[Oyeboten]

Hi PsTaN,


Your Revolver is a Colt 'New Service'.

And is a Commercial ( not Military ) Model/version.

The Colt 'Army Special' was a smaller Frame Size ( sometimes called the "41 Frame" since it came in .41 Colt and smaller diameter Cartridges, and, did not have room for being chambered in the .45 Colt Cartridge.

Your Revolver does appear to have been re-Blued, just as you had mentioned having been told.

Right side of the Barrel would have originally been stamped "New Service 45" - and the Top of the Barrel would have originally had a fair amount of small Text Stamped in it also, being the Patent Dates and the Colt Mfg. related mentions.

These may have been buffed away in prepping for the re-Blue.

The "C586" Stamping would not have been something the Revolver had originally, but is something someone added somewhere along the line.


If the Timing and Lock-up are good, and the Bore is clear and has Rifling in it, this should be a fun one to go plinking with, definitely.


The Pearl Stocks are fairly valuable, and sought after by people who like them. Pretty nice it has them!

 

[Oyeboten]

Welcome to the forum. Would it be possible to see clear, close-up pictures of the markings on the left side, including the caliber marking on the barrel? This gun might be a refurbished NS, with caliber changed from .455 Eley to .45 Colt, and with British proofs from British service in WWI. Or maybe not. Anyway, if you can post photos, perhaps we can infer more.

Buck

Good point Buck!


It may indeed have began Life as a .455...


Maybe some images looking into the Cylinder Chambers too, would be good. ( In case Side-Barrel Text was buffed away ).

 

[Oyeboten]

Bunches o' British small Stampings...

The side Barrel Stamp ( what's left of it ) may be a re-Stamp.

Should have read "New Service 45"

Re-Stamps or modifying a Stamp which had originally read "New Service 455", tended to be done when what had been an original .455 Chambering was later modified to oblige .45 Colt, which is a longer Cartridge.

Some originally .455 New Services were modified to accept .45 ACP and Moon Clips, also. This one does not appear to have been modified in that way though.

I can not tell by looking at the image of the Cylinder, whether this was originally a .455 Revolver, or, a .45 Colt Revolver...but, probably, or if I had to guess, I would guess it began Life as the former ( .455)...and, the side of the Barrel was re-Stamped somewhere along the way. ( Characters are not all on the same base-line, either .)

Britain did also bring in some .45 Colt New Services, but, by far the New Services they obtained, were ordered in .455 Eley.

 

[Oyeboten]

If you can Load your Own, you would do well to use .454 or .455 Bullets ( Modern Factory .45 Colt tends to be .452 and is too small for the Cylinder Bores and a little too small for the Barrel).

My 'Avitar' shows some .45 Colt Cartridges, loaded with .454 - 230 Grain full flat front Wadcutters, with the Cartridges set into full Moon Clips.

This arrangement fits my Colt New Service Snubby ( long ago cut down from an early m1917 with the 'straight through' Cylinder Chambers ), and, one of my S & W 2nd Mdl Hand Ejectors, which had been 'shaved' and modified for accepting .45 ACP or .45 Colt.