unknown .22 revolver

[ikadesh]

I have this old hinge-break .22 revolver. It is a 6-shot single/double action. On one side it has markings "Galand Paris" and a serial number 17423. The other side has either a letter H or K under a 5-pointed star (small stamp)

No other markings, I am hoping the pictures do the talking on this one. Any info on this gun is more than appreciated!

Thanks!!

-K

[Light Coat]

Charles F. Galand, Paris designer. Firearms produced exclusively in Liege.

The pistol is some form of the model 1868 Galand. Russia bought the larger calbre pistols until the production of the Nagant pistol.

[BIGBOOMER]

Welcome aboard, ikadesh. Your revolver was made by C.F. Galand of Liege, Belgium, based on a joint patent 3039/1868 submitted with A. Sommerville of Birmingham, which covered the extraction system, and Galand's patent 2308/1872, which covered improvements whereby the revolver could be disassembled without tools. Most Galands were of .450 or 12mm caliber, but they also made one in 7mm, which is much more rare. Are you sure yours is .22 cal. and not 7mm?
Best regards, BIGBOOMER

[ikadesh]

Thanks for the info. Yes, it is a .22 cal. It works flawlessly and fires .22 rimfire cartridges.

Do you know what year this gun may be from, and any place that I can get more info on this firearm? And any idea of value? It is in good / very good condition, works flawlessly, nothing missing.

thanks again.

-K

[BIGBOOMER]

You have a real treasure there, a Galand that you can actually shoot. Most of them are chambered for long obsolete cartridges. I cannot find any references of them being made in .22 cal., so I expect that it is quite rare. Galand died in 1900, but his son kept the company going until WWI. Galand made some other designs after this one, mostly small 5-shot revolvers, the later of which had a swing-out cylinder. This would have been in the 1890s on that one. Near as I can tell, the original design like yours was made up thru the 1880s, but I haven't been able to find any hard data as to when it ceased production. I would guess yours was made in the mid 1870s.
Sources I have indicate a value of $500 for VG, and $275 for good. From the pictures, yours looks to be VG, plus I would expect it would be worth a substantial premium for being in .22 rf cal. If I were you, I'd hang onto that little gem!
Best regards, BIGBOOMER

[wonderwhippet]

According to my research sources, the smallest caliber Galand pistols were ever made in was 12 millimeter. Since you say that yours chambers and shoots .22 rimfire ammo, it is my belief that your barrel and cylinder have been sleeved down to .22 caliber. Look very closely and see if you can determine if sleeves have been inserted into the barrel and chambers.

[Light Coat]

The first two models were in 11mm and 12mm. Later models in 7mm and .32 cal. were also produced. I also lack the listing of a .22. I would check to see if there are signs of having been sleaved; if they are not present then the guys that write the reference books have not seen a .22. There have been so many different firearms produced that it would take an entire house full of books to reference every variation and every prototype ever made.

[ikadesh]

Thanks for all the posts to this one so far, it's been miles of help. However, in relation to the last 2 posts, it's definitely all original. No sleeves, no modifications evident. The components are definitely too small to fire anything other than .22 rf, as the cylinder is perfect length, the pin is designed for rf cartridges, and the barrel is original. Also the extraction ring that Galand patented is machined perfectly for .22. I haven't been able to find anything on .22 Galand pistols, so if anyone knows of any books or resources that could help me out, send them my way please!

-k

[Amy Evans]

Greetings to all here :)

I was wondering ... did the Galand Co. also make Nicle-Plated versions of this type of Revolver?

And if they did ... where does this "Brevete" come from?

My Great Grandmother left me a CF Galand INVE BREVETE #058 Revolver

The bullits are not quite .38 cal

AmyCharles F. Galand, Paris designer. Firearms produced exclusively in Liege.

The pistol is some form of the model 1868 Galand. Russia bought the larger calbre pistols until the production of the Nagant pistol.

[Amy Evans]

And there is also amarking on the left hand side of the Cylinder ... a circle with "ELG" stamped on it

AmyGreetings to all here :)

I was wondering ... did the Galand Co. also make Nicle-Plated versions of this type of Revolver?

And if they did ... where does this "Brevete" come from?

My Great Grandmother left me a CF Galand INVE BREVETE #058 Revolver

The bullits are not quite .38 cal

Amy

[hrf]

Brevete just means patent. If there is no crown on top of the ELG in oval proofmark, it was made before 1893.

(Also, note that the original post you attached to is five years old)

Here's a French website with pics of a nickel plated example:

http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20g/a%20galand%20gb.htm

[Amy Evans]

Thank you HRF

There is not a Crown above the ELG, and unlike the other CF Galand Revolvers I have see in images on the internet ... Paris is nowhere one the gun?

Amy

[hrf]

Thank you HRF
There is not a Crown above the ELG, and unlike the other CF Galand Revolvers I have see in images on the internet ... Paris is nowhere one the gun?
Amy

The fact that it's marked "Galand Patent" may mean it was made by someone licensed by Galand.

[Amy Evans]

Thank you

Do you know where I can find out more information on my revolver?

Amy

[hrf]

Thank you

Do you know where I can find out more information on my revolver?

Amy

Belgium had a large gunmaking "cottage industry" and thousands of guns were exported with only the Liege proofmarks to identify origin. You might try sending photos to webmaster of the "littlegun" site:
http://www.littlegun.be/mise%20a%20jour%20et%20groupe%20de%20recherche/1%20fiche%20mail.htm