Wanted to share my new purchase, a well-used Swiss 1882 revolver in antique range 1300s. Got it for half of what a perfect condition one runs. It's got a pristine barrel surprisingly, the finish is gone with minor pitting and old traces of black paint on it. It works perfectly and the internals look like new! I love the workmanship of these old swiss firearms. Was wondering if anyone could tell me any more about it, especially the symbols in front of the cylinder on the left side.
I also want to make this into a revolver I could use regularly and since it has little collector value and Swiss 7.5mm is rare and I don't reload, anyone have an idea of a common caliber this would make a good conversion to?
Cheers
As I am not an expert, I will not comment on any potential 'collector value' but I think you can see from the responses to your post that there is a significant amount of 'collector sentiment' for your antique firearm.
I have one of these as well and they are truly a wonderful thing. I submit for your interest a picture of my own below:
That isn't a plum patina on the barrel. It is some sort of reflection. The barrel is as lovely a blue as the frame.
I am an advocate of property rights and I believe that it is an inherent right that individuals are allowed to own property. If you believe the first part then it only makes sense that an individual is permitted to do as they wish with their property. If it is your desire to convert your Swiss 1882 to 22lr or any other caliber then that is your prerogative. However responsibility is also an aspect of owning property and some responsibilities are different to some than others.
Some responsibilities related to ownership are defined by law. A dog my be your property but that doesn't give you license to abuse it. Other responsibilities regarding ownership are assumed by ourselves to a greater or lesser degree as we see fit. Betty may be diligent about cleaning her sks after shooting corrosive ammo and Bobby may not...
I think that anyone who has spent time collecting anything has an 'ah-ha!' moment where they realize that they are only the most recent owner of an object and if the object is truly unique and interesting then you probably have a responsibility to preserve the object at least as well as those that came before you. We are only here for a little while after all. There is a word for this behavior. It is to 'curate'. If you work in a museum you would be referred to as a curator.
In firearms like stamp collecting there are extremes of interpretation. If you really need to shoot your gun without reloading and are convinced that converting it to another caliber is the only solution...
Then I don't suppose it would help much if I detailed a story similar and told you of those regrets...
On another hand, all of the Swiss 1882 revolvers that I have found seem to be in exceptional condition. The fact that yours shows more wear, is unique from that point of view. Anything you can do to document it's history makes it more interesting...
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