[shoodaddy]

Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

Anyone know what I just purchased ??? It's a rather small double action revolver in .32 long caliber. Barrel is marked on top " The King At Arms". Frame is stamped with
JLC Trademark. Looks fairly old, maybe 60 years or more. Sorry I don't have any pictures. Can anyone at least point me in the right direction ? Gun seems to function properly and locks up just fine. I'd just like to know what it is before I decide to shoot it. Thanks, shoodaddy

 

[icdux1]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

from 1890- 1930`s there was a large # of smith and colt foreign copies imported from different countries.some spanish copies are near identical in appearence. the key to spotting them is the lack of a makers mark or a name that sounds simular to a u.s. maker or sometimes a govt agency i.e. : sam holt, secret service spl. ect. some were just marked with .32 colt or .38 s&W to confuse the buyer. i assure if the gun was made by even a lowly maker like iver johnson or h&R ect. it would me marked as such.they copied popular u.s. guns of the period. value and quality and even safety varied but none were very good and metalurgy is questionable at best.i have heard some of the large size guns in .44 or .38 will chamber the current magnum cartridges with serious results.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

Does it have any proofmarks? That would help identify where it was made.

 

[icdux1]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

here is a scan of some colt/ s&W copies from the encyclopedia of handguns.

 

[shoodaddy]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

Thanks for the replies guys.icdux1,looks very similar to 573 and 577 in your scan, at least the cylinder does. Doesn't have the usual acorn looking notches, just the slit like those ones do. I think I'll go back to the store early next week and get some photos so we have something better to reference. It could very well be a Colt copy as you guys stated, will hopefully know more next week. Thanks to all for the quick responses, shoodaddy P.S. Where would I look for proofmarks ???

 

[guy sajer]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

Proof marks can usually be found on the exterior of the cylinder and towards the rear of the barrel near the frame .

 

[shoodaddy]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

Here's some photos, now I'm thinking maybe S&W copy.Shoodaddy

 

[icdux1]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms\" ??

randy, yes i agree s&w copy. did you notice there appears to be no sideplate?? i will stick with my original guess of spanish make.

 

[A1A]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms

Off the wall stab - Could the Trade Mark be JLG vs JLC? J. L. Galef & Son US/It importers? Doesn't show they were marked this way. http://www.earmi.it/armi/database/brand_i.htm

 

[icdux1]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms

the ch mark on the stocks are crucelegui hermanos located in eibar spain.try a web search on that name.dont know about the jlg. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[shoodaddy]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms

Thanks to all, you guys are the best. I'll hopefully get this figured out eventually. I'm thinking of rebluing this gun if it doesn't have alot of value since I've only got $50 into it. Thanks again, shoodaddy

 

[shoodaddy]

Re: Bought a .32 revolver marked \"The King At Arms

Hi everyone, Since this S&W copy seems to function properly, does anyone think it's okay to shoot it a few times ? How about recommendations for ammo ? I'm not familiar with the .32 Long cartridge so any help would be appreciated. If it shoots the Longs, can it also accept .32 Shorts ? I just want to run some rounds through it and then I think I'll disassemble it for rebluing. I am a machinery repairman and also a machinist so hopefully I can get it back together. Is there anything I should be careful with or any pitfalls I'm ignorant to ? Any publications you guys can suggest to help me along ? And yes, I know rebluing will kill any value but I don't figure there's much in terms of value here anyway. Thanks in advance, shoodaddy