Just got one - very nicely made - 44 Russian caliber - at least as well-built as Colt, S&W. Remington, or Merwin Hulbert. Serial number is on 9 parts - grip frame butt, both wood grips (counted as only 1), side plate, loading gate, hammer, trigger, trigger guard, cylinder, cylinder arbor (the rod that the cylinder turns on) - I'm sure it's on the barrel too but hidden by the frame which would make 10 parts! I think Merwins only have 9 parts marked.
I'd like to find out more about it. You read in a bunch of places on the web "less than 1000 made" but I don't know where that comes from. There's a pub over at Cornell Publishing on the F&H company but apparently only 4 pages are devoted to the large frame revolvers - not enough to warrant the $20 price. David Chicoine doesn't list this revolver in his Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West book but has something in American Gunsmithing on the preceding Old Model Army that I may have to buy. If anyone had heard/seen anything else, then please let me know. Thanks!
John
