Hi all, I'm a newbie on here sorry if this post is in the wrong place. I recently got these from my dad my grandfather brought these back from wwII after the battle of the bulge he passed several years ago and I would like to know if any one could give me info on them. I know the largest on is a Gasser I fired it with my dad 30 years ago it shoots great its 38cal. or 9mm . The other one I would be scared to fire without taking it and getting it checked out its a 32or 7mm cal pocket pistol of some sort. both in the mid to late 1800s. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks,
The first one looks like a Gasser Kropotcheck(sp?) 9mm officer's revolver. It's a cut above the Belgian copies because it's an original Gasser made in Vienna, Austria. The second revolver is a rather common Belgian pocket revolver. It could have been made in the early 20th century. Some of these Belgian revolvers are chambered for .320 which we call .32 Short Colt. Others are chambered for .32 S&W and a few were made to fire .32 ACP. It looks like your revolver has a broken trigger return spring and it might have other problems as well. Get it checked out before trying to shoot it. See if this revolver has any proof marks on the breach end of the cylinder. Depending upon the type of Liege proof mark it may be possible to narrow down the date of production.
Thanks very much 45Auto for the info. Yes the spring is broken on the pocket revolver and It has way more play in the cylinder than I think could be safe to fire However other revolver shot well 30 years ago before it was put away wondered how rare the officers revolver is .
The Gasser revolver may have been made in Belgium as well. Gasser was unable to keep up with orders and had revolvers made in Liege but marked with his Vienna (Wien) address. The only way to tell is to look at the proof marks (an oval with E L G indicates Belgian manufacture). Jim
Here are the proof marks on the pocket pistol. One on the underside of ( barrel #2) others on the cylinder sorry not a very good camera.
Jim where would those proof marks be located at. Sorry this is all kinda new to me. Thanks for the info. Michael
The cylinder shown in #5 has the crowned oval and E L G, so it is Belgian. If the other gun was made in Belgium, it should also have the same mark on the rear of the cylinder. Jim
Hey CTR1, I'm late to the discussion - I just joined this forum. But the first gun is definitely an Austrian 9mm Gasser-Kropatscheck Infantry Officer's revolver. Thse guns were private purchase for officers in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1873 until the adoption of the 8mm Rast-Gasser in 1898. The 9mm Gasser cartridge is virtually identical to .38 Long Colt, BUT this was a black powder gun - so do not shoot smokeless powder ammo in it, the gun will come apart. Buffalo Arms sells .38 Long Colt cowboy action ammo loaded with black powder and .359 bullets. Your gun should shoot that ammo just fine, but I'd slug the bore first to make sure. Cheers!
