Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely honest used example of a small just post Civil War Moore's Patent revolver, with a six shot cylinder in .32 Teat-fire caliber, and is definitely well above the examples we usually see! The frame is brass, which in this case still retains over 75% of the original nickel plating, which is often completely worn away, and is well over what we usually see. It has beautiful floral and scroll engraving all over the frame, with some minimal accent engraving on the barrel. The metalwork overall shows use and cleaning, but no abuse, and the black finished grips are in lovely condition.

The underside of the barrel is marked with serial number 6618, which we estimate puts production around 1866. Additionally, the gun is marked on the rear of the barrel, on the rear of the cylinder (faint), cylinder arbor pin, action side plate, left side of the hammer, and under the grip scales with assembly number BM 18, which is even on the interior of BOTH grip scales! The only unmarked item is the barrel wedge, which may have had it removed by cleaning, or is an unmarked replacement. That makes this a great "Mostly Matching" example, with no major parts swapped out over the years!

These were made by the National Arms Company in Brooklyn, NY, however only some were marked by the company, while others were marked by Moore's company. The 3 1/4" barrel of this example is definitely marked with the Moore's patent information, which is still clearly visible on the top of the barrel:-

The back of the cylinder is also marked with patent information, which also easily read, though definitely may require a magnifier due to the small size:-

The action on the revolver is functional, however the cylinder lock is weak, which causes issues with indexing and the lock up. If cycled very slowly, it will index correctly, however even then the cylinder can be revolved by hand with moderate force. We also noted that the mainspring has a period repair on it. The revolver properly breaks down when the barrel wedge is removed, and has the early pattern gate on the lower right barrel, which would allow cartridges to be removed and loaded when open. There is a small inlet on the back of the recoil shield where an ejection tool would be used to push out spent cartridges.

We checked the bore, and it is in excellent condition, showing a mostly bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. There is some past oxidation and fouling, now cleaned away, but for a Civil War Era black powder revolver, it really is great.. The brass frame still has most of the original nickel plating present, which is very rare on civil war era revolvers. It is worn through on the sharp edges such as on the recoil shield, which is one of the first places to show wear. The grips are in good shape with a lovely color, still retaining the original black finish at over 80%., with wear through on the raised bevel.

In lovely condition with some great engraving, this is a very nice honest used example of a Moore's Patent teat fire revolver, with a great bore. An interesting stepping stone in firearms development, ready to add to your collection!

Specifications:-

Years of Manufacture: 1864-1870
Caliber: .32 cal Teat-fire
Ammunition Type: Teat-Fire cartridge
Barrel Length: 3 1/4 inches
Overall Length: 7 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

The Teat-fire cartridge was a .32 caliber pistol cartridge designed by Daniel Moore and manufactured by Moore and his partner David Williamson for their Pocket Revolver and was produced under both the Moore and National Arms marques by the National Arms Company of Brooklyn, New York in the mid-19th century.

The Moore Caliber .32 Teat-fire, which used a unique cartridge to get around the Rollin White patent owned by Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson, proved very popular during the Civil War, with both soldiers and civilians. The "Teat-fire" cartridges did not have a rim at the back like conventional cartridges, but were rounded at the rear, with a small "teat" that would protrude through a tiny opening in the rear of the cylinder. The priming mixture was contained in the "teat" and when the hammer struck it, the cartridge would fire. Thus, it was akin to a rimfire cartridge, but instead of having priming all the way around the edge of the rim, it is centrally located in the teat. This also meant that the revolver cylinder was loaded from the front, which is why there is a loading gate at the front of the frame, and not the rear.

Moore's Caliber .32 Teat-fire Pocket Revolver proved very popular during the American Civil War, with both soldiers and civilians. National Arms produced about 30,000 of the revolvers from 1864 to 1870, when it was acquired by Colt's Manufacturing Company.

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

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 possess, 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.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.