I have a 38 special pistol that belonged to my dad. It's a 6 shot revolver approx. 60 years old. It has Great Western Arms Co. stamped on the barrel, it also has "38 Special" stamped on the barrel, and a serial number on the bottom. It has no other markings. Does anyone know how I can find out what model it is? It needs a new firing pin, other than that, it would be functional. My dad had it nickel plated, however, shooting .357 magnums in it blew the plating off around the cylinder. I would like to have the plating removed and have the original finish restored. Any idea what the cost would be?
Great Western?
- Thread starter grampi
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Cylinder steel not up to 357 charges. Prolly not even rated for +P rounds...
Just shoot 38spl if you want it to live. Any revolver smith can make a FP for it.
Just shoot 38spl if you want it to live. Any revolver smith can make a FP for it.
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Cylinder steel not up to 357 charges. Prolly not even rated for +P rounds...
Just shoot 38spl if you want it to live. Any revolver smith can make a FP for it.
How do you know without even knowing what it is? And what is FP?
Cylinder steel not up to 357 charges. Prolly not even rated for +P rounds...
Just shoot 38spl if you want it to live. Any revolver smith can make a FP for it.
How do you know without even knowing what it is? And what is FP?
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If the gun is actually chambered for .38 Special, it will not chamber the .135 longer .357 Magnum rounds. This is why the .357 was designed with longer cases, in order to prevent these type of errors. The plating most likely came off because it was not done properly. In contrast .38 Special cartridges can safely be fired in .357 Magnum revolvers. But a steady diet of them can create a ring inside the chambers that can, after time, make extraction of hot .357 Magnum cases difficult.
Well if you want it blued or even renickeled correctly, I would send it off to Fords. They have an awesome reputation for restoring gun finishes. While they are not the cheapest, they consistantly do work of a high quality.
http://fordsguns.com/
As far as a firing pin, sounds like they only made two gun models, the Colt Peacemaker copy and a derringer. The only difference was the chamberings, grips, and barrel lengths.
http://fordsguns.com/
As far as a firing pin, sounds like they only made two gun models, the Colt Peacemaker copy and a derringer. The only difference was the chamberings, grips, and barrel lengths.
Originally Posted By: grampi
And what is FP?
Firing Pin
And what is FP?
Firing Pin
Originally Posted By: billt460
If the gun is actually chambered for .38 Special, it will not chamber the .135 longer .357 Magnum rounds. This is why the .357 was designed with longer cases, in order to prevent these type of errors. The plating most likely came off because it was not done properly. In contrast .38 Special cartridges can safely be fired in .357 Magnum revolvers. But a steady diet of them can create a ring inside the chambers that can, after time, make extraction of hot .357 Magnum cases difficult.
If the .357 has a longer case, then this gun must be chambered for .357, otherwise I wouldn't be able to load them in the gun...my dad and I spent decades together shooting .357s in this gun...
If the gun is actually chambered for .38 Special, it will not chamber the .135 longer .357 Magnum rounds. This is why the .357 was designed with longer cases, in order to prevent these type of errors. The plating most likely came off because it was not done properly. In contrast .38 Special cartridges can safely be fired in .357 Magnum revolvers. But a steady diet of them can create a ring inside the chambers that can, after time, make extraction of hot .357 Magnum cases difficult.
If the .357 has a longer case, then this gun must be chambered for .357, otherwise I wouldn't be able to load them in the gun...my dad and I spent decades together shooting .357s in this gun...
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Well if you want it blued or even renickeled correctly, I would send it off to Fords. They have an awesome reputation for restoring gun finishes. While they are not the cheapest, they consistantly do work of a high quality.
http://fordsguns.com/
As far as a firing pin, sounds like they only made two gun models, the Colt Peacemaker copy and a derringer. The only difference was the chamberings, grips, and barrel lengths.
This one must be a Colt copy then because it certainly isn't a Derringer...
Well if you want it blued or even renickeled correctly, I would send it off to Fords. They have an awesome reputation for restoring gun finishes. While they are not the cheapest, they consistantly do work of a high quality.
http://fordsguns.com/
As far as a firing pin, sounds like they only made two gun models, the Colt Peacemaker copy and a derringer. The only difference was the chamberings, grips, and barrel lengths.
This one must be a Colt copy then because it certainly isn't a Derringer...
From what I found on the net, they started making them because there was a gap left when Colt discontinued the manufacture of the peacemaker/single action army. They went out of business a few years after Colt resumed production. I guess there were many used in the western films of the day.
