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Old December 6, 2012, 08:01 AM   #1
Logs
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Old guns worth shooting / fixing up???

Buddy of mine dropped by and showed me a few pistols his dad gave him. The pocket Regina is a cool one and so is the larger semi auto (FN). The revolver hammer spring is broken it moves back and forth freely. I don't know anything about any of them. Two of them seem to function, but not sure if we should take them to the range. Revolver not sure if it is worth getting fixed. Anyone seen any guns likes these before?????????




Next.........







Finally the revolver the hammer and trigger don't work...



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Old December 6, 2012, 08:35 AM   #2
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I don't know much about the other two, but I'd love to shoot that Browning Model 1922. (FN)
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Old December 6, 2012, 08:37 AM   #3
lee n. field
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Quote:
Old guns worth shooting / fixing up???
The FN (middle gun) would be.

The others look like back in the day cheap guns.
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Old December 6, 2012, 08:59 AM   #4
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is the revolver a Harrington & Richardson ???
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Old December 6, 2012, 09:18 AM   #5
Bob Wright
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The revolver looks like a Spanish copy of a Smith
& Wesson Hand Ejector. From the looks, it looks as if the mainspring is broken, a simple replacement.

If the gun is otherwise in reasonable shape, no cracks of rust-through, it is fine with .32 S&W ammunition.

And, as to firing old guns, certainly caution should be observed, but many shooters at the range show up with old clunkers, and have a ball with them. A late friend of mine used to frequent pawn shops, and pick guns that had been there a long time, buying them with "I'll give you fifty dollars for that gun" or whatever he felt a bargain price would be. He showed up with some doozies!

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Old December 6, 2012, 09:53 AM   #6
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I do shoot alot of old guns myself, but I handload, & have loads for 32 S&W, that start at "mouse fart" gun check out loads, that use a soft lead round ball, to light loads for range shooting, & in some cases loads that could be used for self defense in some of the better quality "old guns" if you have the ability to load these rounds, & the guns check out as safe to shoot, have fun with them... MRS MAGNUM particularly likes to shoot my antique 32 S&W revolvers
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Old December 6, 2012, 10:14 AM   #7
Jim Watson
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The Regina is one of many Spanish knockoffs of Browning designs and a box of .25ACP would probably be enough to let you say you had shot it and also to give you an idea of the power and accuracy (or lack) in the little guns.

The Browning is a first class light service pistol of its day. It might be either a .32 ACP or a .380 (7.65 Browning, 9mm Browning Short in Eurospeak.)

It looks like the autos were let to rust and then cleaned up with coarse sandpaper. This pretty much wiped out the resale value.

The revolver is definitely Spanish, looks like an Orbea Hermanos from the grip medallion and frame logo. That is one of the better Spanish knockoffs of S&W. Will a S&W .32 hand ejector mainspring fit? I dunno, it might fit or be possible to modify, nothing to do but try. But don't sink a lot of money into it.
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Old December 6, 2012, 10:27 AM   #8
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Many of the Spanish copies of Smith & Wesson revolvers looked like the S&W on the exterior, but the interior workings often looked a LOT more like a Colt, with a V main spring.

You'll only know what you have once you get the grips off and start looking at the layout of the interior of the frame.

It's tough to tell, but I don't see anything that looks like a mainspring strain screw on the front face of the grip frame, which would mean that it's a Colt-style V main spring.

Finding parts for the old Spanish copies is virtually impossible, meaning that you'll have to make them.
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Old December 6, 2012, 03:15 PM   #9
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probably would spend more money fixing them up than they would be worth in the end
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Old December 6, 2012, 03:56 PM   #10
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Fixing up old "clunkers" is a good cold winter night/miserable cold rainy day activity, good way to learn firearm disassembly/reassembly and repair in a relaxed setting.
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Old December 6, 2012, 10:31 PM   #11
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i think i would fix em up if they were mine not really for value but more for something to do and experience working on and finishing guns.
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Old December 7, 2012, 09:56 AM   #12
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If you want to fix them up to make shooters it'd be worth it, but I don't see them ever being worth the money you'll spend doing it.
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Old December 7, 2012, 10:57 AM   #13
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Quote:
The Browning is a first class light service pistol of its day. It might be either a .32 ACP or a .380 (7.65 Browning, 9mm Browning Short in Eurospeak.)
+1. FWIW the barrel should be marked either 7.65 for .32ACP or 9M/M for .380ACP. The mag is marked 7.65, but the mags are basically interchangeable. The only differences other than the markings are the number of witness holes and the angle of the feed lips, and the feed lip angle can be adjusted with pliers; however, the difference is so subtle that the mags will often function perfectly with no adjustment at all.

BTW the FN trademark makes this a relatively valuable magazine. Due to long-term military use, there are many knockoff magazines in circulation; these usually function fine, they're just not as desirable from a collectible standpoint.

Minor notes about the gun:
  • They had a standard mag disconnect. The trigger will not function with the mag out unless the disconnect has been removed (which is fairly easy to do).
  • The thumb safety doubles as a slide stop, but it really doesn't work well as the latter, particularly if the notch in the slide is rounded off. It's fairly common for it to disengage and allow the slide to slam shut if the pistol is shaken, or simply not to work at all. This can be corrected to some degree by cleaning up the notch with a file, but IMHO it's advisable not to rely on this feature (i.e. DON'T hand the pistol to your buddy with the slide locked back), and you should NEVER use the thumb safety as a slide release while reloading!
  • There is no last-round slide-lock feature. You'll have to get good at counting rounds when you shoot it.
  • It is normal for the firing pin to project from the breech face when the slide is rearwards. The firing pin actually doubles as the ejector. FWIW I mention this because most modern pistol manuals have dire warnings against using the pistol if the firing pin projects in this manner, but this is not a concern with the FN Browning 1922; as the old saying goes, It's Supposed To Do That.
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Last edited by carguychris; December 7, 2012 at 02:24 PM. Reason: minor reword...
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Old December 8, 2012, 09:40 AM   #14
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Some Spanish revolvers that look like a S&W on the outside have very different internal mechanisms, so be sure of what the mainspring is supposed to look like before you order one.
Some use a V spring.

The FN 1922 is an excellent pistol of its era. I'm just learning about mine.
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