Today for Gus’ Gear I have two M1874 revolvers, chambered for the 10.35x20mmR Italian cartridge, these revolvers are a close copy of the French Mle 1873 Chamelot-Delvigne revolver. First produced in Belgium by Pirlot Freres in Liege and then produced by the Glisenti Factory in Brescia, Italy until the adoption of the M1886 Bodeo revolver. The holster shown with the revolver is a larger size than the common Bodeo holster, it has had the suspension straps removed and converted to belt loops at a later date. These revolvers would originally have been carried by officers, but by the time Italy entered the Great War, they needed handguns, and these were used by the common soldiers.
This photo shows two examples of the M1874 revolver, the top revolver was manufactured by Pirlot Freres in Liege Belgium (Pirlot Brothers) These were the first production before the revolver was produced in Italy, this example has an Italian military number just above the right grip, indicating it was an issued revolver. Many of the Belgian produced revolvers were privately purchased by officers as their personal sidearm. The lower revolver was produced by the Glisenti Factory in Brescia, Italy, it also has the Italian military number just above the right grip.
The top revolver is shown with the loading gate opened to allow reloading.
The left side of the revolvers have the markings of the factory where they were manufactured, just in front of the cylinder, Pirlot Freres a Liege on the top revolver and Glisenti, Brescia on the lower revolver. This view of the holster shows how the suspension straps have been removed and replaced with belt loops.
This shows the revolver disassembled for cleaning. The first step is to check and clear the cylinder of any cartridges, then rotate the ejector rod lever down and to the right, press the spring-loaded button on the left of the frame in front of the cylinder to release the cylinder pin, pull the pin forward until it stops. Move the hammer back to halfcocked, open the reloading gate and then remove the cylinder out the right side of the frame. To remove the side plate, the screw just above the left grip must be removed, there is a small notch in the side plate just behind the hammer to allow insertion of the tip of a screwdriver to pry the side plate away from the frame. Once the side plate is removed the left grip can be removed to expose the revolver’s action. Assembly is a reverse process.