GUN, NEED HELP, REAL OR TOY. TWO MORE LC AND BUTTONS!

[muddpuppy]

Howdy all! I had a Great weekend and week. "IT"S REAL, SEE BELOW"!! Thanks to Nola Ken and all that helped. This gun is a mystery, no markings that I can see. I assume it is a toy, but may be wrong. Any help identifying is appreciated. I am fairly sure the body is brass and it is approximately 7" long. Popped two more LC, 48 and 50, that makes four last week, awesome. Plus several nice buttons also. The two piece button with the star (stars) is unique. Thanks for looking and Keep Swinging!!

 

[Sod Buster]

Gun is a toy.........nice finds though

 

[Loco-Digger]

Love those LCs. Congrats on getting out and pulling some nice keepers.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Gun's definitely not a toy.... Looks to be a .22 short pocket revolver..... I'm going to see if I can ID it

 

[against the wind]

Good deal, , I guess the brass body of the gun wouldn't hold up to an exploding discharge.
Congrats on the LC's

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The Whitneyville Armory spur trigger pocket revolver is a close match, however, making a positive ID in relic condition with no markings to go from can be fairly difficult, especially with guns like this, there were so many makers turning them out, and so many that were virtually identical, that it's difficult to tell one from another. Here's a pic of the Whitneyville revolver, which is what yours would look like intact.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Good deal, , I guess the brass body of the gun wouldn't hold up to an exploding discharge.
Congrats on the LC's

The brass frame doesn't actually have to be all that strong, the cylinder and barrel take all the pressure and they were steel.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

After some further comparison, I'm fairly convinced yours is a Whitneyville, based on the shape of the cut out in the left side. It would date to the 1870's and was made by Whitney Arms Co. of Whitneyville, Connecticut. They are sometimes referred to as "Suicide Specials" among collectors, and apparently were prone to having serious malfunctions. They're somewhat uncommon to find, although not especially rare, and in pristine condition sell in the 150$ range. It would have sold originally for around $2.00 and likely been sold through a hardware store under the name Eagle, Defender or Monitor.

My opinion is that any old gun dug is a really great find, and it'll look great in a display.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Toy cap guns are usually die cast and one type of metal, so I'm going with a real gun on this one. Great find!

 

[catherine1]

Nice finds. Go back to where you found the gun. The cylinder could be close by. You never know unless you check.

 

[ivan salis]

its a "real gun"--note the rusted barrel---iron barrel with a brass gun frame ...brass was used a lot by the south for revolver gun frames during the civil war .. most likely its a brass frame type el cheapo $2 "pocket pistol" in 22 rimfire (blackpowder) cartridge post civil war --it might be a whitney arm co. model or more likely a "knockoff" copy ( since there are no markings)--brass can easily be used for gun frames -- since all the real "pressure" stress is on the cylinder and barrel where steel was used ..

 

[nsdq]

Yep real gun.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

its a "real gun"--note the rusted barrel---iron barrel with a brass gun frame ...brass was used a lot by the south for revolver gun frames during the civil war .. most likely its a brass frame type el cheapo $2 "pocket pistol" in 22 rimfire (blackpowder) cartridge post civil war --it might be a whitney arm co. model or more likely a "knockoff" copy ( since there are no markings)--brass can easily be used for gun frames -- since all the real "pressure" stress is on the cylinder and barrel where steel was used ..

The Whitney's were marked on the barrel, so given how rusted it is, I'm sure there's nothing left there that would make a positive id, but given how well the shape of the cut out matches, along with the rest of the grooves and pins in the frame, I'd say it's fairly likely that's what it is.

 

[muddpuppy]

NOLA_Ken, thanks so much for your assistance and knowledge to educate me on this gun. I learned quite a bit from you and other Tnetters on what characteristics that proved this was real. This is a great place with great people! Keep Swinging!!

After some further comparison, I'm fairly convinced yours is a Whitneyville, based on the shape of the cut out in the left side. It would date to the 1870's and was made by Whitney Arms Co. of Whitneyville, Connecticut. They are sometimes referred to as "Suicide Specials" among collectors, and apparently were prone to having serious malfunctions. They're somewhat uncommon to find, although not especially rare, and in pristine condition sell in the 150$ range. It would have sold originally for around $2.00 and likely been sold through a hardware store under the name Eagle, Defender or Monitor.

My opinion is that any old gun dug is a really great find, and it'll look great in a display.

 

[CASPER-2]