32 Cal Revolver

[gallo]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

A friend of mine has this relic as decoration in his home bar. It caught my eye because it says made in Spain and on the barrel, it says USE US STANDARD AMMUNITION.

Markings:

Barrel RIGHT: USE US STANDARD AMMUNITION
Barrel TOP: MAS DE BENITO GUISASOLA EIGAR
BARREL LEFT: CAL 32
ABOVE TRIGGER GUARD RIGHT: MADE IN SPAIN
BUTT: BG 1018


Any help identifying this revolver is most welcome.

 

[mnrivrat]

Not much left of this spanish copy of the S&W hand ejector. If complete it would have a value of $200 or less , as is , it is just a conversation item.

It was chambered for the .32 S&W long cartridge .

 

[Jim Watson]

Sometimes all the identification you are going to get it right there in front of you.

The gun was made by Benito Guisasola in Eibar, Spain. Maybe somebody has a corporate outline, but I would not count on it. Benito probably started up in the 1920s and folded in the Depression.

Although it looks like a S&W, the action is a mish-mash of Colt and Smith designs.

Caliber .32 is probably .32 S&W Long, but might be .32-20.

Missing the hammer and other parts, value is nil.

 

[MMCSRET]

The 2 I have experience with were both 32-20, functioned ok but were a little fragile.

 

[Jim K]

I am surprised it even has a makers' name. Those Spanish revolvers were imported in the 1920's and 1930's and sold for around $2. They were often marked something like "Use Smith & Wesson Cartridges" with the "Smith & Wesson" in large letters so the buyer would think he was getting a gun made by that company.

The guns, almost without exception, are junk, cast from cheap "pot metal" (the same kind of cheap iron used for cooking pots). I have seen several blown up, including one that blew firing blanks as a starter pistol.

If it were mine, I would try to find a junk S&W hammer and a set of grips, put them on, then turn the gun around for a wall display.

Please don't even consider trying to "restore" it.

Jim

 

[gallo]

Thank you all for the advise, but as I said earlier, the gun is not mine. A friend who does contract work found it behind a wall of a house that had been repossessed.

You guys are right, the gun does not feel like it ever amounted to much quality wise, but it makes a nice decoration piece on the wall.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[TEDDY]

spanish gun

I have a 38 long spanish copy of S&W interior is colt styl.shoots fantastic with 38 spec target loads.I was amazed as most wont hit any thing. this one does.I have seen alot of 32/20s in the south around WW2.most had top strap cracked.they really were not made to shoot to many rounds.just to keep in case.

 

[ADRGaebel]

38 Cal Revolver

I have a 38 Cal revolver by Benito Guisasola that I got from my father-in-law. It was his grandfather's, who lived in Flagstaff, AZ, in the first half of the 20th century. The revolver looks clean and in good repair but clearly used, as the blueing is gone in a number of places. I don't think it has been fired in the last 50 years.