GOOSE GUNS - outside hammer, 8, 10, or 12 ga., were offered with barrels up to 40 inches long. or Hopkins & Allen ever made the switch to smokeless powder it would be best not to fire this shotgun with modern ammo. due to the fact that there is no indication that Forehand & Wadsworth, Forehand Arms Co. 16, 1881 patent date is for patent 245620 which is actually for a side hammer single barrel shotgun (it was issued to S. After Wadsworth's retirement, Forehand continued to sell guns marked with the F&W name and this was the case also when H&A took over. About 1899/1900 Forehand passed away and the company was sold to Hopkins & Allen. Wadsworth retired in about 1890 and the company was re-named Forehand Arms Co. POCKET REVOLVER SIGNED FOREHAND & WADSWORTH, MODEL BULLDOZER, serial no. Forehand and Wadsworth were his son-in-laws. OF THE ACTION OF A 7mm CANE WALKING-STICK GUN, no visible serial number. Forehand & Wadsworth (1871-1890) was formed out of the the last of Ethan Allen companies when he died. And the way you described it, it is a single barrel side hammer shotgun.
This sounds more like a shotgun than a rifle. Flat out untenable as you phrased it.Hi, Thank you for all the info. 32s and none have a very wide extractor groove. If there is no extractor groove OR if the groove is thinner than the clip is thick, the clip won't work. 38s only a few brands of brass will work. If you are shooting one of the S&W custom shop. When you go to standard rimmed revolver rounds there is no need for an extractor groove so the groove, if any, varies a lot from brand to brand. 45 ACP clips this is no problem since they are made for semi-autos and have extractor grooves. In order for the clips to work the casing has to have an extractor groove. If someone tooled up to make Forehand and Wadsworth clips could they sell thousands? One other problem is how much head space are you trying to correct? Let's assume for discussion it is. If you go to the S&W website you will see the custom clips for revolvers go from four to six dollars each. However to make money you have to sell thousands of them. Have you measured the head space or actually tried to shoot it? The clips are an interesting idea. 32 S&W that I need for another side project I am working on for my own amusement. Can anyone offer any help in solving this mystery?īTW, in a most curious side note, I am actually hoping that it is NOT a Long. I have no clue if it's safe for smokeless powder or not, when it was made, or even really what caliber it is. Always best to be safe!Īnyway, as you have probably surmised, I am wondering what exactly I have here. The seller was confident that it was, and made me fill out a 4478, which I had no problem with.
Does anyone have any data about these guns, when they were made, what they were chambered for, and so on? I am guessing that based on the serial number it's a later gun, maybe even post 1900. As such, it is possible that this gun is chambered for the Long cartridge, but I am wondering if it really was. 32 S&W Long came out in 1896, and F&H lasted until 1902. They cylinder is bored clean through with no "shelf" for where the case mouth would be, but I remember that a lot of old time revolvers were like that since they headspaced on the rim anyway and there was no perceived need to put such a feature in them.Īlso, according to Wikipedia, which is always a suspect source. While these rounds will indeed chamber in the gun, the extractor does not extend far enough to pop them out of the cylinder. more like this FOREHAND & WADSWORTH DROPPING BLOCK RIFLE.
41 caliber, nickel-plated with case-hardened hammer and trigger, varnished walnut grips, serial number obscured under barrel, overall 4-3/4 in. So, I cleaned it, put it away in my safe, and have not given it much thought for several years.īut now, here is where my confusion starts. more like this Forehand & Wadsworth Single Shot Derringer: late 19th century. But, the first and only time I fired it, it would not consistantly go "bang" seeming to get some light primer hits. Action is tight, and works perfectly, and the lockup is as snug as can be. The pistol is in excellent condition, I'd say his has 90% of its original nickel finish intact, and small spots where it is missing don't look so bad. The grips are hard rubber with a stylized F&H on them above an American sheild. The back of the clyinder has the last 4 digits of the serial number on it, and 22 in the star extractor just below those numbers. The top of the barrel is marked with two lines.įOREHAND ARMS CO. I am wondering if anyone can help me learn more about a top break pocket pistol I own made by Forehand and Wadsworth.