Swiss M1882 Revolver

Skans · May 20, 2016, 10:37 AM

I have a Swiss M1882 Revolver. On the frame, under the left black bakelite grips it is stamped "SIG". I believe this stands for Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft, which according to Wikipedia is German for "Swiss Industrial Company".

For any of you who may be knowledgeable about these revolvers, I have a couple of questions. Would this mean the pistol was actually made in Germany? Were all M1882's marked "SIG", or were they made by more than one manufacturer?

Heracles · May 20, 2016, 10:57 AM

Most of the swiss 1882 revolver were produced by "Eidgenössische Waffenfabrik Bern" (-->W+F M1882: army production).
SIG means "Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft" and was producing guns since 1860 (-->SIG 1882: civil production). The M1882 ordonanz revolver was produced in Switzerland in any case.

This gun is a master piece of gun mechanics and hand craft and very soft and accurate to shoot.

Do you have a picture of your gun sign?

aarondhgraham · May 20, 2016, 11:14 AM

Oh my,,,
What a lovely revolver.

With those copper colored/tinted parts,,,
It exemplifies the term, Steampunk.

Color me green with envy.

Aarond

.

Skans · May 20, 2016, 12:18 PM

Yep, that's my 1882. The parts are actually straw color, and the grip should be black - probably a lighting thing. It is a beauty! The best thing is that the frame door easily swings open exposing the clockwork. Oh, and every part is numbered and marked. I've never shot mine - you must have ordered the ammo special just to shoot it?

Heracles, so if I understand correctly, my SIG marked M1882 would actually be more of a civilian or commercial production gun. Interesting!! Thank you so much for this information.

The 1882 was "steampunk" before there was steampunk.

I would love to find an M1878 to keep it company, but they are too hard to find and too expensive when you find them now (on on gunbroker listed for $2,750)

aarondhgraham · May 20, 2016, 02:40 PM

This is a source for some of that obsolete ammo,,,
Perhaps you could find some here?

gadscustomcartridges.com

I found ammo for my 1892 Lebel there.

I dunno about you,,,
But it hurts me to own a gun I can never shoot.

Aarond

.

Heracles · May 20, 2016, 02:49 PM

Yes, the SIG marked M1882 is the civilian or commercial production gun. You can shoot the 1882 with its original 7.5mm BP cartridge. They are still available (but not always working :-) ) at egun.

or shoot it with the .32 S&W long wad cutter (mild load) like I do :-)

pictures see also:

http://imgur.com/a/NuvrJ

Heracles · May 20, 2016, 02:52 PM

@ Skans: could you please make a photo of your "SIG" logo on your M1882? I have never seen one before

Heracles · May 20, 2016, 03:31 PM

On this photo you can see the "W+F" logo (below the Swiss cross) for "Waffen+Fabrik" Bern
and the black "Bakelit" hand grips.

aarondhgraham · May 20, 2016, 04:00 PM

Do you have a URL for egun?

My Google-Fu is not strong today,,,
I can't find anything on it.

Aarond

.

**Mike Irwin** · May 21, 2016, 03:42 PM

The original loading, powerwise, was very close to the .32 S&W Long, if not under that.

I've not seen one of these in a long time.

Skans · May 23, 2016, 07:37 AM

Quote:

@ Skans: could you please make a photo of your "SIG" logo on your M1882? I have never seen one before

I'll try and take some pictures of it this evening.

zfk55 · May 23, 2016, 08:07 AM

Adios.

Skans · May 26, 2016, 01:04 PM

Here are some pictures of my Swiss M1882. It's marked "SIG" toward the bottom of the grip frame under the left grip panel. Interestingly, I believe it is also marked "WF" under the Swiss cross on the frame. I took the grips off and opened the door to expose the action for these pictures:

Heracles · May 26, 2016, 01:40 PM

Nice,very nice!
You have two marks on it: W+F on the side of the frame (like all others M1882)
AND the SIG mark on the frame grip part.
Now I have to check my 1882...may be there are also SIG marks.
Thank you for yours pictures.

