U.S. Arms Abilene SA Revolvers

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My Abilene has the old style link...1.825". This part is currently unavailable. The new style is 1.440".

Then yours is the same style as Dad's. A Ruger transfer bar can be fitted to it with minimal effort. I had Jim Stroh do his. He said that welding on such a small casting would be tricky at best. He opted to replace with the Ruger part, rather than fix the original. It would cost a hell of a lot more to build a new one from scratch.
 
I want to be a gunslinger

I shot my 44 Abilene for the first time the other day. I got it off a guy who decided he was gonna be a fellon. So it's been packed away for 3 yrs. One guy previously told me that I probably wouldn't be very impressed and that it is just a replica(but he owns a 380 made of pot metal). You guys are painting a different picture. I am curious as to what it's worth. It's #1200 and does say A.I.G. Inc on the 7 1/2" barrel. This gun has been shot very few times, and the front sight had been reinstalled once before. A very nice piece. And I was very impressed with the way the building shook when I took it to the range.
 
Abilene

Congrats on your 1st post here !!!:cool:

Whoever told you that your Abilene would not be impressive probably wanted to buy it from you real cheap:D

They are worth around $300 depending on condition. You can always go to the gun auction sites to see what they are selling for.
You can read more about them at www.singleactions.com and there is also a forum over there.
 
First time post here, but I just picked up an Abilene 357 10-0026xx and I must say I am very impressed. Perfectly balanced and what a shooter!! I am actually going to strip and re-blue this beauty. It's great to learn about the history here and hear from the creator's son. Any suggestions on which blue or black to use? I want to make this gun look like a show piece.
 
This is a great thread and I will make this my first post.
Just wondering if there any features that mark the transition from U.S. Arms ownership to Mossberg built guns?

I have a U.S. Arms Abilene in 44 mag., serial in 4000's(number 50 appears just before), transfer bar ignition and 45 degree screw to hold in base pin, with Riverhead, NY on barrel and frame. It has gold US Arms medallions on the wood grips. The trigger is wide and serrated, well back toward the rear of the guard. I was immediately struck at how finely finished and fitted the gun is. My brother bought it, he thinks, in 1979 or 1980 in Phoenix, Az. I lusted after it for many years, and recently he gave it to me. Did I mention he is a wonderful brother?:D
 
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Correction......the reason the trigger is so far back on mine is because the half fcock and trigger return are broken. Gonna have that fixed. It's in the 50-4400's range. I would think that it is some of the first of the Mossbergs, but the transfer bar and Riverhead markings have me wondering what time frame this was made and if it might be pre-mossberg. Have a good one.
 
Based on info fom Lee Martin, a gun with the Riverhead marking is pre-Mossberg. I had the serial wong. Mine is in the 50-004200's range so US Arms made it that far. The busted half cock, hair trigger and trigger return problem all turned out to be a simple trigger return spring. That one little spring be muy importante! Alan Harton has it done and ready to rock and roll. What a gentleman he is to work with. Can't wait to try some Keith 250's in it.
 
my 44

mine is a 10 inch 44 mag serrial # is A004077 don't belive it was ever fired no box or papers love the dark wood grips deep rich blueing and sights don't know a thing about this gun been serching then by luck found this sight thanks and seville tell your dad thanks for this wepond
 
Abilene

I recently came into posession of a Mossberg Abilene, S/N A001XXX that my Grandfather purchased. Nobody in the family knew about it, my Grandmother just found it, 21 years after his death. How much of a quality drop off was there after Mossberg took over manufacturing?

Also, thanks for the history lesson. Glad people are remembering those who've been so instrumental in the firearms industry.
 
44 Seville

Not to high jack this thread but I have a question and since I found this site and topic about the gun when I was researching the firearm I thought I would ask this question. I have had this gun for about 20 some odd years and have taken it hunting with me many times. (actually shot some deer with it) Well I am older and I am having a scope mounted to my pistol to use for deer hunting exclusively. Has anyone else done this? I know the gunsmith said he needs to custom make the scope mount because stock mounts will not work. Any feed back will be appreciated.
 
I have an Abilene .44 mag, magnaloy with an original 6" barrel. The barrel was pinned, the firing pin hole welded shut and I got it with a new firing pin, a new 7 1/2" barrel, original box with the wood lid, original papers and I need a frame. Numerich Arms said that the frame is no longer available and a good gunsmith said he wouldn't drill and mill it cause the temper in the metal was changed when it was welded. This hand cannon is beautiful, ser. # A003558 and I don't want to see it on a wall. Can anybody help me please?
 
.45 U.S. Arms Abilene

Hi folks,

Yesterday morning my brother-in law called me from an estate sale and asked if I was interested in buying a revolver. He described the piece to me and told me that it was a U.S. Arms .45 in beautiful condition. He knew that I'd been wanting to buy a revolver for quite a while and I'm glad he called me. I asked him how much they were asking. They wanted $400. He said that while he's not interested in revolvers, he thought this was one of the most beautiful revolvers he'd seen and though I'd heard of U.S. Arms, I didn't know much about the company. I asked him to purchase it for me and I would pay him back. Anyhow, when I first saw the gun yesterday it looked like it had only been fired a few times if at all. We shot 24 rounds through it and it was surprisingly smooth. He told me that if I changed my mind about purchasing the gun after seeing/firing it he would understand and would keep it for himself. I immediately fell in love with it and purchased it on the spot. Last night I was scouring the internet trying to find out as much information on it as I could but surprisingly I couldn't find much on the .45. Most of the information I found on this forum was on the .357 and .44 variants of the weapon. I don't know much about the changes made to this gun besides the angle of the screw facing the cylinder. At any rate, I thought I would post some pictures of this beautiful revolver and hope that some of you fine folks can help shed some light on this .45 model. I don't question that I got a good deal on this, but I was wondering as to it's rarity and estimated value. It's a true beauty and a joy to shoot. I enjoyed reading the previous posts regarding the history of the U.S. Arms company. Thank you in advance for any input.

Below is a link to pictures of the gun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW-wKOqE1FQ
 
Seville,

I own a Hauppage NY .44 mag in Stainless that I need a replacement rear sight for. Do you know of a source for one? Lee does not know of one.

Desperate for a rear sight
 
Thanks to ..... John Himmelmann and Lee Martin for detailed reminders like this to help keep the memory of US Arms & US Sporting Arms alive today. I purchased my new .44 Mag, Abeline with 7.5 bbl and the rare Magnaloy (brushed chrome) finish sometime around 1979 +-. It's a tank, with beautiful fit & finish, and comparable in many respects to my FA's. As you can see, it's still 100% w/wood lid box and papers.

the Shadow


New_2AbelineOptimize-CropVI.jpg
 
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Abilene Barrel Length question

That is a beautiful Abilene you have and as I write this reply I'm looking at an identical version of it EXCEPT this one has a 4 5/8" barrel.

It is 44 MAG and has Magnaloy finish with pristine wood grips and the cylinder has never even been turned (not a mark on it). SN A005010. It is nestled in its original box with wood cover and resting on it's original papers.

Can someone tell me how old it is or it's value or anything? According to the books I've read these were made in 7.5 and 8.5 barrel lengths.

Thanks for the help,
Kate
 
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