Four C&R additions from Show in Hampton, VA

D

Doc Hoy

New member
Went to the show in Hampton, VA this day and came home with four pistols.

First is an FEG .380 serial number in the low 78xxx. Pistol looks pretty good with finish I would estimate at 85%. Has the magazine and appears to function properly. It is nice and tight. Gave 170.00 for it






Next is an Iver Johnson tip up in .32. Revolver functions well with the exception of the trigger return spring.





FInish on the pistol is not good, but grips are very good.
 
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Second post

Next revolver is a Forehand Arms, Co "Double Action" in .38.

This pistol is in quite good condition. I am going to polish it up and it may be a keeper as a shootable revolver.





Note that the grips are good in this revolver too.

Last is a spur trigger .32 from Lee Arms in Wilkes Barre, PA (Near my home town of Pottstown.

The finish on this revolver is also questionable but again the grips are complete, unmarked and quite good. The spring that holds the cylinder pin keeper tight is still there, still a bit springy but not tight enough to hold the pin in place. The threaded disc is missing. This revolver is also fully functional but for that spring.





I gave fifty bucks each for the three revolvers.
 
The FEG Model 37M is a very hign quality pistol. It was the Hungarian Army service pistol in .380 and thousands were made for the Germans (reportedly the Luftwaffe) in 7.65mm Browning (.32ACP). The magazine does not appear to be original. The original had a long curved extension for little finger support.

I can't find any information on "Lee Arms". They may have been a retailer with the guns made by someone else, a common practice of hardware stores and chains for many years. (Some makers would put on any markings or names the customer wanted on orders as small as ten guns, so many local hardware stores took advantage of that to add to their prestige as "gun manufacturers".)

Jim
 
James...

It appears that the magazine has been modified.

I noted the pinky rest in photos online.

This version is the one for the Hungarian service and not for German allies. In my limited reading I learned that the domestic .380 was of a little higher quality than the .32 export. The explanation is high pressure for volume production by German arms acquisition system.

This pistol appears (as you say) of quite good quality.

The vendor had a 225.00 price tag on it, but being a cheapskate and still smarting from the attitude of the charlatan I encountered previously I was not in the mood to pay the asking price.

I'd have gone 200 but when he told me 170.00 was the best he could do, I told him his best was good enough. The decision took only half a second.

I love this pistol, bought some .380 ammunition and can't wait to shoot it.

I'd be happy for some rudder orders on additional semi-autos of the same description. My accumulation is suffering from anemia.
 
The manual safety was put on at the request of the Germans. FWIW, the guns for Germany were made in 7.65 Browning because the .380 ACP (9mm Kurz) was not in the German police/military supply system.

Hungary was a German ally, so those guns were not made under occupation as in some other countries, but under a regular commercial contract. Because of that, there was no sabotage, although quality naturally deteriorated as production increased and slipped even more as the Russians approached.

Jim
 
I think you will find that the FEG is really the only C&R gun you got, the little revolvers all pre-dating the 1898 requirement.
 
Jon Correct

The bicycle revolvers were sold as too old to qualify.

Actually, the vendor required me to go through the state police process for the FEG because he could not find it listed as a relic.

To me that is a little too careful but it is his license not mine.
 
For future reference, there are two C&R categories. One is any gun over 50 years old*; the FEG would definitely qualify (made before WWII). The other is any gun of a more recent date of manufacture that has been put on the list on the request of a collector and approved by BATFE, by reason of some specific collectible feature, like unique markings.

A dealer looking at the list might overlook the 50-year rule.

*As of the current date; as of today, any gun made on or before 19 January 1963 is a C&R.

Jim
 
Thanks for the memories, Doc.
The I-J breaktop and the spur trigger. 32s were the first two handguns I ever had.
Both were gifts from my Grandpappy.
Long gone, now, of course.
Wish they weren't, but oh well.
 
Took the FEG out for a trial run this day....

What a peach.

This thing is almost as much fun as a 1911. I can actually hit something with it.

Seems to have a little trouble chambering the first round. Requires a light rap on the back of the slide.

Every other round cycles like a dream.
 
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