Heracles · May 27, 2016, 11:26 AM

One of mine has also a "SIG" mark. It is writen like "S.J.G"

Skans · May 27, 2016, 11:32 AM

Heracles, that is interesting and baffling. I'm wondering now what this mark is? Why would yours be SJG?

Heracles · May 27, 2016, 11:38 AM

In older ages the sign "J" instead of the "I" were often used. This was very common in German language, but not practised in present.

Skans · May 27, 2016, 03:06 PM

Ok, I'm learing! So, Heracles, what do you make of our pistols having the "SIG" mark and the WF mark?

Heracles · May 27, 2016, 04:08 PM

They are nice pieces of gun history. As simple as that. During this ages, the revolvers were made by W+F and SIG. SIG was a private company building mostly other industrial products, where W+F was supported by the government (Swiss army). Both manufacturers are well known for there quality products back then, especially W+F had a long tradition in making quality firearms, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffenfabrik_Bern
I enjoy to shot this revolvers, more than the newer revolvers I own and I am still surprised about the quality of this revolvers.

MRCL · May 27, 2016, 04:08 PM

It would be an early practice, then.
Edit: I looked in a few books and came across it on a few old rifle tags; The "J" in SJG is simply due to the font used. It looks like a "J" but is still an "I".
I saw a rifle tag bearing the name "Hans Jmthurn", but he's still called and written "Imthurn". So there's that.

Now, both SIG and Waffenfabrik Bern made the Revolvers. Depending on where they went, they have different marks. My only source is a book about Swiss police handguns, as I have not yet been able to source the military handgun book. Anyways, depending in which department was issued them, different marks are found. Yours appears to be military issued as the police ones bear a P before the serial.

Now, Swiss weapon manufacturing was (and still is) a quirky and sometimes complicated affair. It sometimes is hard to pinpoint who exactly made (or used) what weapon.

I try to find out more about it.

By the way hello to all, I'm new here, names Marcel, living in - wait for it - Switzerland, not far from Neuhausen

Edit: Yours is from 1914, made by Waffenfabrik Bern. I reckon SIG and WF shared some resources, thus the SIG stamp.

WF mainly made the military issued revolvers and also for the police (with a P before the serial). SIG made private ones and police ones but without a P (but a Fabrique Neuhausen stamp).

Source:
http://www.swisswaffen.com/?W=R82&LP=H7

Skans · May 30, 2016, 11:42 AM

Hello MRCL! It's great to have someone from Switzerland here on this board. I appreciate your input on this gun.

My understanding is that the M1882 that I have (pictures with serial # 14850) was made prior to 1898. In the US pistols made before 1898 do not need to transfer through an FFL, due to being "antiques". When I purchased mine, it was mailed directly to me (which would be highly illegal if it was post 1898). I know, this makes no sense since this revolver is even by today's standards quite usable and serviceable. The one that Heracles posted is P22348. What I really don't understand is that I would think if it was made around 1914, it should have the wooden grips, shouldn't it? Or, perhaps the Police issued 1882's still had the bakelite grips.

MRCL · May 30, 2016, 02:32 PM

Sadly I cannot answer that (for now). I lack proper sources. The police gun book doesnt go into technical details and the infantry weapons book only details the M1882/29. There, the first 7000 revolvers hat canevasit grips and the later ones had a better synthetics (it doesnt say what material though). Some police forces had slightly custom revolvers so maybe that is the case here.

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May 20, 2016, 10:37 AM	#1
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Swiss M1882 Revolver I have a Swiss M1882 Revolver. On the frame, under the left black bakelite grips it is stamped "SIG". I believe this stands for Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft, which according to Wikipedia is German for "Swiss Industrial Company". For any of you who may be knowledgeable about these revolvers, I have a couple of questions. Would this mean the pistol was actually made in Germany? Were all M1882's marked "SIG", or were they made by more than one manufacturer?

