I found my first GUN!! Im on cloud 9 today.

[mattack84]

I found my first GUN!! I'm on cloud 9 today.

Hey fellow detectorists

So as many of you know I have been detecting for about a year and in that time I have found some really cool stuff. Last year I found gold, last month I found an uber rare 1918 Dort automobile radiator emblem and yesterday....I found this!

I was hunting central Missouri doing some detecting/mushroom hunting. I was having a really bad day with no good finds at all and frankly I was wondering If I would find anything worth a second look or not "including mushrooms". I was 5 hours into the hunt and making my way back to my car when the Minelab 705 went coo coo on a target. The readout was 30-35-40- -2 - -4 back and forth. This made me wonder what the heck I had hit because it was all over the spectrum. I pulled the plug and like opening a Christmas present at only 4 inches deep I see the handle of a gun. My wife was nearby so I had her start taking pictures as I unearthed a late 1800's break top pistol. It appears to be a schofield in 32 caliber. I am a gun lover like any but I have almost no knowledge of that era pistol. My buddy believes it may be a "pony express" pistol?

What do you guys think it is?

 

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[kingskid1611]

What a wonderful find. I want to find a gun someday that way. Way Cool!

 

[Mud Hut]

Cool .. What are the grips made out of?

 

[mattack84]

Looks like plastic

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Nice find! I can't tell you anything about it from the pics so far, once you get it cleaned up take a couple close pics from each side and maybe we'll be able to get you at least a close id. As far as being a Schofield the originals were only made in .45 Schofield which is a longer cartridge than the .45 Colt. The Pony Express connection is also pretty unlikely.

Those old top break revolvers were made by a whole lot of different makers, so it's hard telling what it is at this point, my first guess offhand though would be H&R, they're the most common. Good pics of it cleaned will help

 

[mattack84]

I miss quoted. He thinks it was a "wells fargo" schofield. Which was made for bankers and the pony express. I'll get better pictures as I get it cleaned up. It's soaking in water today as I break away the dirt and mud slowly because the grips may be wood.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Yeah, all the First Model Schofield pistols were in .45 S&W, The Wells Fargo guns have a 5 inch barrel while the standard First Model has a 7" that's the only real difference between them. Also they weren't actually made for the company, they were actually bought from a dealer in New York who got them as government surplus. The Pony Express ran for around a year and a half starting in 1860, and the First Model Schofield wasn't introduced until around 10 years later as I remember. Yours being around a .32 means it couldn't be a true Schofield. It could still be a later Smith and Wesson though. When you are able to get cleaned up pics get them as clear as you possibly can, it may seem odd, but the difference between one pistol and another can come down to something as subtle as the location of a pin or a screw.

Either way, still a really great find.

 

[chiefdanaho]

great find!! Those iron signals are always in the back of my head, could it be a strong box ? , GUN ? ETC.. im looking forward to seeing it cleaned up...

dan

 

[mattack84]

The clean up process is going to be slow because I'm concerned with preserving the grips. I'll probably have it ready to get a better look at in the next few days.