Iver johnson arms & cycle works pistol

[jmacd]

Anyone ever seen one of these?
Was my grandfather's.
.38 S&W
Looks like tenite plastic grips.
Schofield style break top.

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[jmacd]

Looks like there are a few posts like this already. Sorry about that. I find this pistol interesting because it doesn't have any caliber markings on it anywhere that I can clearly see.

 

[Chris Siler]

Simple brass caliber gauges are available. They look like long triangles with marks and corrosponding calibers numbers on both sides. One side has Calibers and the other Milimeters. Gauges are also added. Simply stick it in the muzzle and see where it stops.

 

[po18guy]

As to caliber, a .38 Special probably will not chamber. .38 S&W is an older, lower powered but still useful cartridge, using a larger diameter case and bullet than .38 Sspecial. It is somewhat hard to find these days.

 

[edzz]

As to caliber, a .38 Special probably will not chamber. .38 S&W is an older, lower powered but still useful cartridge, using a larger diameter case and bullet than .38 Sspecial. It is somewhat hard to find these days.

Unfortunately flush set .38 special wadcutters will likely fit. Not a good idea to use however as as po18guy mentioned this gun WAS NOT built to handle the pressure of .38 special. Over the years I have encountered more than one of these being carried with the wrong cartridge.

The .38 S&W was originally a black powder cartridge. Many of these revolvers did not age well due to the use of the early corrosive powder and primers used in the original loading and poor maintenance.

Nice piece of family history and should be a pleasant occasional shooter. Thanks to the cowboy shooting crowed you can find ammo for these more easily than in the recent past. Your revolver looks to be in better than average condition.