Info on 2 belgian revolvers?

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.

 

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

 

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!