single action Revolver mod. 121

Question
QUESTION: Trying to find out about a .121 45 short from h.schmidt that i purchased.looks like a colt replica or something of that nature to a six shooter.can you give me some insight on this piece and a possible worth,i would say very good condition.never heard of this company till now. thank you

ANSWER: Matthew,

Your gun was manufactured by Herbert Schmidt in West Germany.  H. Schmidt produced a number of Colt replicas in a variety of calibers.  These gun were mostly imported to the US by Hawes Firearms in Los Angeles from the late 60s to the early 80s.  The .357 in particular was introduced in 1970.  They were well made guns, but primarily good shooters.  They were not very expensive to begin with and are not considered to be collectable.  The other big maker of Colt replicas was J.P Sauer, also of West Germany.  

H. Schmidt was originally founded in 1919 in the town of Zella-Mehlis by two brothers, Francis and Herbert.  Zella-Mehlis was the home of several firearms manufacturers including Walther.  In 1950, Herbert moved the operation to Ostheim, Rohn and began to manufacture starting pistols.  In 1959 they introduced a .22 magnum version of the Colt Frontier Scout.  In 1970 versions were introduced in .22, .22 magnum and .357 as well as in 6mm and 9mm.  Herbert Schmidt died in 1974.  His son Wolfgang took over the business and expanded further into blank guns and knives.  In 1994, the company now called HS Arms GmBH manufactured a single action "Texas Scout" model that could be converted between .45 Colt and .22 LR, a double action "Buffalo Combo" in .38 caliber and an "Undercover" double action revolver in 9mm.  Sometime in the late 1990s, HS Arms ceased operations and closed permanently.

My guess is that you have a Texas Scout if it in .45 Colt but without seeing detailed photos it would be impossible to say with any precision.  If it is actually marked '45 short' that is a bit unusual since that was not an especially popular caliber and hasn't really been around since the late 1880s to my knowledge.  

In terms of worth, unless you have a very unusual piece, the values are not especially high.  I would say something in the $100-$150 range for something in good condition.  Maybe $200-$250 in really excellent condition.  Since I can't see photos, I am going strictly on what you've told me in your description, which isn't very much, so I have to assume you have on of the more generic firearms from H. Schmidt.

Hope this helps you out.

Regards,

Doug Little




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Colt 9mm   QUESTION: Hello again, I have some more details regarding the gun,   the gun i have is not a Texas Scout .45 Colt as i first thought . Inscribted on the gun on the barrel, it has "MOD.121 A 2 CAL.9MM KNALL.M.I.W.GERMANY.

I AM NOT SURE IF THIS WILL MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AS I AM ENGLISH AND THE GUN IN 1992 WAS ?85.00, I PURSCHASED IT IN ENGLAND. PLEASE FIND A PICTURE ENCLOSED FOR YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.  MATT

Answer
Matt,

The difference in model really doesn't make much of a difference.  I did some checking and found that these are going for something like 150 Euros in the places I have seen them for sale.  If you originally paid 185 Pounds for it,  you haven't lost much in the way of value.

Hope this helps you out...

Cheers,

Doug