ID this revolver

[ArgentineSteel]

Hey guys, I'm looking for clues to the identity of the revolver pictured below.

It's been refinished, and the barrel shortened up to make a snubby out of it and the process has removed most of the identifying marks.

Hammerless, top break frame. Unsure of the cartridge, maybe 38 S&W 38 special is too long. It has a trigger safety as well.

Distinctive look. Anyone have an idea of Model and maker?

Read More

 

[JAFO]

After a little googlin' I'm thinking Iver Johson's Safety Automatic Hammerless Second Model.

One for sale:

 

[Natty Bumpo]

Yes, it is an Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless, second series, with the safety lever on the trigger, produced around turn of century. Double action, top break. They came in .22, .32 S&W, .32 S&W long and .38 S&W in several barrel lengths. If it is six shot, it is the .32 long.

I don't recall much about the safety lever and how it worked.

My father carried one for years. He had a S&W Chief's Special and a Colt Banker's Special but always preferred the .32 IJ for some reason. First handgun I ever fired. My dufus brother in law sold it after my father died and before I could get to it. I would have offered him ten times the money for the $40 he sold it for. In-laws.....

They don't fetch much, usually around $100-150 or so in average shape. They weren't real high quality guns, but they weren't bad either. There was a member here that had one for sale last summer as I recall. And there is a dealer that seems to always have them for sale on Guns of America.

 

[ArgentineSteel]

Thanks for the help. I have been trying to identify it for a friend. Sadly it's currently not shootable. I think some dufus used it with some modern 38 S&W. This gun was made for black powder loads. Still it's a little piece of history in steel.