The Walch Revolver is a .36

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

cap and ball

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

revolving action

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

, designed by Walch Firearms & Co. The revolver was

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

ed in 1859 by John Walch.

Variants

The revolver has two variants; a five-chamber model and a six-chamber model. Each variant is capable of firing two shots per chamber, when completely loaded. There are two hammers, and depending on the model, one or two triggers.

Production history

Roughly 200 Walch Revolvers were produced between 1859 and 1862, making them quite rare.

References

American Civil War weapons Revolvers of the United States Black-powder pistols Early revolvers Guns of the American West {{revolver-stub