Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question - The Firearms Forum

ssDOM · 06-25-2012, 03:18 PM

Hello,

I have learned a lot about Iver Johnson and their US Revolver Co. makes, but I still need to get a closer date range of when my US revolver co. top breaks were made. Hopefully they are made in the later run of the US Revolver Co. name so i can use modern cartridges. The two I have seem to have the same moving parts as the IJ model 2s which i hope these USs are not made of the model 2 leftovers like some of the earlier ones were made of. These have been checked out by my local gun smith who has been in the biz for 40 years and was deemed ok to shoot.

I have a .38 larger frame of the two and appears to be around a 3 in barrel.
SN 6833 no prefix

and

.32 smaller frame of the two with 3 in barrel.
SN 44127 no prefix

This is a picture of the .32

I don't plan to shoot these that much, just maybe five rounds when I go to the range which is once a month. These are heir looms and if SHTF I may use these as a last resort.

RJay · 06-26-2012, 07:31 PM

.32 S&W, SN 44127, no pre-fix, medium frame -1915, 10,000 made that year
.38 S&W SN 6833, no pre-fix, large frame - 1911, 10,000 made that year.
Iver Johnson went to a stronger smokeless frame in 1909 so I believe both revolvers are safe to shoot. Where they made from new parts or leftover parts, sorry don't have the foggiest. Sorry about that.

ssDOM · 07-01-2012, 02:29 AM

thank you for the information Rjay! This is very helpful and considering more about buying modern rounds. i will look more into the whole left over parts bit.

fuzebox40 · 07-01-2012, 10:59 AM

You wont be able to ascertain as to whether a part was made during assembly of the weapons or prior to that because they continued building the weapon in the same fashion. For example that flat mainspring on your US Revolver was discontinued on the I.J. brand in 1909 with the 3rd model. I have a set of these myself which I have fired on 2 or 3 occasions just to try them out breifly but I keep them as mainly just as part of my collection. The same goes for all my Iver Johnson weapons. Why wear it out if it isn't allready or risk having a part break that may be hard to find a replacement.
If you're prepared to shoot someone to defend your castle then these should not be your 1st or last resort unless they are all you have, IMO.

ssDOM · 07-03-2012, 01:10 AM

Fuzebox, good bit of info. Mostly just to shoot a few times at the range and if SHTF as in i do not have access to my main handgun, which i doubt i will ever have to use this in such a situation.

06-25-2012, 03:18 PM	#1
ssDOM Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: California Posts: 9	Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question Hello, I have learned a lot about Iver Johnson and their US Revolver Co. makes, but I still need to get a closer date range of when my US revolver co. top breaks were made. Hopefully they are made in the later run of the US Revolver Co. name so i can use modern cartridges. The two I have seem to have the same moving parts as the IJ model 2s which i hope these USs are not made of the model 2 leftovers like some of the earlier ones were made of. These have been checked out by my local gun smith who has been in the biz for 40 years and was deemed ok to shoot. I have a .38 larger frame of the two and appears to be around a 3 in barrel. SN 6833 no prefix and .32 smaller frame of the two with 3 in barrel. SN 44127 no prefix This is a picture of the .32 I don't plan to shoot these that much, just maybe five rounds when I go to the range which is once a month. These are heir looms and if SHTF I may use these as a last resort. -->

06-26-2012, 07:31 PM	#2
RJay Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arizona Posts: 3,487	Re: Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question .32 S&W, SN 44127, no pre-fix, medium frame -1915, 10,000 made that year .38 S&W SN 6833, no pre-fix, large frame - 1911, 10,000 made that year. Iver Johnson went to a stronger smokeless frame in 1909 so I believe both revolvers are safe to shoot. Where they made from new parts or leftover parts, sorry don't have the foggiest. Sorry about that. __________________ RonJames

07-01-2012, 02:29 AM	#3
ssDOM Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: California Posts: 9	Re: Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question thank you for the information Rjay! This is very helpful and considering more about buying modern rounds. i will look more into the whole left over parts bit. Last edited by ssDOM; 07-01-2012 at 02:30 AM..

07-01-2012, 10:59 AM	#4
fuzebox40 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Apple Valley, Ca. Contributor Posts: 1,485	Re: Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question You wont be able to ascertain as to whether a part was made during assembly of the weapons or prior to that because they continued building the weapon in the same fashion. For example that flat mainspring on your US Revolver was discontinued on the I.J. brand in 1909 with the 3rd model. I have a set of these myself which I have fired on 2 or 3 occasions just to try them out breifly but I keep them as mainly just as part of my collection. The same goes for all my Iver Johnson weapons. Why wear it out if it isn't allready or risk having a part break that may be hard to find a replacement. If you're prepared to shoot someone to defend your castle then these should not be your 1st or last resort unless they are all you have, IMO.

07-03-2012, 01:10 AM	#5
ssDOM Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: California Posts: 9	Re: Another Iver Johnson/US revolver question Fuzebox, good bit of info. Mostly just to shoot a few times at the range and if SHTF as in i do not have access to my main handgun, which i doubt i will ever have to use this in such a situation.