Hey there /k/, I'm a french lad, so in terms of weapons I ain't exactly on par with basically all of ya'll either in knowledge or availability, I don't have a license, and I've got an old buckshot (?) (live ammo containing a bunch of tiny lead balls) revolver that my grandpa bought in the 50's.
It's illegal to own one nowadays so I cannot bring it to an armory, they'd likely confiscate it, but I wanna keep it, it's a quality replica so it is hefty and has a good intimidation factor, plus it might not even fire bullets but the buckshot should be enough to defend myself with if needed, but first and foremost I wanna unload it, it is full of ammo.
The only bad part is that this iron is old and a bit locked up, I think I identified the cylinder release but I cannot get it to operate, I can move it backwards but that's about it, it doesn't engage in any position, I cannot even fire the gun itself, I have very good grip strength but I cannot pull the trigger nor the hammer back, the cylinder is lined with the barrel, tried oiling whatever I could get access to, didn't try WD40 yet
Thus I've got questions :
- How could I get it to open ?
- When it is, how should I proceed to restore it to working conditions ?
Cheers lads.
>old buckshot gun
I'm not sure what you mean by that. Is it perhaps a 9mm flobert?
>I think I identified the cylinder release
Take a picture of the other side, the cylinder release is not visible in that pic.
If it's just jammed up I'd suggest removing the grips and soaking the mechanism with a thin penetrating oil like WD-40 from every angle you can access--around the hammer, up from inside once the grips are off, etc. I'm not sure what brands are available in France but I'd be looking for a penetrating oil like "Liquid Wrench". That's not my favorite brand but I figure it's the most well known. It's probably just gummed up with old oil from sitting, it doesn't look like it's rusted up.
yes sir it is in fact a flobert 9mm, italian made, didn't know what to call that kind of ammo, heard a friend of mine refer to it as ratshot tho but heh, I'm an absolute noob,
it is in fairly good condition, no rust, and another blank pistol my grandpa also had is in perfect condition, needs lubrication however I'd guess cuz every cartridge gets jammed upon firing.
Don't think we've got liquid wrench as is, but since we have a bunch of WD-40 related products there surely is an alternative. I'll try that out.
Well I wouldn't be too concerned about the cartridges, I've got a box full of them and they are advertised as being corrosion resistant, they were stored with the gun in a closed felt lined bag in a dry place. other blank cartridges still fire just fine.
I don't have a brass punch, but I have other non hard materials I could use for the same effect.
I don't really know where the cylinder latch would be located but imma try my best to figure it out.
alright thanks guys I'll try it out tomorrow
The cylinder latch is the ribbed rectangle on the frame, behind the cylinder. Most styles like that you would slide the latch "forward" (towards the muzzle) to release.
Well it cannot move forwards, it sits 2mm away from the plate at the back of the cylinder, i can move it backwards fairly smoothly but it doesn't do shit, tried tapping the cylinder but it wouldn't open, it did rotate a wee bit fairly easily, wasn't fully aligned with the barrel but now that it is it's firmly stuck.
I don't think this one can shoot the solid bullets, as the warning on the top sights read "do not use solid bullets or the gun is guaranteed to be destroyed".
I dunno how to get the grips off, they have some weird fricked up kinda rivet, will investigate.
>I don't think this one can shoot the solid bullets, as the warning on the top sights read "do not use solid bullets or the gun is guaranteed to be destroyed".
Damn, that sucks. I haven't come across that before. I wonder why that is, maybe the pistol has a choke?
Or the fact it's made of zinc.
That shouldn't matter, the BB/CB cap versions of 9mm flobert are no higher pressure than the shotshells.
Aren't there some weird barrel designs that taper towards the muzzle? I swear I heard about that in context to some weird euro guns before but idk in regards to what specifically
>Aren't there some weird barrel designs that taper towards the muzzle?
Those do exist, though I don't know if they apply to these guns or not, that's well outside of my expertise.
>The side plate and cylinder latch give it away.
Okay, I get the side plate now that I look at it. But what can you tell from the cylinder release? It looks like it could move in either direction.
>tried tapping the cylinder but it wouldn't open
Is the hammer partially "wienered" or stuck rearwards at all? It may be preventing the cylinder from opening out, you can take the grips off to get a better look at whats going on in there.
