Manufacturers, Importers and Distributors

During the heyday of the reproductions, there was a great deal more sharing of parts among the Italian manufacturers than was ever suspected. During the 1960’s, 1970’s, and into the 1980’s there was a bonanza market for these replica revolvers. The major manufacturers could not meet the demand and American distributors wanted more of and different models of what were being produced.

There were a good many very small “family shops” in the Gardone, Brescia area of Italy like MOFRA and others. It is becoming apparent that the major manufacturers used these shops as sub-contractors as a source of parts as well as complete revolvers for those distributors seeking cheaper and cheaper guns. The well known manufacturers did not want their name and reputation on a cheaper firearm, so these were sub-contracted out. These small manufacturers started with supplying only parts and then evolved into completed guns. It is possible that these shops did not have an Italian firearms manufacturer’s license and could not sell their products direct, so they were sold through other manufacturers who had a license. As a result, we have a group of markings appearing on replica revolvers that have taken a long time to be identified because of the special conditions in the market at that time. There is a complete lack of many records, but with the assistance of many replica collectors from around the world, and especially in France and Italy, we have been able to identify many of them. Some of these markings are COM, the Double Diamond Logo, PR, MOFRA and others as assembled below.

Until 1968, US law did not require manufacturers to have their mark on guns. This is why a certain number of revolvers produced prior to 1968 bear only the mark of the importer. The importation of weapon prior to 1968 was not very well regulated at all, but after 1968, many small shops saw its rules harden with the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, whihc had an effect on firearms imported into the United States. This quickly led to the collapse of many small companies like EIG Cutlery and many others. In some cases the importation was was taken over by FIE, which put on the market even cheaper weapons, but of lower quality, which allowed it to last until the dawn of the 1990s.

So, what follows is a photo library of many of the various Importer, Distributor and Manufacturers Marks to help with identifying the manufacturer of your revolvers. These marks and the history of the manufacturers have been assembled with the assistance of contacts in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Spain and France over many years. The history of some of these makers and importers are no longer available due to lost records. And, from time to time, new data becomes available that corrects previous information found to be incorrect based on what was known at the time. This is always a work in progress! I hope it will aid those seeking information on their black powder cap & ball reproduction revolvers.

Click or tap tap on photo for company history.