Top Break Revolvers

[moongovernor]

Does anyone own a top break revolver? I really like the looks of them and have been considering purchasing one for awhile.

Are they all from the late 1800's to mid 1900's? Can you still shoot them or are they just collectibles? The only time I've ever even seen one is when occasionally one will show up at a booth at a show. They're usually pretty rough, though.

Appreciate any advice on finding a good top break revolver. Also would like to see pictures if you own one!

 

[Martin Draco]

I've got a S&W top break "Lemon Squeezer" .38 S&W Cal. It shoots well and locks up great. It's in good condition for the age (1920's). If you like them you should find one, inspect it and get it! AFAIK nobody currently makes new top break revolvers although I think Cimarron and Uberti might make some replicas that are top break.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Shootability of a top-break all depends on the individual firearm.

It's an inherently weak design. And, as such, calibers are limited. And further still, ammunition in each caliber is limited (standard .38 S&W vs an up-pressure handload)

I doubt you can find a top break in .38Special.

All kinds of .22LR models out there that are still very serviceable. Look into H&R (Herrington & Richardson) and/or High Standard. They made top breaks well into the age of swing-out cylinders.

-J-

 

[badwolf.usmc]

Cabela near chicago had a Webley in their used section last weekend.

 

[The Gavman]

I own a S&W Model 3 Russian in .44 Russian and ammo is really expensive so it rarely gets shot

 

[Bapak2ja]

I have an old top break .38 with some kind of green plastic grips. It has no markings of any kind. It is ugly as sin and twice as dangerous. The cylinder rolls freely, but if I pull the trigger once the chambers line up properly. I think it would line up correctly if I cocked the hammer first, but I have not tried it. It was purchased in central Tennessee by my father in the early 1950s. He said the neighborhood roughneck no-accounts were bothering my mother in the evenings when dad was away at work, so he bought the gun for her.

Mom told the neighbors she had the gun but that she did not know how to shoot it. Dad instructed her not to say such things in public, so she kept quiet about it afterwards. Dad then talked it up with the neighbors that he had told mom that if she was worried about who was knocking on the door late in the evening she should just fire through the door. He would find out what she hit when he got home. Neighbors must have told the right people because no one ever rattled the door knob at night again.

I plan on keeping that rickety old thing for a long time—just for the sake of the telling my grandkids that story!

 

[flightsimmer]

I have a new production 5" S&W Scofield #3, by Uberti in 45 LC, nice.

10mm, when you care enough to send the very best.

 

[edsinger]

See this thread for some info...

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/44655-my_new_1898_toy.html

 

[orange]

I've got a Webley Mk.IV. It's fun. Very smooth trigger, a design that's nicely different, looks so ugly I love it, shoots well. Manufacture date 1968.

But .38S&W ammo is hard to find, and since it's one of the Singapore Police Department contract guns it's got a safety in the grip frame, playing hell on the ergonomics. It's bad enough that I've been thinking of removing the safety and slapping on standard Mk.IV stocks.

 

[printcraft]

I've got a S&W top break "Lemon Squeezer" .38 S&W Cal. It shoots well and locks up great. It's in good condition for the age (1920's). If you like them you should find one, inspect it and get it! AFAIK nobody currently makes new top break revolvers although I think Cimarron and Uberti might make some replicas that are top break.

22 magnum top break NAA. New production...... I know not something "substantial" but new none the less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkck1bJTqU

 

[A5guy]

22 magnum top break NAA. New production...... I know not something "substantial" but new none the less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzkck1bJTqU

Been studyin' on those NAAs. That's a pretty nice gun for the money.
And what you could use it for. "Freeze Gopher!" That'd make mowing grass a lot more fun!

 

[451_Detonics]

I love my Iver Johnson...oldie but a goodie in .22...and yes it gets shot...a lot!

 

[orange]

Russian firm Izhmash makes a new top-break. MP-412 Rex.

 

[edsinger]

I love my Iver Johnson...oldie but a goodie in .22...and yes it gets shot...a lot!

WOW that is NICE!!!!!

 

[danmdevries]

Father in law has an H&R from 1912 or 1918, don't remember. It's 22lr and functions flawlessly. It's a neat old gun, I've been keeping my eyes open for one for myself but haven't seen any come through at the local shops. haven't yet found a FFL dealer that would make it worthwhile to go through gunbroker.

like stated before, I think you're pretty much limited to .22lr. The others I wouldn't feel safe firing due to inherently weak design.

 

[vwfred69]

I have a US REVOLVER COMPANY .38S&W my wife actually has to use 2 fingers to pull the trigger on. I figure it's around 100 years old but it still shoots well.

 

[Calvin]

I have a 1921 Webley Mk VI in .45 and a 1937 H&R Sportsman 999. The ergonomics of the Webley are undeniable. If I were to be confronted in a dark alley by evil doers, it is the weapon of choice. Everybody that shoots it immediately declares,"I need one of these". The 999 is also nice and gives no problems as a training/plinking pistol.

There is something about the top break design that is undeniably cool. I have a S&W M1917 as well which is more accurate and has a better trigger than the Webley. Nevertheless, I find the coolness factor of the Webley hard to resist.

 

[Claddagh]

My grandfather kept an H&R pre-999 Sportsman hanging on a nail in the feed locker in his barn. It was loaded with shot cartridges and used to dispatch rats and other vermin.

About all the "maintenance" it ever got was the occasional wipe-down with an oily rag. It looked pretty scruffy, but it always worked and hit where you pointed it. It was the first handgun that I was permitted to use unattended at age 12.

As a life-long southpaw, top-break revolvers had a lot of practical appeal as all of the administrative and functional operations were just as handily accomplished from either side. I still think that a well-made 4" or 6" .22 RF top break revolver makes for a very versatile, durable and practical utility/recreational working tool.

As a teenager, a WWII-era surplus Webley in .380/200 (.38 S&W) was my first personally purchased and owned CF handgun. It also was responsible for getting me started as a reloader and bullet caster, as factory ammo for it was (even then) too expensive for me to be able to shoot it anywhere nearly as often or as much as I wanted to.

Probably pure nostalgia, but I'd still like to run across a nice H&R 999 for a good price someday.

 

[Fireaxes]

Some Iver Johnson goodness.

As well as one I have yet to identify.

 

[Lock n Load]

Here is an H&R in Premier .32 S&W CTGE (on side of barrel) with patent dates of Apr 2 95 & Apr 7 96 (on the top of the barrel).... 1895 & 1896 !!!

It was handed down to me by a co-worker/ friend before he retired since none of his family were into guns. He said it was in his wifes family since the early 1900s.