M83 Erfurt Reichsrevolver - 26.R.A.1.28

[OzzMan]

Picked up this Erfurt made Reichsrevolver 1883 off of Dave Rachwal at the SoS. It was made in 1893 and bears the Prussian Eagle on the barrel. I have to say this thing is absolutely stunning. Most of the time I see Reichsrevolvers with no finish, or they have been refinished. It’s almost a mirror. Some of the markings were hard to get pictures of haha. This example is all matching and is unit marked to the Württembergisches Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment No. 26. Only downside is the lanyard ring is gone. One thing I found rather numerous was the “1-6” markings on each individual chamber. It seemed overkill with stampings, but that’s what they did at that time.

The bore on this one is very shiny with good rifling. The action locks up tight as a drum too! I’ve bought some BP and primers as well as ordered the other components I need to load some ammo up for it. I’m also working on making a somewhat to spec “ejector rod”. Can’t wait to take this to the range!

 

[Philip]

The original heat blue is difficult to find. It’s beautiful but fragile as you can see. It seems that the 1883 models (the 79s were browned) were routinely sent in to the arsenals and rust blued which was also a very nice and more durable finish. I’m guessing most of these were sent in after 10-20 years of service. It’s very difficult to find outstanding examples with even the rust blue much less the heat blue.

 

[OzzMan]

The original heat blue is difficult to find. It’s beautiful but fragile as you can see. It seems that the 1883 models (the 79s were browned) were routinely sent in to the arsenals and rust blued which was also a very nice and more durable finish. I’m guessing most of these were sent in after 10-20 years of service. It’s very difficult to find outstanding examples with even the rust blue much less the heat blue.

There is a good amount of wear on the grip, trigger guard area, and cylinder. Everywhere else that was blued has some scratches but is mostly overall nice. I’d like to learn more about these. Might have to pick up a copy of the book in German and translate it as I go.

 

[chrisftk]

Glad to see another RR on here! These could have a significantly high level of finish, particularly the offizier modell (the ones with checked grips) Personally, I'm a big fan of the high polish blue you'll see on Erfurts. The only bummer is how easily the finish was scratched.

I've got a lot of these and they run the range of stunners to salty dogs. All four kingdoms accepted 79s and 83s and commercial ones are also out there. Some of the commercial guns have really neat options, such as double action and even cartridge ejectors.

If you have genuine interest in these Heinrich Harder's book is wonderful. The good news is that if you don't speak German, he does have chapter summaries in English at the end of each chapter. The captions are also in both German and English for the entire chapter.. I don't think it's out of print yet so you should have no problem finding it.

 

[OzzMan]

Glad to see another RR on here! These could have a significantly high level of finish, particularly the offizier modell (the ones with checked grips) Personally, I'm a big fan of the high polish blue you'll see on Erfurts. The only bummer is how easily the finish was scratched.

I've got a lot of these and they run the range of stunners to salty dogs. All four kingdoms accepted 79s and 83s and commercial ones are also out there. Some of the commercial guns have really neat options, such as double action and even cartridge ejectors.

If you have genuine interest in these Heinrich Harder's book is wonderful. The good news is that if you don't speak German, he does have chapter summaries in English at the end of each chapter. The captions are also in both German and English for the entire chapter.. I don't think it's out of print yet so you should have no problem finding it.

When I saw it, I was hoping it was a Dreyse, Suhl made, or Oberndorf. I know those are far more rare than an Erfurt but I couldn’t pass up on such a nice one.

Yep! His book is still in print and on Amazon, so I will probably pick a copy up. I forgot about it being partially in English.

 

[Warrior1354]

Really cool pistol Connor! It goes well with your other SOS show purchases. Like all those Gewehrs lol! Glad your first SOS show was a good one for you buddy.

 

[OzzMan]

Really cool pistol Connor! It goes well with your other SOS show purchases. Like all those Gewehrs lol! Glad your first SOS show was a good one for you buddy.

I hope the SOS stays that way for me. Best gun show haul I’ve ever had lol! Gonna take a while to work through then with my schedule. Once I get some rounds loaded up, with a buddy’s help, we will take it to the range