I just picked up a 1858 Remington by E.N. Santa Barbara, a Spanish Maker.
The revolver is plain with no engraving. It is unusual in that there is no visible serial number.
Are there any particularizes about this revolver I should know ?
Is there any capper that works with the Remington style revolver that does not require opening the cap cut ?
Thanks.
they were made in the city of OVIEDO, in north SPAIN, in the very industrial (coal and steel) region of ASTURIAS, in the 1970´s, in the goverment arsernal factory of SANTA BARBARA, just in the city center, a factory that no longer exists. It is the same factory who made the famous OVIEDO Mausers.
this factory was integrated in the SANTA BARBARA holding, which was owned by the goverment to make several types of weapons for the spanish army, among them, the famous MG42 in modernized NATO VERSION, in 7,62x51 (308) caliber, known as MG3. They also made military vehicles, tanks, cannons, naval and air defence systems, etc.
yes, the Steel is harder than the italian clones, as they were using the same steel used in the MG3 machine guns. Someone who has machined one of these cylinders on the lathe, with cobalt cutters, would agree. The italian makers use cheap soft steel, easy to machine, while these revolvers used some of the best steel in Spain.
only the barrel and cylinder were made in the factory, as well as fitting and finish. The frame was an investment casting made by Ecrimesa, a large private company specialized in investment casting process, in the nearby region of Cantabria.
and yes, they gained a fame of accuracy among shooters in Spain and France, as they were match guns. Several world championships were won with them in the Mariette matches. I
I owned one long ago, and with the right charge, and good quality swiss powder, it was extremly accurate. In fact, probably one of the most accurate revolvers I have owned, of all types, including smokeless ones.
yes, they have a perfect bored size matched to the chamber´s diameter something that does not happen with UBERTI and some other, in my opinion, lower quality italian revolvers.
their main draw back was the grip, too small for most hands, and their front sight, fixed. In my opinion, the mechanism was a bit delicate too, with a bolt stop to thin, and the same with the trigger, so I would cock them with care. These were also investment cast parts made outside de factory, and Pietta parts can be adapted, like trigger, hammer, and sear, and bolt stop as well as spring, which is also very hard in these Santa Barbaras.
it seems that production stopped at the beginning of the 80´s. The pin in the muzzle is just that, a pin.
all the best