May 20, 2016, 10:57 AM	#2
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	1882 Most of the swiss 1882 revolver were produced by "Eidgenössische Waffenfabrik Bern" (-->W+F M1882: army production). SIG means "Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft" and was producing guns since 1860 (-->SIG 1882: civil production). The M1882 ordonanz revolver was produced in Switzerland in any case. This gun is a master piece of gun mechanics and hand craft and very soft and accurate to shoot. Do you have a picture of your gun sign? Last edited by Heracles; May 22, 2016 at 03:49 AM.

May 20, 2016, 11:14 AM	#3
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	Oh my,,, Oh my,,, What a lovely revolver. With those copper colored/tinted parts,,, It exemplifies the term, Steampunk. Color me green with envy. Aarond . __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

May 20, 2016, 12:18 PM	#4
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Yep, that's my 1882. The parts are actually straw color, and the grip should be black - probably a lighting thing. It is a beauty! The best thing is that the frame door easily swings open exposing the clockwork. Oh, and every part is numbered and marked. I've never shot mine - you must have ordered the ammo special just to shoot it? Heracles, so if I understand correctly, my SIG marked M1882 would actually be more of a civilian or commercial production gun. Interesting!! Thank you so much for this information. The 1882 was "steampunk" before there was steampunk. I would love to find an M1878 to keep it company, but they are too hard to find and too expensive when you find them now (on on gunbroker listed for $2,750) Last edited by Skans; May 20, 2016 at 12:26 PM.

May 20, 2016, 02:40 PM	#5
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	What acrtridge does it take? This is a source for some of that obsolete ammo,,, Perhaps you could find some here? gadscustomcartridges.com I found ammo for my 1892 Lebel there. I dunno about you,,, But it hurts me to own a gun I can never shoot. Aarond . __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

May 20, 2016, 02:49 PM	#6
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	M1882 Yes, the SIG marked M1882 is the civilian or commercial production gun. You can shoot the 1882 with its original 7.5mm BP cartridge. They are still available (but not always working :-) ) at egun. or shoot it with the .32 S&W long wad cutter (mild load) like I do :-) pictures see also: http://imgur.com/a/NuvrJ Last edited by Heracles; May 20, 2016 at 03:41 PM.

May 20, 2016, 02:52 PM	#7
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	@ Skans: could you please make a photo of your "SIG" logo on your M1882? I have never seen one before

May 20, 2016, 03:31 PM	#8
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	On this photo you can see the "W+F" logo (below the Swiss cross) for "Waffen+Fabrik" Bern and the black "Bakelit" hand grips. Last edited by Heracles; May 22, 2016 at 03:45 AM.

May 20, 2016, 04:00 PM	#9
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	Hello Heracles,,, Do you have a URL for egun? My Google-Fu is not strong today,,, I can't find anything on it. Aarond . __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

May 21, 2016, 03:42 PM	#10
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,389	The original loading, powerwise, was very close to the .32 S&W Long, if not under that. I've not seen one of these in a long time. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

May 23, 2016, 08:07 AM	#12
zfk55 Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2009 Location: Lost Prairie Montana Posts: 391	Adios. __________________ www.swissproductsllc.com An'' ole' Brer' Rabbit, he set in de bushes, he watch an' he wait, lay low an' he don' say nuffin' Last edited by zfk55; May 24, 2016 at 09:05 AM.

May 26, 2016, 01:04 PM	#13
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Here are some pictures of my Swiss M1882. It's marked "SIG" toward the bottom of the grip frame under the left grip panel. Interestingly, I believe it is also marked "WF" under the Swiss cross on the frame. I took the grips off and opened the door to expose the action for these pictures: Last edited by Skans; May 26, 2016 at 01:11 PM.

