I picked up this little pocket revolver recently, was hoping to find some info on it. From what I have see it appears to resemble a Belgian British Bull dog. I know it was made in about the same time. It has a stamped marker mark on it but nothing I can find. Is it a British bulldog or in the style of a British bulldog?
Old pocket pistol?
- Thread starter gfann
- Start date
Tidewater_Kid
New member
Bill DeShivs
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Actually, it's a bulldog, not a Velodog.
I would think it's German or possibly Belgian.
I would think it's German or possibly Belgian.
Lucas McCain
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So there USA couple questions;
1. What caliber is it?
2. Is it center fire or a rimfire?
1. What caliber is it?
2. Is it center fire or a rimfire?
mapsjanhere
New member
The crown over U mark on the cylinder looks like the classic German proof mark, so I'm unfamiliar with the little church-like mark above it. And there should me more marks on the frame of the gun if it's German.
Jim Watson
New member
Agree, a German made (or at least proofed) "Baby Bulldog."
Caliber is probably .320 Revolver which is very like .32 Short Colt.
Caliber is probably .320 Revolver which is very like .32 Short Colt.
I looked at it last night and decided it did not make sense for this pistol to be proof marked at Suhl, East Germany, after 1950. You can look at those proof marks here:
www.nramuseum.com/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf
Need more and clearer pictures. Take the side plates off and lets see the mechanism.
From what I can see of the marks, the one clearly seems to be a U. the one directly above or to the right of it (depending how you view it) appears to be either a star in a circle or a crown topped with a cross, similar to the next mark. Possibly the same mark, punched twice. One crown mark slightly more visible then the other.
Definitely not a Velo Dog revolver, although it does have the folding trigger common on those revolvers. The general type was commonly called a Bulldog, although that one is fairly small and may be a Baby Bulldog, as Jim stated.
That "crown over U" is a pre-WW2 German definitive proof. According to The Standard Dictionary Of Proof Marks (Jolex), it was used from 1891-1939 as the second or definitive proof for firearms.
So now that we know where it was proofed, and since the OP stated it is about 32 caliber, I will guess it is chambered for 320 Revolver, a very common cartridge up until WW2.
That "crown over U" is a pre-WW2 German definitive proof. According to The Standard Dictionary Of Proof Marks (Jolex), it was used from 1891-1939 as the second or definitive proof for firearms.
So now that we know where it was proofed, and since the OP stated it is about 32 caliber, I will guess it is chambered for 320 Revolver, a very common cartridge up until WW2.
Tidewater_Kid
New member
The images in this auction are why I said Velo Dog. It is interesting the similarities between the two. This one is listed as Belgain. I guess it is just misidentified.
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/12414195
TK
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/12414195
TK
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Jim Watson
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Only small revolvers in .22.Velo-Dog caliber are properly known as Velo Dogs.
The 1911 ALFA catalog shows similar guns of other calibers simply as rimfire revolvers and centerfire revolvers.
The 1911 ALFA catalog shows similar guns of other calibers simply as rimfire revolvers and centerfire revolvers.
Lucas McCain
New member
After looking at those pictures, "saturday night special" came to my mind. Not exactly a bunch of quality machine work there. Very interesting though, Just my 2 cents
mapsjanhere
New member
Please ignore that stupid NRA page on proof marks - yes, those stamps were still used in East Germany, but they originate in Imperial Germany from the 1890s. They were replaced by a Nazi version in 1939, and West Germany came up with their own new version after the war while Suhl went back to the old marks.