Smith & Wesson Model 1 – Their First Firearm

My dad started taking me to gun shows when I was around ten years old.  I fondly remember ogling the endless tables at eye level displaying Lugers, Broomhandle Mausers, Walther PPK pistols, Colt Single Action Army revolvers, and Smith & Wesson double actions in gold-colored boxes.  Those were indeed the good old days, circa 1975.  Before the dark times, before the empire of black polymer.

I learned proper gun show etiquette at my early age by watching my father at each table with guns meticulously laid out for sale.  For a kid, the golden rule was, “Don’t touch anything without first asking permission.”  My dad always asked first, “May I pick up this .44 Russian Smith and Wesson single action revolver?”  Describing the gun let the seller know that my dad at least knew what he was looking at before he inspected it in his hands.

A finer point I learned by observation was to handle handguns by only touching the grips if possible.  My Godfather would sometimes accompany us and he had an odd habit of holding a gun by the grips but then sticking his other hand’s pinky’s fingertip in the muzzle.  My father finally had seen enough of this behavior and questioned him as to why he would put his alkaline sweat covered little finger inside the muzzle where its rifling couldn’t be easily cleaned out, possibly causing rust?  That was the last time my Godfather did it…at least in front of my dad.  My dad worded it better than I remember because they remained friends until their last days.

My father would only ask to look at a gun if he had the genuine intent to buy it with the money-clipped cash shoved down deep in his front pocket.  He wasn’t a tire kicker.  If he was really serious, he would further ask to work the action, open the cylinder, and inspect the bore.  Then came the big question, “Do you mind if I dry fire it?”  My dad would always place his thumb between the hammer and firing pin when trying the trigger pull.  Even with the seller’s blessing to dry fire the gun, my dad would never let the sound of metal striking metal emanate from his hands.

The wealth of knowledge I gained by walking along with him was soaked up in the dry sponge like matter of my little brain and stored.  I knew that certain Lugers were worth ten times the value of others because of small differences not evident when displayed on a gun show table.  I learned what a red nine carved into a Mauser C96 Broomhandle’s grip meant, and oh how I wish I had one today, because they sure were cheap back then!  I understood the difference Crown-over-N proof marks on a Walther PPK meant compared to Eagle-over-N or the Ulm antler proofs.

The Diminutive Revolver

One of the guns that grabbed my fascination more than others was the diminutive single action revolver made by Smith and Wesson that was chambered in .22 Short.  They righteously and appropriately called it their Model 1.  For a kid, that revolver looked to be just the right size for my hands . . . like Baby Bear’s bed in Goldilocks.

Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson’s second attempt at firearms manufacturing began with the Model 1.  Their Volcanic firearms did not work out as planned because . . . well, it just wasn’t a workable and usable firearm design for the times.  But their new idea was this seven-shot, single action revolver chambered for the new .22 Short cartridge.  Instead of a muzzle loader/cylinder front loader, this rimfire cartridge held all the necessary components to fire a shot in a single load—case, priming in the rim, powder, and bullet, all in one.

The first five productions guns were made in 1857, but the story goes that S&W made more than 2,500 the following year and they were quite the success.  The Model 1 was manufactured until 1881.  There were First, Second, and Third issues, along with numerous variants within each issue as improvements were made.  Many of the improvements were made to simplify manufacturing, strengthen the gun, or make shooting better.  As an example, the First Issue, Fifth Variant changed the rifling from three grooves to five, and from left hand to right hand twist.

The Third Issue of the Model 1 is easy to tell apart from the previous two versions due to its rounded birdshead grip.  The previous versions had squared-off butts.  The Third Issue no longer had a brass frame, but a stronger iron/steel frame.  The standard round-ribbed barrel length was 3 – 3/16-inch and the cylinder was fluted between each of its seven chambers.

The Model 1 was the beginning of both Smith and Wesson as a company.  It also marked the beginning of the self-contained cartridge in the .22 Short.  This particular revolver is uniquely significant in the firearms world for both of these reasons.

