Recent Pistol find... Please help!

Superdup

Tenderfoot
Dec 4, 2021
5
31
Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • 20211118_115934.jpg
    20211118_115934.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 229
  • 20211205_091401.jpg
    20211205_091401.jpg
    494.1 KB · Views: 185
  • 20211205_091513.jpg
    20211205_091513.jpg
    490.8 KB · Views: 179
  • 20211205_091540.jpg
    20211205_091540.jpg
    252.3 KB · Views: 165
  • 20211205_091549.jpg
    20211205_091549.jpg
    192.4 KB · Views: 145
  • 20211205_091635.jpg
    20211205_091635.jpg
    141.9 KB · Views: 145
  • 20211205_091623.jpg
    20211205_091623.jpg
    189.9 KB · Views: 151
  • 20211205_091603.jpg
    20211205_091603.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 164
Upvote 22

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
I don't know what kind of gun, nor date range, but I just want to say : Congratz ! Love finding those. They conjur up images of the wild wild west, and look so cool in a shadow box.

There's no shortage of vintage gun buffs , so I'm sure someone here can ID it. And if not here, then there's probably no shortage of collector buffs with their own forums that can ID it. Let us know !
 

Jamie Rullestad

Jr. Member
Dec 3, 2020
57
145
Iowa
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540, Nokta Makro Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I refinish antique axes and hammers, and my old iron usually gets a vinegar bath for at least a week. It dissolves that rust into a black, stinking mess, and I usually end up with pure iron, assuming it’s not degraded completely to rust.

A word of warning on that. If it is now rusted to the point that it’s made up of pure rust, it will disintegrate into the soup, so move forward on my suggestion with a bit of forewarned caution.
 

Richard Guy

VETERAN
Dec 19, 2019
661
1,299
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Whites Coinmaster
Bounty Hunter 202
Nokta Simplex +
Nokta Legend
Nokta PulseDive
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
it appears to be a pocket revolver (no trigger guard) and 'single-action'. I wouldn't be surprised if it were 'cap-and-ball'. Take a hard look at the cylinder from the hammer side, ... does the pistol have nipples for a percussion cap?
The more I look at it, the more it looks like an old Remington Pocket Revolver, .31 caliber, circa 1860 ish. Nice find!
 

Attachments

  • Late-1860and-39-s-Antique-Remington-New-Model-Pocket-Revolver-Type-3-in-31-Cap-and-Ball-Beauti...jpg
    Late-1860and-39-s-Antique-Remington-New-Model-Pocket-Revolver-Type-3-in-31-Cap-and-Ball-Beauti...jpg
    952.4 KB · Views: 50

Richard Guy

VETERAN
Dec 19, 2019
661
1,299
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Whites Coinmaster
Bounty Hunter 202
Nokta Simplex +
Nokta Legend
Nokta PulseDive
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It might be loaded, ... the grips still look nice, they may be valuable.
 

eyemustdigtreasure

Silver Member
Mar 2, 2013
3,596
5,576
California
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug Pro
Tesoro Cibola
Nokta Pointer; Phillips SHS5200 phones
Nokta Macro SIMPLEX +
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Outstanding Find! :thumbsup:
Welcome to TreasureNet...!
 

Digger RJ

Gold Member
Aug 24, 2017
19,312
33,446
SW Missouri/Oklahoma
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030; Minelab Equinox 800;
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Nice!!! Congrats!!!
 

ArfieBoy

Silver Member
Aug 11, 2011
3,342
5,530
N.E. Oregon
Detector(s) used
Compass X-70, Compass X-80, Compass X-90, Compass Judge 2, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What a great find! Congratulations! Good luck with the continued clean-up on it. Thanks for posting.
 

OP
OP
S

Superdup

Tenderfoot
Dec 4, 2021
5
31
Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Hi all,

Well after nearly 3 months of careful electrolysis, chipping, grinding, polishing and reassembly, the old girl is looking pretty good for her age. Unfortunately the barrel, chamber and hammer were just too far gone to do much with, but the grip trigger and body of the Pistol were in really remarkable shape. My final steps I am thinking are to seal the metal with rustoleum clear sealant, but I'm unsure whether to use that on the wood or to instead use mineral oil, boiled linseed, etc. The wood has been underwater over 160 years and I don't want to do anything to cause it to crack, split, etc. Anyone have any experience with this?
 

Attachments

  • 20220310_105556.jpg
    20220310_105556.jpg
    490.6 KB · Views: 62
  • 20220310_110515.jpg
    20220310_110515.jpg
    482.8 KB · Views: 54

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top