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Fluted Remington-Rider Double Action Belt Revolver - SCARCE

Fluted Remington-Rider Double Action Belt Revolver - SCARCE

  • Product Code: FHG-1290-SOLD
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $1.00


This is a really scarce model of Civil War era revolver that I have never had the opportunity to offer for sale before, the Remington-Rider Double Action Belt Revolver. These pistols were .36 caliber, 6-shot revolvers with a 6 ““ octagon barrel. Between 3,000 and 5,000 of the pistols were produced from 1863 and 1873. While they were initially produced as percussion pistols, many were sold by factory converted .38 Rimfire revolvers and even more of the original percussion revolvers were returned to the factory or other gunsmiths for alteration to cartridge as well. The end result is that these guns are rather scarce today in their original percussion configuration. A small number of the earliest production percussion pistols (all with 3-digit serial numbers) were produced with fluted cylinders. These guns were produced between 1863 and 1865 and are considered to be Civil War production examples.

This is a really attractive example of the very scarce, fluted cylinder Remington-Rider Double Action Belt Revolver, one that was produced during the Civil War era. The pistol has the low serial number 446, which is marked on the bottom of the barrel (under the loading lever) and on the left side of the grip frame under the left grip. The rear of the cylinder is numbered 27 & 5. The 27 is in a completely different font from the serial numbers on the gun and the 5, leading me to believe that they are assembly or batch numbers and not a serial number. Remington was notorious during the Civil War era for serial numbering cylinders on a somewhat random basis. The rear of the cylinder is clearly pictured below so that you can draw your own conclusions regarding the numbering, but I do not feel the gun is mismatched. The top flat of the 6.5” octagon barrel is clearly marked in two lines: MANFACTURED BY REMIGNTON’s ILION, N.Y. / RIDERS PT. AUG 17, 1856 MAY 3, 1859.

The pistol is in about FINE condition overall and retains around 10%-20% of the original blued finish, mixed with a very attractive plum brown patina. Most of the blued finish is located on the barrel, with a large amount present on the bottom of the barrel (protected by the loading lever) and the lower flats of the octagon barrel, with the upper sections showing more scattered traces of blue. The barrel flats and edges remain sharp and crisp throughout. The fluted cylinder retains some traces of blue in the flutes, mixed with the same smooth plum brown patina that covers the upper portion of the barrel of the pistol. The bore of the pistol is in about GOOD condition. It retains strong rifling, but also shows patches of light pitting and corrosion along its entire length. The bore would likely benefit from a good scrubbing with a brass brush. The frame has “silvered out” and has pewter patina, mixed with a splotchy darker age patina. The case hardened hammer and trigger each retain about 20%-30% faded case colors, over a silvery gray metal and mixed with light patches of brown age discoloration. The metal is mostly smooth throughout, with some light scattered peppering present “ mostly confined to the forward portion of the frame and the top strap area. The brass triggerguard retains about 30%+ of the original silver-plating, with some decent sized patches of silver on the outside and larger portions inside the triggerguard. The original loading lever is in place and works perfectly. The front site is the early pattern dovetailed style front site, which was only in use on the early, fluted cylinder Remington Rider Belt Revolvers. The double-action mechanism works perfectly. The action is crisp and works very well in both single and double action modes. The pistol times and locks up crisply and tightly. The cylinder retains all of the original cones (nipples), which remain in very good condition with minimal battering and wear. The two-piece walnut grips are in about FINE condition overall, with no breaks, cracks or repairs. They do show a number of bumps, dings and handling marks as would be expected, but they have not been abused. They fit the pistol very well and match its patina perfectly.

Overall this is really great example of a relatively scarce Remington revolver. These guns do not appear for sale very often, and when they do they are typically well-worn pistols that have been converted to metallic cartridge firing revolvers. This pistol has all of the features that serious collector of scarce Civil War percussion revolvers would be looking for in this model. It has the scarce fluted cylinder (which means it was produced during the Civil War), it is in its original percussion configuration and it is in very nice condition with some original finish and is excellent mechanically. This is another one of those oddball revolvers that most Civil War hand gun collections are missing, and one that is not found available for sale very often. With only a few hundred having ever been made in this early configuration and even less surviving in original condition, it may bee some time before you see another one of these for sale.

SOLD

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Tags: Fluted, Remington, Rider, Double, Action, Belt, Revolver, SCARCE