from the rear and you reverse it and put the screwdriver tip in first. This leaves a long rod with a threaded tip to screw on the jag and the brush for cleaning of the barrel and cylinder. It is an interesting and efficient design in that regard.

Swiss 1882 Ordnance Revolver Cleaning Tool - Edelweiss Arms

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aragorn243

Made in 1916. This was near the end of the Bakelite grips. They went to wood due to shortages caused by WWI.

Seems to be some conflicting information on whether you can shoot 32 S&W Long in it. The Swiss say you can but everyone else says the cases split at a high rate. Something about using 32-20 cases and cutting them down.

---

I can and do shoot 32 S&W long through my 1882 and 1929 without issue, I just don't reuse the brass.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aragorn243

I hate waiting. They deducted my points on Sunday and removed the listing yesterday so progress is being made. In the meantime I'm watching videos.

The elephant in the room that no one seems to be able to address is why this was kept as a black powder round for it's entire production into the 1960's. The best explanation seems to be that the earliest revolvers had a top strap that was only 1mm thick. Smokeless powder could have cut through that eventually. But these were only the first 4000 so these could have been removed from service. They went to 3mm after that and finally to 4mm at 17,000.

I see that handloaders have developed some loads giving it slightly better performance, an additional 200 fps but only for the later made revolvers.

---

They would have already been removed from service by the later dates. The Swiss didn't reissue small arms generally, they would keep them or put them into storage with a new production firearm being made for the next batch of troops. Notable exemptions being the 96/11 rifles when they took back the 1889/96 and converted them to GP-11. It is also why most the Swiss arms are in such good shape, generally only being issued to one soldier for a limited amount of time.

Personally I think they kept the black powder loading to keep their black powder manufactures in business. The Swiss were very influenced by civilian shooting (including black powder shooters) and would keep not as good tactical firearms due to this, such as keeping the G1911 when the military felt the K1911 was sufficient for military usage and handier. The civilian shooters preferred the G11s due to the longer sight radius and because of that increased target accuracy.

The US had similar issues with the Krags and 1903 Springfields, needlessly complex sights for a military firearm, yet the marksmen were insistent on it.