Item Description
This very revolver was featured and test fired on an episode of History Channel's Pawn Stars in December 2023. You can watch it on the episode below:
Original Item: Only One available. This is an unusual and rare old Wild West Revolver to find. This is an excellent mechanically sound Nickel Plated Smith & Wesson Third Model Russian revolver in .44 Russian. In addition to fine and intricate engraving, it features nickle plating, traces of a gold washed cylinder and some very nice well-aged ivory grips which were a Cowboy favorite.
This fine example features the standard 6 1/2" barrel and has a cylinder capacity of 6 shots, and functions in single-action only as designed. It also features the distinctive "spur trigger guard", unique to the Russian model. The top of the barrel bears all the S. & W. patent dates up to 1870:
The revolver is serial numbered 50089 on the butt along with an 1874 date. The revolver is assembly numbered 826 on the right side of the frame under the grip panel, on the rear face of the cylinder, on the barrel release catch and on the inner side of the barrel catch extension of the top strap. The barrel is roll-stamped in a single line:
✠ SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD, MASS. U.S.A. PAT. JULY 10. 60 JAN.17. FEB. 17. JULY 11. 65 & AUG. 24. 69 RUSSIAN MODEL ✠
A Cross pattée "dingbat" is present at either end of the barrel’s roll mark.
This is a Top-break revolver making loading extremely easy and frankly a much better system than the side loading Colts and Mervin & Hulbert revolvers. This was the same model revolver that the famous Lawman Wyatt Earp used in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26th 1881.
The revolver functions well, with a good cylinder lockup, and smooth crisp action. There is very little slop in the mechanics, so it does not appear to have been used much. The revolver breaks open correctly with strong ejection, and can be broken down correctly. The bore on the barrel has clear rifling. The nickel plated finish is worn in a few areas, mostly on the barrel, probably due to a long life in a holster. It still has the original lanyard loop.
The grips are just lovely, being made of ivory, and have cracked and aged wonderfully. There is really nothing like the great patina of aged ivory.
A very nice "fancy" cowboy example, completely honest, ready for display!
The Smith & Wesson Model 3 is a single-action, cartridge-firing, top-break revolver produced by Smith & Wesson (S&W) from around 1870 to 1915.It was produced in several variations and subvariations, including both the "Russian" model, so named because it was supplied to the military of the Russian Empire (41,000 No. 3s were ordered in .44 caliber by the Imperial Russian Army in 1871), and the "Schofield" model, named after Major George W. Schofield, who made his own modifications to the Model 3 to meet his perceptions of the cavalry's needs. S&W incorporated these modifications into an 1875 design they named after the major, planning to obtain significant military contracts for the new revolver.
The Model 3 was originally chambered for the .44 S&W American and .44 Russian cartridges, and typically did not have the cartridge information stamped on the gun (as is standard practice for most commercial firearms). Model 3 revolvers were later produced in an assortment of calibers, including .44 Henry Rimfire, .44-40, .32-44, .38-44, and .45 Schofield. The design influenced the smaller S&W .38 Single Action that is retroactively referred to as the Model 2.
Smith & Wesson produced large numbers of the Model 3, in three distinct models, for the Russian Empire by special order. The first was the 1st Model Russian (the original order design), with the Russian Ordnance Inspector mandating a number of improvements to the design, resulting in the 2nd Model Russian, with a final revision to the Russian design being known as the 3rd Model Russian.
Specifications:
Years of Manufacture: 1874
Caliber: .44 Russian
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 6 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 12 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
This product is not available for international shipping.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
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