Powell's revolver

[LincolnMan]

(06-17-2013 12:25 PM)Wesley Harris Wrote:  

(06-17-2013 11:20 AM)wsanto Wrote:  Obviously the gun was reassembled for display and appears to be in fine condition. Does any part of the gun appear bent or damged in any way to the experts? Were any of its parts replaced in order to reassemble it?

I would think a skull would not bend the metal parts of a gun but, on the other hand, I can imagine the gun's parts disasssembling with repeated savage blows to the head.

If you look at Betty's photo, just above the upper right corner of the little sign, you can see where the loading ram attaches to the loading lever. The loading ram is like a little plunger to press the lead ball into the cylinder. The connection between the ram and the rest of the lever (there's a little pin there) broke into. I can not determine if the small break was ever repaired. You can see the loading lever runs along the bottom of the barrel. It has a tiny fastener at its tip. When it's released, the entire lever can be removed, which causes the cylinder to fall out.

I own a Colt 1860 revolver (like the one Boston Corbett had). It has the same loading ram divide. I can see that it could be fairly easily damaged if pounded against something. Also, because of it's size and weight it could do considerable damage to someone's head.