Dean has a sidearm which may be allowed in Canada. This is the Reichsrevolver Model 1883 with replacement cylinder pin. The group was shot with 200 grain Ultramax .44 Russian loads. They do not appear to be available any more.
By Dean Weingarten | Contributing Writer
This correspondent has been considering a trip to Canada to do some research.
The current Canadian government has stopped all importation of handguns for the foreseeable future.
However, Canada does not classify antique guns as firearms. The requirements to qualify as an antique are strict. The handgun must have been made before 1898. The handgun may not be chambered for any of a list of common centerfire cartridges or .22 rimfire. Two of the models which meet the requirements are the Reichsrevolver models of 1879 and 1883.
I found an 1883, which had been manufactured in 1893. Someone had fitted a non-standard cylinder pin and cylinder pin retainer. This brought the price down by half. The cartridge made for the revolver is the German 10.55 x 25R.
The cylinder pin and retainer shown above were non-standard replacements when purchased. Just below the hammer is the safety lever. When the hammer is in the safety notch, the safety locks the hammer so it cannot move forward or backward.
Cartridges of the World lists the service load as a 262-grain bullet at 700 fps. The cartridge uses a regular inside lubricated bullet just as we have come to expect in modern revolvers. In Donnelly’s Handloader’s Manual of Cartridge Conversions, to make 10.6 x 25 revolver cartridges, you need only to trim .44 Magnum
