Item Description
Original item: Only One Available. The Classic! A genuine Original SMITH AND WESSON RUSSIAN CONTRACT revolver in .44 Russian. Markings along the top almost gone through wear and pitting scars. All that is visible is RUSSIAN MODEL. Serial number on the heal of the butt is 40048. In 1870/71 General Alexander Gorloff of the Imperial Russian Embassy visited Smith & Wesson and placed an order for 41,000 units. In 1872 Grand Duke Alexandrovich also visited the factory to great accolades, resulting over the following years the Imperial Russian Army ordering over 130,000 of this Model Revolver in total. Followed later, after the Revolution by Copies made in various European Countries, particularly Spain.
Our example, serial number 40048 is in well used condition overall. No finish remains other than plain steel with pitting scars however the revolver is in fully working condition. Single action Six Shot only. Despite the great production numbers the original RUSSIAN Model is very rare and hard to find.
Despite the great production, the original RUSSIAN Model is very rare and hard to find today. A very fine example, completely honest, ready for display!
History of the Smith & Wesson Model 3
The Smith & Wesson Model 3 was a single-action, cartridge-firing, top-break revolver produced by Smith & Wesson from circa 1870 to 1915.
It was produced in several variations and sub-variations, including both the "Russian Model", so named because it was supplied to the military of the Russian Empire (41,000 No. 3's were ordered in .44 caliber by the Imperial Russian Army in 1871), and the "Schofield" model, named after Major George W. Schofield, who made his own modifications to the Model 3 to meet his perceptions of the Cavalry's needs. Smith & Wesson incorporated these modifications into an 1875 design they named after the Major, planning to obtain significant military contracts for the new revolver.
The S&W Model 3 was originally chambered for the .44 S&W American and .44 Russian cartridges, and typically did not have the cartridge information stamped on the gun (as is standard practice for most commercial firearms). Model 3 revolvers were later produced in an assortment of calibers, including .44 Henry Rimfire, .44-40, .32-44, .38-44, and .45 Schofield. The design would influence the smaller S&W .38 Single Action that is retroactively referred to as the Model 2.
Specifications:
Years of Manufacture: circa 1871-1874
Caliber: .44 Russian
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 5 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 11 1/4 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
This product is not available for international shipping.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
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