>heard a friend of mine refer to it as ratshot
9mm Flobert is the name of the cartridge. It was normally used for shooting small pests with shot (though smaller pellets than buckshot). There are also solid bullets for it as well.
WD-40 should work, take the grips off so they don't get dirty and soak the gun with the WD-40. I think it's just old oil that's gotten gummy and sticky over time. The WD-40 should get it moving again so you can safely unload it.
Cylinder latch is circled in the photo, but I can't tell if it is supposed to move forward like a S&W or rearward like a Colt.
Very cool bro. Hold onto it. You’re now better armed than 90% of your neighbors
It looks like a Smith and Wesson based design. Larry potterfield of midwayusa has a really good video on taking them apart and cleaning them that I'd recommend
I'm curious why you say that when the vent rib barrel screams Colt Python. what detail am I missing?
The side plate and cylinder latch give it away. Also usually any revolver manufacturer that copies DA lockwork is going to copy S&W lockwork because it's far superior to colt's. Korth and Manurhin are two higher end examples of S&W copies, usually the SAA and the cap and balls are the only colts that get copied.
If you want more proof, take the grips off and it'll reveal a screw in the sideplate that hides under the grip where the red mark is.
WD40 may compromise the cartridges. If they aren't corroded to the point where they are duds already. If you are going to use it, try to squirt a small amount under the cylinder latch. Let it sit, then tap at the cylinder release with a brass punch and small hammer. Not hard sharp hits, just short rapid tip taps. If you can work the latch free it might unstick and open the cylinder. If it's moving but the cylinder won't open yet you might have to do something similar to free it up. Hopefully the internals (trigger/hand/bolt/hammer/mainspring) aren't seized as well.
Start from the easiest and simplest problems and work from there. The less you have to do the less you risk damaging something.
Note, since the firearm appears to be loaded try a little WD-40 and see if it opens without having to tap it. Keep it pointed in a safe direction at all times. Don't tap at the hammer, since I don't know what kind of internal safety it has if any. Taking the grips off like
said is also a good way to get into some of the guts without doing anything crazy.
Get it working and go shoot some Ickmheds in the dick and throat with it.
>not using superior 10mm Qbert
Reporting you to the authorities of the Republic, Pierre. Ratshot is some mass destruction terrorist ammo and french suburbs will be safer with this gun taken from you. Allah akbar.
Interesting “gun” you got there Jacques. I highly doubt that it’s a 1950s manufacture though since overall it looks like an outward copy of the Colt Python, but with the side plate and lockwork of a S&W copy.
Here’s something to try. Take off the stocks. And take a pic of the mainspring. I’m interested if it’s a leaf or a coil.
To release the cylinder, try using a popsicle stick to depress the cylinder stop, (it’s a half-round metal protrusion that comes up out of the frame above the trigger and engages those little divots in the cylinder). With that depressed, try swinging open the crane.
Before you do this soak the frick out of the crane’s pivot point. Make sure the oil penetrates down into the pivot.
If it doesn’t come out, then go get some hydraulic brake fluid and soak the entire gun. Submerge the fricker, and over a day or two, take it out and try nudging the mechanisms, (NOT the hammer or the trigger, dummy!).
It looks like your forward side plate screw is buggered, so you’re going to have fu getting that fricker out.
Appears to be a Czechoslovakian-made gun which is still in production by a company called Alfa Steel.
https://www.alfaproj.cz/alfa-steel/9-mm-flobert/
What a bizarre little thing.
'sup everyone, tried taking it apart to inspect the insides, long story short, the piece of metal that links the trigger to the hammer (and also the cylinder release) was made of a very crappy and brittle metal, it had broken apart with time, while extracting it, the hammer (which was apparently slightly retracted due to the presence of a piece of metal in front of it) shot forward and actually fired one of the cartridges (they are rim fired), my ears are still ringing and I got a few tiny burns on my hand due to holding the cylinder, but overall no injury and no damage due to the lead bits in the ammo, that poor thing is now definitely inoperable and sadly still loaded, though the loaded cartridge is now spent so I'd say this is alright, I think imma bring it to the armory and ask for it to be destroyed or given to an actual enthusiast.
Thanks for your attention and have a blessed day
You can sell it at an armorer even if you don’t have the paperwork of the gun, just tell him you found it and it belonged to a dead relative.
.
Tu peux le vendre sans problème meme si ta pas de licence etc, ya littéralement le statut arme trouvé tkt pas.