F&W Revolver

[Jorvaljr]

My dad has this old revolver. I did some searches and found its a F&W from 1890s. Anyone fire modern ammo out of these?

[Spaffo]

Cool revolver. What caliber?

[Jorvaljr]

I believe .38

[Quiet]

AFAIK...

F&W = Forehand & Wadsworth

1871-1890 = Forehand & Wadsworth
1890-1902 = Forehand Arms Company
1902 = Hopkins & Allen acquired and disolved the company.


If your F&W revolver is in .38 caliber, it's either a .38S&W or a .38RF.

.38RF has been out of production for about a century and .38S&W is currently a limited production cartridge (PPU, Fiocchi, Magtech, Remington, India Ordinance Factory).

Note that .38S&W aka .38/200 is not compatible with the more common .38Special cartridge.

[Jorvaljr]

Thank you. @quiet. I appreciate the info. The firing pin/hammer is not working properly, and my father had ideas of fixing it and shooting the gun. Ill let him know it may not be possible

[highpower]

I will add to Quiet's post by heartily recommending that you do NOT shoot it with modern ammo. Those old second tier top breaks weren't the most robust affairs when they were new (they were inexpensive for a reason, most have iron frames) and they were designed with black powder ammunition in mind. In addition, 150 ish years hasn't made them any stronger in addition to any mechanical issues that might be present.

It is most likely .38S&W. A quick check of where the firing pin sits in relation to the chamber will tell you if it is rim fire or center fire. If it was mine and I wanted to make it go bang from time to time, providing it is a center fire gun, I would get a lee loader and load up a few .38 S&W shells with the appropriate load of BP and blaze away. After cleaning up the powder fouling thoroughly enough to eliminate the risk of corrosion you will no doubt have scratched the itch enough to be good for a while before you will want to shoot it again.

[Jorvaljr]

I will add to Quiet's post by heartily recommending that you do NOT shoot it with modern ammo. Those old second tier top breaks weren't the most robust affairs when they were new (they were inexpensive for a reason, most have iron frames) and they were designed with black powder ammunition in mind. In addition, 150 ish years hasn't made them any stronger in addition to any mechanical issues that might be present.

It is most likely .38S&W. A quick check of where the firing pin sits in relation to the chamber will tell you if it is rim fire or center fire. If it was mine and I wanted to make it go bang from time to time, providing it is a center fire gun, I would get a lee loader and load up a few .38 S&W shells with the appropriate load of BP and blaze away. After cleaning up the powder fouling thoroughly enough to eliminate the risk of corrosion you will no doubt have scratched the itch enough to be good for a while before you will want to shoot it again.

Thank you!! I will definitely let him know.


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[pitfighter]

I will add to Quiet's post by heartily recommending that you do NOT shoot it with modern ammo. Those old second tier top breaks weren't the most robust affairs when they were new (they were inexpensive for a reason, most have iron frames) and they were designed with black powder ammunition in mind. In addition, 150 ish years hasn't made them any stronger in addition to any mechanical issues that might be present.

It is most likely .38S&W. A quick check of where the firing pin sits in relation to the chamber will tell you if it is rim fire or center fire. If it was mine and I wanted to make it go bang from time to time, providing it is a center fire gun, I would get a lee loader and load up a few .38 S&W shells with the appropriate load of BP and blaze away. After cleaning up the powder fouling thoroughly enough to eliminate the risk of corrosion you will no doubt have scratched the itch enough to be good for a while before you will want to shoot it again.

This fellow knows of what he speaks ^

I bought a few of these when I was starting out collecting, I was young and broke and found them at flea markets and antique shops. I shot the hell out of the .22's both long and short, but, wouldn't trust one in center fire (I had a .32, .38 and a Spanish .44 over the years), even with cowboy/light loads, it's your eye-sight and or trigger finger that's at risk, lol.
To say that metallurgy has come a long way since those days would be an understatement.
If your dad just has to - buy him a box of .38 movie blanks and have at it.

[JWil]

I fire Fiocchi and PPU 38SW out of my top break, however that is with the caveat it is in decent condition and is made by Iver Johnson. It is the last model before they moved to smokeless, however, it handles the smokeless ammo without the cylinder lockup becoming loose, the threading getting marred etc etc.

[timgd]

For what it's worth Forehand and Wadsworth was a better than average maker of hand guns. Not S&W or Colt but not junk. Buffalo Arms sells .38 S&W loaded with black powder.($$$)

[Jorvaljr]

This fellow knows of what he speaks ^

I bought a few of these when I was starting out collecting, I was young and broke and found them at flea markets and antique shops. I shot the hell out of the .22's both long and short, but, wouldn't trust one in center fire (I had a .32, .38 and a Spanish .44 over the years), even with cowboy/light loads, it's your eye-sight and or trigger finger that's at risk, lol.
To say that metallurgy has come a long way since those days would be an understatement.
If your dad just has to - buy him a box of .38 movie blanks and have at it.

Thank you. I dont think he will be firing it. Lol he values his life more. I appreciate the info


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[Jorvaljr]

For what it's worth Forehand and Wadsworth was a better than average maker of hand guns. Not S&W or Colt but not junk. Buffalo Arms sells .38 S&W loaded with black powder.($$$)

I appreciate the info.


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[Jorvaljr]

I fire Fiocchi and PPU 38SW out of my top break, however that is with the caveat it is in decent condition and is made by Iver Johnson. It is the last model before they moved to smokeless, however, it handles the smokeless ammo without the cylinder lockup becoming loose, the threading getting marred etc etc.

Thank you. I think he wont be firing it. He assumed it was just a normal revolver and ammo. Thank you for the info


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[crotter]

I inherited an F&W .32 revolver about a decade ago.

Here are some pics of mine and my original thread:

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1151898&highlight=forehand

[Jorvaljr]

I inherited an F&W .32 revolver about a decade ago.

Here are some pics of mine and my original thread:

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1151898&highlight=forehand

That looks really cool. Different than my dads.


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