Bavarian M79 Reichsrevolver Rig with EWB Service

[chrisftk]

Hi All,

I know Imperial sidearms are sort of mission creep here, but folks seem to like seeing the ones that get posted, so we'll keep it up. I picked this rig up early this year and had it out the other day to show a visiting friend, so I took some pics.

I'm a sucker for M79/83 revolvers and I enjoy hunting for interesting ones. The 79s are pretty ugly and unwieldy, and it's easy to see why they are jokingly called a better melee weapon than a sidearm. They still have their charm though.

This example was one of the Bavarian contract M79 revolvers purchased from Mauser. According to Heinrich Harder's work, 5,003 were included in this contract (I'm wondering if the 3 were samples). The revolver was produced in 1880 and issued in 1882. The fireproof on the frame and cylinder is the period-correct Bavarian "GF" (literally Rifle Factory). It was issued at some point to a light munitions column (best guess on unit mark) and remained in service through the end of the war it would seem. In the chaos after WWI, it was utilized by the Einwohnerwehr Bayern (EWB), an anti communist militia (discussed at some length in other threads). With EWB service, this thing had a pretty long service life-- about 40 years.

The parts are all matching and the metal carries a mellow patina from its many years in service. The original finish was an old fashioned browning, but these were refinished with rust bluing in some cases when they were reworked. This one does not appear to have been blued at any point. There's some potential vet graphiti on top of the frame.

In any case, just wanted to share-- it's a neat M79 on its own merits, and the EWB gives some interesting additional provenance.

 

[Cyrano4747]

Oh that is neat as can be. That represents one of my favorite time periods at the Mauser factory, the period after the initial M71 deal that helped them buy the Oberndorf factory but before the big foreign deals that really cemented their business future (in more ways than one - the relationship with their bank is complex). Long story short, they didn't have licensing rights to the m71 and were rapidly running out of actual orders to fill. They doubled down on pistols for a couple of years, leading ultimately to the C78, but it got rejected pretty much everywhere. Having the GPK pick the m79 over it was an almost fatal blow.

Wilhelm was on the road pretty much non-stop in those years trying to flog guns to foreign militaries. While in Russia trying to sell them on a pistol (what eventually became the Smith & Wesson contract for the Model 3 and, ironically, almost killed S&W when Russia reneged on their orders in favor of cheaper clones, some of which were made by future Mauser owner Ludwig Loewe) the Wurttemburg contract for m71s finally wrapped up at roughly the same time as a small Chinese contract. For a period of time there they were pretty much reduced to small production for private sale, and in October 1878 Paul wrote to Wilhelm that if they didn't get a contract soon they would have to start letting go staff.

The lifeline ended up being a contract for 5,000 m79s for Bavaria and 3,000 for Wurttemburg, which must have been galling as that was the gun that beat out the pistol they were really banking on propping up the company's finances with.

It's a really fascinating period in the company's history, where they're lurching from small contract to small contract and each one is a lifeline. Things don't really start to turn around until the 1880 (agreed on - signed Feb 1881) Serbian contract, and even then the bank was so freaked out that it started the wheels turning to dissolve the limited partnership company that it was invested in - Gebruder Mauser & Cie - and eventually lead to the joint stock limited company Waffenfabrik Mauser, which in turn set the table for the eventual LL&Co take over.

Really nice pick up, great piece for a really pivotal low point in the Oberndorf factory's history.

 

[donki1967]

The Reichrevolvers are certainly the most horrible revolvers that have ever been made...I don't know what to do with mine, maybe I'll use it as a hammer one day??

 

[joryfreeburg]

Reichsrevolver’s are so ugly they are cool. I really like that this one is EWB marked. That’s the first one of these that I have seen like that.

 

[biggymu]

Fascinating history and example. There is a certain elegance about it. What’s with the rim on the end of the barrel? A safety lever on a wheel gun, totally German. Very cool!

 

[chrisftk]

Oh that is neat as can be. That represents one of my favorite time periods at the Mauser factory, the period after the initial M71 deal that helped them buy the Oberndorf factory but before the big foreign deals that really cemented their business future (in more ways than one - the relationship with their bank is complex). Long story short, they didn't have licensing rights to the m71 and were rapidly running out of actual orders to fill. They doubled down on pistols for a couple of years, leading ultimately to the C78, but it got rejected pretty much everywhere. Having the GPK pick the m79 over it was an almost fatal blow.

Wilhelm was on the road pretty much non-stop in those years trying to flog guns to foreign militaries. While in Russia trying to sell them on a pistol (what eventually became the Smith & Wesson contract for the Model 3 and, ironically, almost killed S&W when Russia reneged on their orders in favor of cheaper clones, some of which were made by future Mauser owner Ludwig Loewe) the Wurttemburg contract for m71s finally wrapped up at roughly the same time as a small Chinese contract. For a period of time there they were pretty much reduced to small production for private sale, and in October 1878 Paul wrote to Wilhelm that if they didn't get a contract soon they would have to start letting go staff.

The lifeline ended up being a contract for 5,000 m79s for Bavaria and 3,000 for Wurttemburg, which must have been galling as that was the gun that beat out the pistol they were really banking on propping up the company's finances with.

It's a really fascinating period in the company's history, where they're lurching from small contract to small contract and each one is a lifeline. Things don't really start to turn around until the 1880 (agreed on - signed Feb 1881) Serbian contract, and even then the bank was so freaked out that it started the wheels turning to dissolve the limited partnership company that it was invested in - Gebruder Mauser & Cie - and eventually lead to the joint stock limited company Waffenfabrik Mauser, which in turn set the table for the eventual LL&Co take over.

Really nice pick up, great piece for a really pivotal low point in the Oberndorf factory's history.

Thanks, I appreciate thorough commentary! I agree---the fact that Mauser was involved with these was always fascinating to me. I have two of the Württembergische 79s as well-- I'll get those up here at some point. For a small-ish contract they have a reasonably high survival rate. I've seen several over the years.

The Reichrevolvers are certainly the most horrible revolvers that have ever been made...I don't know what to do with mine, maybe I'll use it as a hammer one day??

They do rather well as a blunt instrument. Reloading? Forget about it!

Reichsrevolver’s are so ugly they are cool. I really like that this one is EWB marked. That’s the first one of these that I have seen like that.

Thanks Jory! EWB sidearms aren't common at all. I've seen a lot of diversity in models used, but none show up often.

Fascinating history and example. There is a certain elegance about it. What’s with the rim on the end of the barrel? A safety lever on a wheel gun, totally German. Very cool!

Thanks Rick, the ring at the end of the barrel is an old holdover from the M50 percussion pistol. It was something the German commission specifically requested, oddly enough.


The safety is a bit of a fluke. It's extremely fragile and a bit unnecessary. They carried over the same mediocre design onto the M83.