Imperial Metal Products,inc

Question
I have 22 cal.Imperial hand gun model 7. Original box My dad had it & bought it in 1969 at Mont.wards store for $20.00 It looks brand new. Handle grips screw holes are to big now to screw on the handles properly. Don't think my dad every fired it.
My question is Imperial still in business?

Thanks,

Answer
Imperial Metal Products was a company in North Carolina that seems to have assembled several models of small and inexpensive .22 revolvers from parts imported from Germany where they had been made by RG. There was a Model 7 and a Model 9 and I think they were based on the RG Model 10. The Model 7 is a 7 shot revolver chambered for the .22 SHORT rimfire ONLY.

They were evidently built here for 2 reasons - the RG revolvers were no longer legal to import, and the company that began as Imperial Metal used the money they made selling these cheap little guns to start another business that made better guns.I don't know what the name of that later company was, but I doubt they are around today.

The RG - and the IMC - revolvers were not prize winners. Their best feature was the very low price.  The screw holes in the grips could have ben broken over the years...OR it might be missing the brass escutcheons that hold the screw in place...

Numrich has original grips for the RG Model 10 that MIGHT fit your revolver, Clic k this link -
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/20300.htm

They do list parts for an Imperial Arms Company revolver, but it is totally different from yours and there are no grips available anyway...in fact these RG grips above are the only grips for that revolver available

If it were mine, I would keep it in its box as a family remembrance. I have seen huge variations on price for these things used, from $50 to $100.

They were not designed to handle any charge more powerful than a .22 Short...Some of them have been known to chamber a .22 Long cartridge, which will loosen up the gun if fired...They were NEVER high quality firearms, and I think it should be retired as a keepsake. If the grips were replaced and given the condition and the box, I would estimate the retail value at maybe $125.