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
From what I found on the net, they started making them because there was a gap left when Colt discontinued the manufacture of the peacemaker/single action army. They went out of business a few years after Colt resumed production. I guess there were many used in the western films of the day.
Makes me wonder if there are parts available for it, or if the parts are the same as those for the Colts...
From what I found on the net, they started making them because there was a gap left when Colt discontinued the manufacture of the peacemaker/single action army. They went out of business a few years after Colt resumed production. I guess there were many used in the western films of the day.
Makes me wonder if there are parts available for it, or if the parts are the same as those for the Colts...
Mine looks exactly like the one on the right...same hand grip and everything...note the last sentence in the description...I highly doubt my dad would've shot .357s in this gun if it weren't made for them...
https://greatwesternarmsco.com/calibers/38-special/
https://greatwesternarmsco.com/calibers/38-special/
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While you have to be careful about Wikipedia, they have some info on the company and their guns. You can always check the citations to see where they got the info and maybe get ahold of that book to verify. Apparently Colt SAA parts can be made to fit in many instances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Arms_Company#cite_note-Taffin2011-3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Arms_Company#cite_note-Taffin2011-3
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: billt460
If the gun is actually chambered for .38 Special, it will not chamber the .135 longer .357 Magnum rounds. This is why the .357 was designed with longer cases, in order to prevent these type of errors. The plating most likely came off because it was not done properly. In contrast .38 Special cartridges can safely be fired in .357 Magnum revolvers. But a steady diet of them can create a ring inside the chambers that can, after time, make extraction of hot .357 Magnum cases difficult.
If the .357 has a longer case, then this gun must be chambered for .357, otherwise I wouldn't be able to load them in the gun...my dad and I spent decades together shooting .357s in this gun...
Not necessarily. Some inexpensive revolvers had straight bored through cylinders that you can drop anything in. Shoot what is stamped on the barrel.
Originally Posted By: billt460
If the gun is actually chambered for .38 Special, it will not chamber the .135 longer .357 Magnum rounds. This is why the .357 was designed with longer cases, in order to prevent these type of errors. The plating most likely came off because it was not done properly. In contrast .38 Special cartridges can safely be fired in .357 Magnum revolvers. But a steady diet of them can create a ring inside the chambers that can, after time, make extraction of hot .357 Magnum cases difficult.
If the .357 has a longer case, then this gun must be chambered for .357, otherwise I wouldn't be able to load them in the gun...my dad and I spent decades together shooting .357s in this gun...
Not necessarily. Some inexpensive revolvers had straight bored through cylinders that you can drop anything in. Shoot what is stamped on the barrel.
If it's stamped for 38 I'd be leery of shooting 357's through it. Heck I'd be leery of shooting 38's now, if it's had many 357's.
I'd do your self a favor, and check the timing first.
-make sure it's unloaded (duh I know but bear with me)
-grab a flashlight, or find a bright light
-angle the gun so that the light goes in at the back of the cylinder
-pull the trigger and hold it all the way back (don't release it). Use your thumb for this, and if you want use your index finger to gently lower the hammer
-and look down the barrel, from the business end
-you should see the inside of the barrel and the inside of the charge chamber of the cylinder.
-check all six holes (pull the trigger six times)
-if any don't line up, with the cylinder charge hole perfectly inside the barrel, then it's out of time.
If it's out of time then I have to wonder if it's not just best left as a paperweight.
I'd do your self a favor, and check the timing first.
-make sure it's unloaded (duh I know but bear with me)
-grab a flashlight, or find a bright light
-angle the gun so that the light goes in at the back of the cylinder
-pull the trigger and hold it all the way back (don't release it). Use your thumb for this, and if you want use your index finger to gently lower the hammer
-and look down the barrel, from the business end
-you should see the inside of the barrel and the inside of the charge chamber of the cylinder.
-check all six holes (pull the trigger six times)
-if any don't line up, with the cylinder charge hole perfectly inside the barrel, then it's out of time.
If it's out of time then I have to wonder if it's not just best left as a paperweight.
I'm gonna need pics to be able to tell ya.
What is it with all you guys posting about these cool old guns and no PHOTOS!
What is it with all you guys posting about these cool old guns and no PHOTOS!
Makes little sense shooting .357 in this firearm.
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What is it with all you guys posting about these cool old guns and no PHOTOS!
This
Quote:
What is it with all you guys posting about these cool old guns and no PHOTOS!
This
I took the gun to the gunsmith today. He said if the chamber accepts .357, then it's ok to shoot them...he said the only difference is the length of the chamber, otherwise this gun is identical to one that has ".357" stamped on the barrel...he is going to tear the gun down and let me know if it can be made functional again...
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