Manhattan Arms .36 cal(?) revolver

[mrclark303]

From the pictures, it certainly looks like a potential shooter.

Are you thinking about shooting her?

Hows the bore, cylinder and timing condition?

[oldfoneguy]

From the pictures, it certainly looks like a potential shooter.

Are you thinking about shooting her?

Hows the bore, cylinder and timing condition?

NO,NO,NO!!! Don't ever consider shooting that pistol. If anyone is that desperate to shoot a Colt's Navy design Please buy yourself one of the plentiful reproductions out there. If cost is the object you can find a used one for under a hundred bucks! Any firearm that old is to be looked at and never to be fired, it served it's time. The slightest thing can go wrong and now it's a 153 year old hand grenade destroying a piece of history and not doing your hand and face much justice either. - Bill

[browningautorifle]

I agree with oldfoneguy completely. Many here advocate doing like "Pawn stars" and firing every antique that comes past them. If for some reason it gives up the ghost then what? I quit shooting my LL M1 and bought a user. I can't replace what's not available and then it wouldn't be original and valuable any more anyway... Your gun, up to you.

[mrclark303]

I see your point guys and agree with regard to not shooting excellent or rare surviving examples.

But.... a mate of mine has a "good" Colt Navy. Mechanically it's very good, but no surviving original finish. This was gunsmith checked and cleared safe to shoot and added into his FAC.

I have shot this piece numerous times and it's always an absolute pleasure to shoot.

He also has several superb Colts in his collection, both Navy's ,Army's and a couple of superb Remington NMA's (keep trying to get him to join Milsurps and share pics of them). Now, while he would never shoot these examples under any circumstances, I don't see any issues shooting his cosmetically​ tatty, but mechanically sound Navy.

It's like having a classic car and just keeping it in the garage, never fired up or ever driven.

[Anzac15]

The bore is good, but the cylinder is loose, timing is off. It would need some work to get it back to operational.
That said, I doubt Id try to shoot it regardless. As stated, shes old, and I wouldnt want to chance any damage.

---------- Post added at 06:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:34 PM ----------

I did discover something interesting...look here.
Have matching numbers on the butt, trigger guard, and barrel assembly. Frame has three different numbers. Noticed this last night.

[Anzac15]

Pics of the numbers

[browningautorifle]

It's like having a classic car and just keeping it in the garage, never fired up or ever driven.

Well...considering I don't care about classic cars...that wouldn't matter to me. If I'd been shooting my early M1 with the round firing pin and it broke, that would be irreplaceable. Also the slam fire that comes next is detailed in pics on line. Once the gun is destroyed it's done. You can usually bang the dents out of a car.

[mrclark303]

Well...considering I don't care about classic cars...that wouldn't matter to me. If I'd been shooting my early M1 with the round firing pin and it broke, that would be irreplaceable. Also the slam fire that comes next is detailed in pics on line. Once the gun is destroyed it's done. You can usually bang the dents out of a car.

I agree entirely regarding rare items like your superb sounding early M1 Jim, just saying, if a classic isn't in collector grade cosmetic condition, but safe to shoot, then do what it was designed to do and shoot it....

In my experience, you only get a true feel for these things by shooting the originals, it's only a personal perspective here, but replica's just do nothing for me personally.

So when it's possible (and to be clear here) not on rare historically important, or very good cosmetic pieces, then crack on an shoot them, providing of course, a trusted gunsmith has cleared them as safe to shoot.

[browningautorifle]

if a classic isn't in collector grade

I can see that...

[oldfoneguy]

I can see that with something made in the last century but not a pistol from the 1800's. Has there been an xray taken showing for sure there isn't any corrosion hiding in the chambers? The steel from those days isn't as strong as from say 50 years later. It would only take some slight metal lost to corrosion to make the pistol unsafe. That's the primary reason these pistols seem so overbuilt. They added extra metal to make up for it's lack of strength. Add in the fact that there are some completely wrong screws in critical areas and that makes this a wall hanger. What could he say if after the first shot the pistol went flying off and all he had in his hand was the grip and trigger guard. Oops wouldn't cover that.

Once I shot my M1886 Kropastchek made in 1889 and was satisfied. The first shot was with it on top of and covered with old tires and a long string on the trigger just in case. Call me vain but I love my face just the way it is. I do routinely shoot my WWI era bolt actions because of their strength. Much more modern steel formulas and reduced velocity hand loads give me a warm fuzzy feeling all day long. - Bill