Found on a hike.
Looks a lot like a Civil War era Colt.
Colt or Colt copy here is a link:
Zuer-coli
It’s a Civil War era Colt cap and ball pistol. I can’t tell if it’s a Colt Army or a Colt Navy, but they are both pretty similar.
They made a frew hundred thousand of them in the 1860s so they aren’t exactly rare.
They fired a cap and ball instead of a modern cartridge. You load powder and a ball separately into the cylinder (the thing under the barrel is a ramrod - it may be rusted in place on that one), then put a percussion cap on the back of the cylinder, then repeat for the other 5 chambers.
What they said.
Carefully brush of what crud you can and see if you can find some serial numbers or the like. That will help.
e_c_g - It isn’t the Navy. That model has a differently shaped pivot-post in front of the cylinder. I’m thinking more Model 1860.
Did you find it in a clearing at the end of a path?
You should look for a expert on civil war guns and have it appraised, before you do anything to it. Great find, though!
The ‘Navy’ caliber was .36, and the ‘Army’ caliber was .44, hence the names of the revolvers. The Navy had an octagonal barrel, and the newer Army revolver had a round barrel that was smoothly curved at the breech.
I’d let the expert risk screwing it up. He’ll know where to look for a serial number and how much brushing will not harm any possible value.
Just looking at the pictures I can tell you the appraisal will be in the neighborhood of $50. That gun is missing parts, all of its bluing and is likely rusted out to the point of unusability. Collectors won’t want it and it isn’t good for parts. Neat find, but the chances of it being worth more than a couple of tanks of gas are minimal.
A good brushing with a soft-bristle brush will likely reveal some useful info.
Fifty bucks? Might be worth more. But I agree it will probably be nothing more than a curiosity or ‘rusty gun’ display. Lots of pitting, and the barrel is probably roached. You can clean it up, but the pitting is bad.
FWIW, there’s a four-screw model in much better condition for a current bid of $560. And you can get a new Uberti replica from Midway for $290. Personally, I love Ubertis. I have a bunch of them, though no 1860 Army. I also have a Colt 2nd Generation 1851 Navy, and some Colt 3rd Generation (‘Signature’) revolvers. I’ve never fired any of the Colts, but I’ve fired two of the Uberti Navies. When I get around to it, I want to sell them – and most of my other firearms.
Thanks all. I’m not really looking or hoping for money - just curious what it was. It looks like it’s rusted past functioning. I’ll see if I can locate a serial #.
Serial numbers will be on the bottom. There should be one on the (brass) trigger guard/grip, one on the frame, and one on the barrel.
You should be able to clean it up so that everything ‘works’. Just don’t try to fire it.
it might not even be that old; Uberti makes replicas to this day.
Your direct link is to ‘1851 Navy’ replica. The one in OP picture is 1860 Army type as other posts noted. Uberti does make Army 1860 replica’s too but the ones I’ve seen (including the one I have) have four screws in the frame rather than three as in OP picture. ‘Real’ ones existed in both 3 and 4 screw variants. Maybe Uberti or somebody else made a replica 3 screw at one time though, I don’t know enough to rule that out.