For classic and vintage fans...

[Nyles]

Few more guns I've bought recently:



US Army Colt M1901 in .38 Long Colt - this of course being part of the series (from the M1889 to the M1905) of essentially identical of Colt .38 revolvers (solt commercially as the Colt New Army) used by the US military. These weren't successes in service, as most of you probably know - the .38 Long Colt round was underpowered and it was found in the Phillipine Insurrection that they wouldn't stop a charging Moro at close range. What's less well known is they also had somewhat weak lockwork - the cylinder rotated counter-clockwise, in the same direction it openned, and could easily get out of timing if abused.



This is a British Webley Mk.I, the original military Webley adopted in 1887. It's interesting to put this next to my 1916 Webley Mk.VI - there are the obvious differences - the shorter 4" barrel and the bird's head grip, but there's alot of little differences - the extractor stays out in the open position rather than snapping back down, the cylinder can't easily be removed, the hammer and stirrup lock are shaped differently - it's a fascinating example of the evolution of the design.

I also just made a deal on a French M1892 revolver, commonly (though incorrectly) called a Lebel. These are neat in that they're the only non-US military revolver I'm aware of with a swing-out cylinder - except it swings out to the right, not the left. I'll explain why once I actually get it and have decent pictures. In the meantime, here's the sellers photo: