[219Zipper]

I have been given a revolver by my mother-in-law. My wife remembers her father purchaseing it about 25-30 years ago. It is .32 caliber, 6-shot, 3"barrel (3.5" to the face of the cylinder) and says
"ACERO DE ALTA RESISTENCIA" on one side of the barrel,
"GABILONDO & Cia ELGOIBAR (ESPANA)" and
"32 LONG CTG" on the other side of the barrel.
On the side, below the hammer, in an oval logo, it says,
"RUBY EXTRA" and below the logo it says,
"MARCO REGISTRADA".
On the butt it says "MADE IN SPAIN"
It has several proof marks on it including a circle with an "R" inside it and a crown on top.

Anybody know any more information on this? Or a web site where I can look up more information?

Thanks for your help!
--Clarence

 

[MikeG]

Sounds like a Spanish copy of a .32 S&W. Is it a top-break, or swing-out cylinder? Top-break guns are much weaker than the swing-out cylinders with a solid topstrap.

The 'Ruby' part sounds familiar - can't remember what it means, exactly. It may help identify the exact manufacturer.

There were a LOT of gunmakers in Spain over the years turning out all sorts of stuff. Most of it was on the cheap, there are a few good ones.

Exercise caution, no hot reloads. Factory .32 S&W or .32 S&W Long (either should work) is pretty mild stuff.

.32 Colt New Police is the same as .32 S&W Long, per Ken Waters.

 

[kdub]

Zipper -

If you head over to the Curio And Relics board pub176ezboard.com/bcurioandrelicfirearmsforum there's a guy named "BobinStL" that is the board's expert on spanish rifles and pistols. There is a forum on the board titled "Spanish Pistols". Leave him the same info as you did here and I'll gurantee you'll get a detailed answer from him.

 

[Chief RID]

Mike,

That sounded like the 38 S&W linage. Did the .32 take the same route and have a new Police also.

 

[219Zipper]

Thanks

Great, I will check the Curio And Relic forum. The revolver is swing out. I searched for Ruby Spain Relover on Yahoo and found a note that inferred France's military used a revolver class called Ruby that had several contractors from around Europe. That may be why it sounded familiar.
Thanks for all the info.

 

[bfoster]

GABILONDO & Cia is the parent company of Llama.

Your revolver was proofed between 14 December, 1929 and 9 July, 1931 as this was the only time period that the Eibar proof House used a R within a circle surmounted by a crown.

For what it's worth, by the time your revolver was made many of the Spanish handgun manufacturers had begun to produce substantailly better revolvers than was the case in the years immediately following WWI. Still, before you place any older revolver in service it is wise to have it thoroughly checked by a competent gunsmith.

Bob

 

[219Zipper]

Thanks again.

Thank you, Bfoster, I checked out the C&R Forum and found a bunch of info, but I had not gleaned that information about the proof mark date!
I don't know that my father-in-law ever fired a round through the gun. I'm still debating whether to only display it myself.
I really appreciate all your help!