Hood F.A Company

 

Reloading Tools: Muzzleloaders & Metallic Cartridge Arms

 

The olden days: Folks & their firearms

 

A new addition to my Antique firearms collection...from the "Hood Firearms Co."

 

A fully functional Hood Firearms Company, "Robin Hood No.4" .38 caliber Rimfire Revolver popped up on Gunpost for $525 CDN, and it will only require some exterior cosmetic Restoration before it will be ready to test fire. 

I have ten reloadable brass cases in .38 R.F that work just like the .32 R.F brass that I already have to use with my S&W No.1½, Colt New-Line 32 & Remington "Smoot's-Patent" New Model #2.

The Robin Hood pocket revolver looks very similar to the high quality Colt New-Line Revolvers. It doesn't appear that the inner lock work was copied from the Colt. 

Freeman W. Hood designed and held US Patents for the lock work, which may very well be a much better design than William Mason's lock work within the Colt New-Line model revolvers. 

The Robin Hood No.4 arrived yesterday!!! Here are the first pics I took of it and alongside a Colt Newline 32 to show the difference in frame size between 32 cal & 38 cal single action revolvers...

"CAL.38" is stamped into the lower frame, under a dusty layer of corrosion, which will hopefully be removed with help of a little "Flitz" gun polish...

...I will attempt to salvage all the nickel plate finish, and remove the surface damage with brass and nylon brushes, Emery cloth of various grit levels, the Flitz micro fibre cloth and then the Flitz gun polish .

Initial disassembly reveals an interesting thing. The beach end of the cylinder chambers have a step, or counter-sunk hole to support the cartridge rim. This is a very early  revolver to have stepped chambers, which will make this revolver a little bit safer to shoot than if the cylinder chambers were not bored out with the counter-sunk step for the cartridge rim!

The counter-sunk step is possibly an upgrade that a past owner of this revolver performed or hired a gunsmith to do.

"Rod & Gun...in Canada" and more...

 

S&W model 1½ "tip up" revolver and St.John, New Brunswick City Police

Recently, while browsing through an auction site, and  I was pleased to come across a nickel plated S&W #1½ New model that was made between 1868-75,  which, at some time in the past, was a service pistol with the St.John NB Canada City Police Dept.

 this is my lovely factory blued .32 caliber rim fire S&W #1½ New model revolver! 

I think the first S&W rimfire revolvers were quite an elegant mechanical design, and it's too bad they didn't produce a .38RF "tip-up" model, like J.M Marlin did with their "Standard" series of tip-up revolvers.

The cartridges aren't original collectable & really expensive examples, they are like the widely available machined brass cases with off-center primer pockets that use 6mm rimfire starter pistol blanks, and filled with black powder, however, for the photo, the cases are empty and  I have seated a .32 caliber or .315" lead round ball.

Firearm related Advertising & photographs

 

Sig Sauer P-250ASP CO2 pellet pistol

 Sig Sauer released their first Air pistols in the company's "ASP" or "Action Sport Pellet" Division around 7 or 8 years ago.

Unfortunately, the manufacturers velocity was stated to be 500 fps for the P250 ASP, and 510 fps for the P226 ASP pistol. The legal power rating for unregulated firearms in Canada is "up to 495 fps", and so, the Sig Sauer ASP air pistols were prohibited entry to the Canadian marketplace.

Luckily the vastly inflated muzzle velocity ratings were eventually corrected, and the 435 fps Sig Sauer air pistols were finally available in Canada around two years later.

By that time, the P250 ASP model was no longer available and was replaced by a P320 CO2 pistol.

I purchased my two tone P250 ASP CO2 pistol on Amazon dot com from a 3rd party seller in Louisiana and even though retailers couldn't import these air pistols, I recieved mine without a hassle with Customs.

Of course, I hoped the new Sig air pistols really were as powerful as originally stated, but I was realistically doubtful and my chronograph results were over 100 fps lower than Sig had stated.

The velocity was no big deal though, and once I shot the pistol it was clear that this was a very accurate pellet pistol for 10 meter range.

This was a really nice air pistol and the realistic action includes a  reciprocating slide took care of cocking the hammer for the following shot, which also replicates enough felt recoil to make for an exciting shooting experience.

Sig Sauer created the  "Sig Air" division of the company after the P250 ASP was discontinued, and they have consistently released new air pistol and air rifle models ever since.

Otis A. Smith Pistol Manufacturer, circa 1880

Interesting photograph of the Factory Employees outside the  O.A.Smith Factory.

 

Here is one example of a O.A.Smith Patented .32 caliber rim-fire spur trigger pocket revolver.