Fate’s a fickle creature. Sometimes, the same day you get a parking ticket from an automated system is the same day you find an $80 Spanish copy of a S&W hand ejector. You might think, “Hey, save that $80 for the ticket,” but fate is fickle. This Spanish Smith combined a lot of things I like.
A Spanish Smith?
First, it was cheap. Second, I like Spanish handguns. Third, it fires the .32 S&W Long. Those are three things I enjoy immensely. To hell with that parking ticket, I wanted this gun. The proprietor of this particular gun store explained he’d had the gun forever, and no one wanted a Spanish .32 S&W Long.
Clearly, his normal customers lacked refined taste. Four twenty-dollar bills later, I had my Spanish Smith and immediately began my research.
A Spanish Smith and a Familiar Story
The Spanish handgun industry is built on other people’s ideas. Spanish handgun companies would routinely copy other designs, but would also make some slight changes here and there. For example, with their 1911 clones, they’d ditch the grip safeties, and their SIG clones featured a heel magazine release. When they did make something new, it was just mixing and mashing designs together.
I always thought that this started with the Ruby pistols. The Ruby pistols were copies of the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless and were adopted by the French during WWI to supplement their handgun needs. The Spanish also supplied the French with revolvers, guns known as Spanish ’92s, which chambered the 8mm Lebel.
The Spanish also supplied guns to the British in .455 Webley. These were all various Smith & Wesson clones. My Spanish Smith wasn’t some WWI vintage, but a gun made by the same companies that were producing these various guns for the French and British forces.
My particular model is a Trocaola Aranzabal & Co Model 1892 .32 Cal Revolver. Trocaola Aranzabal & Co. produced a wide variety of guns, focusing on revolvers of various calibers. This Spanish Smith is a copy of the S&W Second Model Hand Ejector .32. The copy is nearly perfect; as the owner of three other Hand Ejectors, it’s a close copy.
In fact, that’s what drew my attention to the gun. I thought it was an S&W Hand Ejector. Even the company’s marking clearly imitates the S&W trademark logo. It’s not an S&W, but it is quite close.
At the Range With The Spanish Smith
While the Trocaola Aranzabal & Co. 1892 .32 looks and even feels like an S&W Hand Ejector, I was curious if it would shoot like one. The first major difference between the two was the trigger. The trigger on the Spanish variant was much heavier in double action, but fine in single action. The heavy part of the pull can tire your hand out quite a bit.
Tugging the hammer into single action also takes more force than I’d expect. It’s hefty, and you’ll appreciate the thumb jimping on the hammer. It’s interesting, and I will allow for the possibility that this gun was beaten and abused, and not all Spanish Smith clones are this rough to handle.
The hefty double-action trigger and the small grip don’t do wonders for accuracy. It’s tough to make a tight group and maintain a good grip when the trigger pull is so long and heavy. The single action cleans things up and helps create tight groups. The .32 S&W Long gives you awesome accuracy, and that shows here.
The long six-inch barrel helps, too, but the turn-of-the-century sights leave a bit to be desired. It’s an old gun, so you get what you get. The little .32 S&W Long has hardly any recoil, and it’s super pleasant to shoot. Like any .32 S&W Long, it’s a joy to shoot. I don’t baby my Smiths, but I’m more likely to shoot, use, and abuse my Spanish Smith clone than the other guns.
I Got $80 On It
I’ve already had $80 worth of fun with this gun. It might sound silly, but I have some devious desires with this gun. Fitz made his fame with the Fitz Specials from big-bore revolvers. Hear me out, what if I have this .32 S&W Long “Fitz-specialized”? Am I crazy? It doesn’t have any historic value, and I think it would be a fascinating and fun gun.
Regardless, eighty bucks was nothing for this old gun, and if you find one that cheap, I can’t help but advise you to buy it and enjoy it.