The Third Issue Version

The Third Issue is the version I wanted, because it can still be fired safely today with currently manufactured .22 CB rimfire ammunition.  CCI .22 Short CB rounds fire a 29-grain lead round nose bullet at just 710 feet per second.  These should not be fired in the brass framed Model 1, but they’re safe in the steel frame, round butt Model 1 as long as it’s in excellent working condition.

The Smith and Wesson Model 2 was a larger frame revolver that came out later in .32 rimfire caliber.  A Model 1 1/2 was also made in .32 caliber.  This wheel gun was in between the size of the Model 1 and Model 2.  Those crazy S&W gun moniker naming games were pretty accurate.

I found a Model 1 for sale online on Gunbroker at a reasonable price and in proper, excellent working condition.  Because this particular little S&W was made in 1872, it’s considered an antique and it didn’t need to be shipped to an FFL.  It arrived safely in my mailbox after I made payment.

The tiny single action is nickel plated, but portions of the finish had flaked off in quite a few places.  This was fine with me as long as the Model 1 functioned as it did when new 150+ years ago.  The bore was dark, but its rifling was intact.  Everything mechanical functioned with the expected perfection of a hand-built revolver, expertly put together by trained and experienced technicians from back in the day.  These old guns were really made well.

Operating the Lilliputian revolver is rather charming.  At the bottom of the frame, just in front of the face of the cylinder, is an itty bitty catch.  It’s knurled on both the left and right sides so your fingertips can push it upward to release the barrel, which then tips upwards at a ninety-degree angle.  The barrel points straight up, and this allows the cylinder to simply slide off toward the front, away from the cylinder pin (which remains at the back of the frame).  This feature is why the Model 1 is referred to as a Tip Up.  No namesake was ever more appropriate.

Now all seven of the minuscule chambers in the tiny cylinder can be loaded with the little bitty .22 CB Short rounds.  The cylinder is hilariously small.  It’s hard to hold in my large fingers.  The cylinder is miniature in both circumference and width and length.  I had to be careful not to drop it, for fear that it would roll away into a black hole under the couch.  It’s not like I can just order a replacement.

The cylinder is re-installed in reverse order and the tip up barrel is swung back down and the latch secured automatically when closed.

The teensy gun can now be aimed and cocked by thumbing back the hammer, single action.  Cross hatching on the hammer, in addition to its high angle, make it easy to cock.  The knurled spur trigger has no trigger guard.

Aiming is attempted by utilizing the spring-loaded rear sight that pops up when cocked and lining it up in conventional manner with the thin, fine and low front sight.  I say “attempted” because “accomplished” doesn’t seem right.  None of the sighting system is easy to see.

Mark Twain’s Take on the Model 1

Mark Twain wrote about his travels to America’s west in his 1872 book, Roughing It.  He hilariously mentioned (in the manner that only he, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, could) about the firearm he carried, the S&W Model 1.  Twain wrote:

I was armed to the teeth with a pitiful little Smith & Wesson’s seven-shooter, which carried a ball like a homeopathic pill, and it took the whole seven to make a dose for an adult. But I thought it was grand. It appeared to me to be a dangerous weapon. It only had one fault–you could not hit anything with it. One of our “conductors” practiced awhile on a cow with it, and as long as she stood still and behaved herself she was safe.

The idea that something as large as a cow was beyond the pale for the S&W to hit at a reasonable distance perfectly described, with humor, how difficult the sights were to use.  But I found the seven-shooter accurate enough at 7 yards to hit 10-inch steel plates with every shot.

Back during Twain’s time, before antibiotics and modern surgery techniques, even a .22 Short bullet would often lead to death.  Today we tend to think along the lines of stopping power and debate if the .38 Special or 9mm is enough to immediately stop a drug fueled madman intent on murder.  I doubt a .22 Short would even be noticed by the imagined encounters we conjure from the daily headlines.  The Model 1 sure fits Rule Number One of a gunfight – have a gun.  It’s better than nothing, and back a century and a half ago, it was a defensive option for close up work.

