Original Item: Only One Available. This is a most interesting EARLY 6 shot .44 Caliber revolver probably made circa 1870, very much in the Pryse / Webley-Pryse style. There are no maker or retailer markings at all, and while it is nickel plated, this looks to have been a refinish, which has made the original engravings and markings faint. There are some numbers on the back of the cylinder ejector, and the style is typical for manufacture in Liège, Belgium.

This city had become a gun-making powerhouse after the Napoleonic wars, and manufactured guns under contract to many firms in the United Kingdom, France, and elsewhere. This meant that they had ample access to the various designs from those countries, with the end result being revolvers such as this, which were very popular with officers in the British Military, who were required to purchase their own arms.

This revolver is a very nice Webley-Pryse style design, top break with a built in ejector, and is a "double action" design. It has the single-sided push button breech release on the left side, correct for the pattern. This was a patented design, which may explain the lack of markings: the maker did not want to encourage litigation. The revolver very much like revolvers produced by Belgian maker Jean Warnant, but is not marked as such. Per a customer request, we removed the grip scales, and it is marked with ★ / AS and JD on the left grip frame, with what looks to be an H or W at the bottom near the butt cap.

There is no caliber marking that we could find on the revolver, but the bore measures about .440" land to land at both the muzzle and the breech end, with the cylinder chambers measuring about .460" at the muzzle and .486" at the breech ends. The cylinder is only 1.42 inches long, which is too short for .455 Webley, and borderline for .476 Enfield. We assume this is for a .45 Adams / Boxer black powder centerfire cartridge.

The revolver presents very nicely, with the nickel-plated finish retained at about 60%. There is no major oxidation or rust issues in the areas where the finish has worn away. The grips are dark hardwood, with a very close grain, so they could be ebony. They show light wear, with some minor chipping on the left side near the grip spur.

The revolver cycles well in both single and double action, with no major issues to note. There is a bit of slop in the mechanics, but nothing out of line with a revolver of this age. The frame breaks open correctly, with the ejector properly presenting and snapping back once the action is fully broken open. The bore is in very good condition, showing strong lands and grooves with a partly bright finish. There is a bit of oxidation and fouling in areas, and very light overall wear. Definitely in very good shape for a black powder era revolver.

This wonderful revolver would have been appropriate for the South African ZULU WAR of 1879, the EGYPTIAN WAR of 1884 followed by the SUDANESE WARS and those throughout BRITISH INDIA. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1870
Caliber: .44
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 10 1/2 inches
Barrel Length: 5 3/4 inches
Action: External Hammer Double/Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver