Recent Pistol find... Please help!

[Superdup]

Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

I don't know what kind of gun, nor date range, but I just want to say : Congratz ! Love finding those. They conjur up images of the wild wild west, and look so cool in a shadow box.

There's no shortage of vintage gun buffs , so I'm sure someone here can ID it. And if not here, then there's probably no shortage of collector buffs with their own forums that can ID it. Let us know !

 

[CreakyDigger]

Welcome to TNet! Cool find!

 

[Jamie Rullestad]

I refinish antique axes and hammers, and my old iron usually gets a vinegar bath for at least a week. It dissolves that rust into a black, stinking mess, and I usually end up with pure iron, assuming it’s not degraded completely to rust.

A word of warning on that. If it is now rusted to the point that it’s made up of pure rust, it will disintegrate into the soup, so move forward on my suggestion with a bit of forewarned caution.

 

[Richard Guy]

it appears to be a pocket revolver (no trigger guard) and 'single-action'. I wouldn't be surprised if it were 'cap-and-ball'. Take a hard look at the cylinder from the hammer side, ... does the pistol have nipples for a percussion cap?
The more I look at it, the more it looks like an old Remington Pocket Revolver, .31 caliber, circa 1860 ish. Nice find!

 

[Richard Guy]

It might be loaded, ... the grips still look nice, they may be valuable.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!

Outstanding Find!
Welcome to TreasureNet...!

 

[Digger RJ]

Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Superdup]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks all, good to be here and appreciate the input

 

[watercolor]

Now that's cool!

 

[ArfieBoy]

What a great find! Congratulations! Good luck with the continued clean-up on it. Thanks for posting.

 

[Seahound]

Congrats!!!!

 

[Superdup]

Found in S Louisiana near a waterway in an area with civil war/antebellum activity. I've identified this as an 1865 Remington pocket revolver. The wood is in fantastic shape somehow, but as you can see the chamber and barrel got the worst of it. Electrolysis and patience have gotten this far... Anything else I can do to remove the corrosion or is this it? Maybe evaporust bath? Any thoughts are appreciated!

Hi all,

Well after nearly 3 months of careful electrolysis, chipping, grinding, polishing and reassembly, the old girl is looking pretty good for her age. Unfortunately the barrel, chamber and hammer were just too far gone to do much with, but the grip trigger and body of the Pistol were in really remarkable shape. My final steps I am thinking are to seal the metal with rustoleum clear sealant, but I'm unsure whether to use that on the wood or to instead use mineral oil, boiled linseed, etc. The wood has been underwater over 160 years and I don't want to do anything to cause it to crack, split, etc. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[GaRebel1861]

That came out looking pretty darn good. Nice job.

 

[metaldiggr]

That's what we like to call "sweetness". Nice find!

 

[Superdup]

That's what we like to call "sweetness". Nice find!

Thanks... Check out the "x" carved into the grip in the first pic... Maybe a way to identify his Pistol if stolen?