Shooting the Model 1

I brought along the Model 1 to the Shootists Holiday and walked the line with a 50 round plastic box of CCI .22 Short CB rounds.  I offered fellow shooters the opportunity to fire a gun that was around 153 years old.  I’d ask, “Have you ever shot a revolver that’s 153 years old?”  The answer was always no.  Then I replied, “Would you like to?”  No one refused my offer and I ran out of those 50 rounds pretty quick.

The stocks on this Model 1 are originals.  They are fitted perfectly to the frame and are either walnut or rosewood.  I think they’re rosewood because of their reddish tinge, but it’s difficult to really know for sure.  Age and oil may have changed their appearance.

The serial number is pressed on the inside of the right grip panel and matches the serial number on the frame.  I believe the grips were fitted by hand to the grip frames before the frames were either blued or nickel plated.  It makes sense to serial number match the grips because they would be removed after hand fitting and before final finishing of the metal.  I can only get my middle and my ring fingers on the front of the grip frame due to its toy-like size.  The smooth oiled finish on the grips doesn’t matter one way or the other when it comes to holding the revolver.  Recoil is non-existent so checkering isn’t needed.

Cocking and shooting is easy, precise, and fun.  It’s like shooting a toy version of a full-sized single action revolver.  There is no half cock notch or safety notch or any of that business.  The hammer is either cocked, or it’s not.  If one was going to actually carry this revolver, care could and should be taken to lower the hammer in between loaded chambers, to make sure the hammer does not rest on the edge of a loaded cartridge.  It could fire easily with a tap to the back of the hammer while pocketed.

Pointing and double-checking alignment with the target works better than trying to see and line up the small, thin sights.  The trigger pull is a light three pounds.

After shooting all seven chambers (and hopefully hitting the target), tipping up the barrel allows the cylinder to be removed again from the revolver.  There is a pointed rod mounted under the barrel and retained in place with a screw.  This is the punch to knock the empty, fired cases out of each chamber, one at a time.  The act of performing this task is uncomplicated in its concept and oddly pleasurable in its execution.  It works exceedingly well.  It’s simple and straightforward.  Dare I say it’s just kind of fun?  Ah, the good old days.

Cleaning is super easy with the cylinder removed and the barrel tipped upwards.  Access is granted to everything that needs to be cleaned effortlessly.  A toothbrush reaches where it needs to go to scrub away gunk and the barrel can be cleaned with a rod from the breech end.

A ballistic time capsule

I found this S&W Model 1 to be a fun addition to my collection.  It’s a shooter and it satisfies my longtime childhood desire to have one.  Various books and online sites caution strongly against shooting these guns.  I looked at the pressures of the CCI 22 Short CB rounds and I knew they were very low.  I wore heavy gloves the first time I fired the Model 1, along with safety shooting glasses as usual, just in case the gun exploded in my hand.  My caution turned out to be unnecessary.  After plenty of shooting, I am confident that my gun was safe to offer for others to fire it.  When it comes to old, old guns (emphasis on saying old twice!), they should be checked to make sure they are in proper firing condition and research should be done to make sure only appropriate ammunition is used.  I would not fire this Model 1 with standard velocity .22 Short ammo, only the very mild CB rounds.  And only in a 3rd Issue with the steel frame.  These guns were made for black powder, not smokeless powder with entirely different burn rates and pressures.

The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, details various types of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Issue Model 1 revolvers, along with attributes that skyrocket values, such as engraving, fancy stocks, cases, barrel lengths, and markings.

Turning a few pages of the SCSW book past the Model 1 reveals the Top Break S&W revolvers as the successors to the tip up Model 1.  My dad used to call them Break Tops instead of Top Breaks.  Either way, the barrels unlatched at the top rear of the frame and then rotated downward, the opposite of the Model 1.  The first versions had spur triggers like the Model 1, and then came trigger guards and double action triggers and larger framed revolvers.  My dad actually collected all different makes and models of Break Top revolvers, but those are guns are for another time.

For now, the S&W Model 1 is historically notable to us RevolverGuys for being the first revolver from the company we still know and shoot today, and for a cartridge we still load and fire.