Identified - 1864 Terni Arsenal .69 Caliber Percussion Pistol

[jcastaway]

I picked this pistol up a couple months ago which was sold as a French percussion pistol however this appears to be an Italian made. It's mechanically in pretty good shape (especially the barrel) but it has years of varnish and grime and needs a good cleaning. I think this is a shooter. TBD

[jcastaway]

Some additional pictures pre-conditioning (before). There are scratches, dings, dents, stock cracks, chips and it feels rough due to the layers of stain and varnish.

[smithy]

The Terni Arsenal was a small arms factory located in Terni, Italy. The Terni complex was set up by a group consisting of the Italian steel and shipbuilders Odero and Orlandi, with technical and financial input from Vickers and Armstrongs of Britain to erect a Blast Furnace at Terni, and a connected “ordnance” works, for the manufacture of Guns (artillery) and small arms. At the time, the centers of Small Arms and Artillery production were Turin (Torino), for the North, and Torre Annunciata (near Naples) for the South, both areas having been independent kingdoms prior to the re-unification struggles of the 1860s.

[jcastaway]

This pistol was in very good condition but covered in years of grime and varnish. We did a level one reconditioning effort to bring back original functional state. I'm happy to report she is a great shooter and hand canon. I will post some info about bullet options and what I went with.

[adavis]

I would say that is the best picture I have seen on there yet. LOVE IT!