red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hey guys i live in a town full of gold and quartz mining history. Here in southern CA.Me and a couple of buddies went into a abandon quartz mine that we found.these mines were mined by spanish and Mexican miners up until the 1920s.long story short we found some items in there one of them being my favorite a top break revolver and a leather ammo belt of some sort what is the value of this gun.I found it empty but the barrel had traces of burnt black powder in the bore and cylinders i cleaned it and it functions fines with great cylinder lock up. Picture's coming up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolan Kraps, SASS # 24084 Life Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Looking forward to seeing photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I have the leather Bandolier as well when i found it it was cracked and brittle it was leaning on top of the pistol where the rust spot is i put a leather conditioner on it and put bullets in it to form the little leather stops to hold the bullets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 The bullets are mine the Bandolier was empty when i found it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I believe the leather is made for a bottlenecked rifle cartridge like .30-06 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Art Tillery Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I am jealous, how cool would it be to find something like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Deck 100366 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 This is one of many copies of the Smith and Wesson 32 special. the "Secret Service Special" on the barrel is just a way the manufacturer "marketed" their gun. These were known as "saturday night specials" and "suicide specials" as some of them were so poorly made they were as dangerous to the shooter as they were to the target! Looks like it might have been gold plated at one point. Probably has a cool history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I tried a 30.06 cartridge and it won't fit it fits a .223 perfect but what round was that small back then? I mean these mines were open from 1890-1920? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I shot a 32 black powder blank round and it fired.i disassemble and cleaned the pistol and it works great but the rifling is almost gone i also found a gold mining pan also but it's covered in rust and i found that near the rear entrance of the mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I'm sure the leather has shrunk. Could have been a .30-40 or such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Ok am just curious thanx i don't know much on it but the pistol is neat there is plenty of history out here there was a shooting out in lake elsinore back in the late 1880 with the local sheriff's and some outlaw gang up in railroad canyon right by my were my house sits and we're the gold mines are at there is allot to explore up here my buddy found some old 10 ga shot gun shells but i didn't get a foto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinook Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 What the hey, now neat is that. Just finding it is way neat. If it actually works, so much the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I don't want to go back on there but of i can I'll go snag some inside fotos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 To actually find something like that today is very unusual. It is interesting to think of how many times the mine was explored w/o someone finding those items. So, think of what you may have passed over and missed(?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Howdy, I was repeatedly warned to stay OUT of any mine no matter how inviting. The story was that rotted timbers constructed to NO standards whatsoever could collapse with no warning and anyone in the mine might be crushed or even better be trapped until running out of oxygen or just starving to death. Not too much fun. If you want to buck the odds, more power to ya. I looked at many mines, never set foot in one. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 If it were me, I think I would go out and buy a LOTTO ticket ..... Nice find. Thanks for sharing. Have you checked the leather to see if any initials or names have been scratched in it? ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 How cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastmaster Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Howdy, I was repeatedly warned to stay OUT of any mine no matter how inviting. The story was that rotted timbers constructed to NO standards whatsoever could collapse with no warning and anyone in the mine might be crushed or even better be trapped until running out of oxygen or just starving to death. Not too much fun. If you want to buck the odds, more power to ya. I looked at many mines, never set foot in one. Best CR Good advice, stay out. The rock/earth in old caves and mines are subjected to freezing/thawing, water infiltration, hi/low humidity and that works on the rock via fractures, thus slowly deteriorating it...Eventually a slab from a pebble size to a volkswagon size will fall with no warning. It doesn't take much size of a rock to cause injury or death to a person. Should mention that the mouth of the opening is usually in loose earth and rotten rock and if it is supported by rotten timber, well, there you go. Then if the cave/mine goes back any distance, there very likely can be pockets of dead air, and victim is overcome with air lacking sufficent oxygen to get back out. A rather silent killer. Oxygen level testing equipment will detect these conditions, but your normal ameteur explorer would not carry such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I found the pistol wedge in between a thin slab with leather belt on top it was a tight fit for even my hand to fit you can barely see it what cought my attention was the mother of pearl grips that shined with my flashlight these mine had not been hit and it has a very tight fit we cradled like worms in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I found the pistol wedge in between a thin slab with leather belt on top it was a tight fit for even my hand to fit you can barely see it what cought my attention was the mother of pearl grips that shined with my flashlight these mine had not been hit and it has a very tight fit we cradled like worms in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Look up Good Hope Ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 And no the leather ammo belt has no stampings or markings of any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grass Range #51406 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Exploring old mines; take a Canary with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 A tiny little crawl hole as you describe sounds more like a gold diggings exploration effort/shaft, etc., rather than rather than an actual mine. Scarfed into rotten quartz? What was not considered a paying proposition in the 1920's might be good diggings today. Did you sample it out? Very interesting..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastmaster Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Crawl hole maybe the result of the roof collapsing over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 A neat find! I have several of these old pocket pistols, they are fun to collect and shoot. I only shoot BP sub (usually APP) in mine. I have a couple with the pearl grips, which can be worth more than the gun itself. Was the Pyrodex found with the gun? Pyrodex was first marketed in the mid 1970's I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 No i didn't find any black powder cans or ammo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dead Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I didn't find any gold. But you can see the quartz on the walls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Hooker Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/secret-service-special-revolver.3338/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.