May 26, 2016, 01:40 PM	#14
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	SIG and W+F Nice,very nice! You have two marks on it: W+F on the side of the frame (like all others M1882) AND the SIG mark on the frame grip part. Now I have to check my 1882...may be there are also SIG marks. Thank you for yours pictures.

May 27, 2016, 11:26 AM	#15
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	SIG and W+F One of mine has also a "SIG" mark. It is writen like "S.J.G"

May 27, 2016, 11:32 AM	#16
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Heracles, that is interesting and baffling. I'm wondering now what this mark is? Why would yours be SJG?

May 27, 2016, 11:38 AM	#17
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	J vs. I In older ages the sign "J" instead of the "I" were often used. This was very common in German language, but not practised in present.

May 27, 2016, 03:06 PM	#18
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Ok, I'm learing! So, Heracles, what do you make of our pistols having the "SIG" mark and the WF mark?

May 27, 2016, 04:08 PM	#19
Heracles Junior member Join Date: July 23, 2015 Posts: 14	gun history They are nice pieces of gun history. As simple as that. During this ages, the revolvers were made by W+F and SIG. SIG was a private company building mostly other industrial products, where W+F was supported by the government (Swiss army). Both manufacturers are well known for there quality products back then, especially W+F had a long tradition in making quality firearms, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffenfabrik_Bern I enjoy to shot this revolvers, more than the newer revolvers I own and I am still surprised about the quality of this revolvers.

May 27, 2016, 04:08 PM	#20
MRCL Junior Member Join Date: May 27, 2016 Posts: 6	It would be an early practice, then. Edit: I looked in a few books and came across it on a few old rifle tags; The "J" in SJG is simply due to the font used. It looks like a "J" but is still an "I". I saw a rifle tag bearing the name "Hans Jmthurn", but he's still called and written "Imthurn". So there's that. Now, both SIG and Waffenfabrik Bern made the Revolvers. Depending on where they went, they have different marks. My only source is a book about Swiss police handguns, as I have not yet been able to source the military handgun book. Anyways, depending in which department was issued them, different marks are found. Yours appears to be military issued as the police ones bear a P before the serial. Now, Swiss weapon manufacturing was (and still is) a quirky and sometimes complicated affair. It sometimes is hard to pinpoint who exactly made (or used) what weapon. I try to find out more about it. By the way hello to all, I'm new here, names Marcel, living in - wait for it - Switzerland, not far from Neuhausen Edit: Yours is from 1914, made by Waffenfabrik Bern. I reckon SIG and WF shared some resources, thus the SIG stamp. WF mainly made the military issued revolvers and also for the police (with a P before the serial). SIG made private ones and police ones but without a P (but a Fabrique Neuhausen stamp). Source: http://www.swisswaffen.com/?W=R82&LP=H7 Last edited by MRCL; May 30, 2016 at 06:00 AM.

May 30, 2016, 11:42 AM	#21
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	Hello MRCL! It's great to have someone from Switzerland here on this board. I appreciate your input on this gun. My understanding is that the M1882 that I have (pictures with serial # 14850) was made prior to 1898. In the US pistols made before 1898 do not need to transfer through an FFL, due to being "antiques". When I purchased mine, it was mailed directly to me (which would be highly illegal if it was post 1898). I know, this makes no sense since this revolver is even by today's standards quite usable and serviceable. The one that Heracles posted is P22348. What I really don't understand is that I would think if it was made around 1914, it should have the wooden grips, shouldn't it? Or, perhaps the Police issued 1882's still had the bakelite grips.

May 30, 2016, 02:32 PM	#22
MRCL Junior Member Join Date: May 27, 2016 Posts: 6	Sadly I cannot answer that (for now). I lack proper sources. The police gun book doesnt go into technical details and the infantry weapons book only details the M1882/29. There, the first 7000 revolvers hat canevasit grips and the later ones had a better synthetics (it doesnt say what material though). Some police forces had slightly custom revolvers so maybe that is the case here. Gesendet von meinem SM-G900F mit Tapatalk