revolver
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating
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 ...
that has at least one
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
and uses a revolving
cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
containing multiple
chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...
(each holding a single
cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...
) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six rounds of cartridge before needing to reload, revolvers are also commonly called six shooters. Before firing, cocking the revolver's hammer partially rotates the cylinder, indexing one of the cylinder chambers into alignment with the barrel, allowing the
bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...
to be fired through the bore. The hammer cocking in nearly all revolvers are manually driven, and can be achieved either by the user using the
thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...
to directly pull back the hammer (as in single-action), via internal
linkage Linkage may refer to: * ''Linkage'' (album), by J-pop singer Mami Kawada, released in 2010 *Linkage (graph theory), the maximum min-degree of any of its subgraphs *Linkage (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * Linkage (hierarchical cluster ...
relaying the force of the trigger-pull (as in
double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. *Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...
), or both (as in double/single-action). By sequentially rotating through each chamber, the revolver allows the user to fire multiple times until having to reload the gun, unlike older
single-shot Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many ce ...
firearms that had to be reloaded after each shot. Some rare revolver models can utilize the blowback of the preceding shot to automatically cock the hammer and index the next chamber, although these self-loading revolvers (known as
automatic revolver An automatic revolver also known as semi-automatic revolver, is a revolver that uses the recoil energy of firing for cocking the hammer and revolving the cylinder, rather than using manual operations to perform these actions. Despite the misnom ...
s, despite technically being semi-automatic) never gained any widespread usage. Although largely surpassed in convenience and ammunition capacity by
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
s, revolvers still remain popular as
back-up In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back u ...
and off-duty handguns among American law enforcement officers and security guards and are still common in the American private sector as defensive, sporting, and hunting firearms. Famous revolvers models include the
Colt 1851 Navy Revolver The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol or Navy Pistol, sometimes erroneously referred to as "Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber" or "of Navy Caliber" (Naval is heavy gun and Navy Size Caliber was termed later for another Colt model), is a cap and ...
, the Webley, the
Colt Single Action Army The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a single-action revolver handgun. It was designed in 1872 for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Compa ...
, the
Colt Official Police The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action revolver with a six-round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Special cartridge, and manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Released in 1908 as the Colt Army Special, t ...
,
Smith & Wesson Model 10 The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver of worldwide popularity. In production since 1899 ...
, the
Smith & Wesson Model 29 The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson. The Model 29 was offered with barrels as standard models. Other barrel lengt ...
of ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'' fame, the Nagant M1895, and the
Colt Python The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48. It w ...
. Though the majority of weapons using a revolver mechanism are handguns, other firearms may also have a revolver
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
. These include some models of
rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
s,
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
s, grenade launchers, and
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s. Revolver weapons differ from Gatling-style rotary weapons in that in a revolver only the chambers rotate, while in a rotary weapon there are multiple full firearm actions with their own barrels which rotate around a common ammunition feed.


History

In the development of firearms, an important limiting factor was the time required to reload the weapon after it was fired. While the user was reloading, the weapon was useless, allowing an adversary to attack the user. Several approaches to the problem of increasing the rate of fire were developed, the earliest involving multi-barrelled weapons which allowed two or more shots without reloading. Later weapons featured multiple barrels revolving along a single axis. A matchlock revolver with a single barrel and four chambers held at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
is believed to have been invented some time in the 15th century. A revolving three-barrelled matchlock pistol in Venice is dated from at least 1548. During the late 16th century in China, Zhao Shi-zhen invented the Xun Lei Chong, a five-barreled musket revolver spear. Around the same time, the earliest examples of what today is called a revolver were made in Germany. These weapons featured a single barrel with a revolving cylinder holding the powder and ball. They would soon be made by many European gun-makers, in numerous designs and configurations. However, these weapons were complicated, difficult to use and prohibitively expensive to make, and as such they were not widely distributed. In the early 19th century, multiple-barrel handguns called " pepper-boxes" were popular. Originally they were muzzleloaders, but in 1837, the
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
gunsmith Mariette invented a hammerless pepperbox with a ring trigger and turn-off barrels that could be unscrewed. In 1836, American
Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of ...
patented a popular revolver which led to the widespread use of the revolver. According to Colt, he came up with the idea for the revolver while at sea, inspired by the capstan, which had a
ratchet and pawl A ratchet (occasionally spelled rachet) is a mechanical device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction. Ratchets are widely used in machinery and tools. The word ''r ...
mechanism on it, a version of which was used in his guns to rotate the cylinder by cocking the hammer. This provided a reliable and repeatable way to index each round and did away with the need to manually rotate the cylinder. Revolvers proliferated largely due to Colt's ability as a
sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
man, but his influence spread in other ways as well. The build quality of his company's guns became famous, and its armories in America and England trained several seminal generations of toolmakers and other machinists, who had great influence in other manufacturing efforts of the next half century. Early revolvers were
caplock The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
s and muzzleloaders: the user poured
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 ...
into each chamber, rammed down a bullet on top of it, then placed a
percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
on the nipple at the rear of each chamber, where the hammer would fall on it. This was similar to loading a traditional single-shot muzzle-loading pistol, except that the powder and shot could be loaded directly into the front of the cylinder rather than having to be loaded down the whole length of the barrel. Importantly, this allowed the barrel itself to be rifled, since the user was not required to force the tight-fitting bullet down the barrel in order to load it (a traditional muzzle-loading pistol had a
smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
and relatively loose-fitting shot, which allowed easy loading, but gave much less accuracy). When firing the next shot, the user would raise his pistol vertically as he cocked the hammer back so as to let the fragments of the burst percussion cap fall out so as to not jam the mechanism. Some of the most popular cap-and-ball revolvers were the Colt Model 1851 "Navy" model, 1860 "Army" model, and
Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers The family of Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers evolved from the earlier commercial revolvers marketed by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, N.J. The smaller versions of Colt's first revolvers are also called "Baby Patersons" by co ...
, all of which saw extensive use in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Although American revolvers were the most common, European arms makers were making numerous revolvers by that time as well, many of which found their way into the hands of the American forces. These included the single-action Lefaucheux and LeMat revolvers and the Beaumont–Adams and Tranter revolvers—early
double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. *Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...
weapons in spite of being muzzle-loaders. In 1854, Eugene Lefaucheux introduced the Lefaucheux Model 1854, the first revolver to use self-contained
metallic cartridge A cartridge or a round is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile (bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (usually either smokeless powder or black powder) and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, p ...
s rather than loose powder, pistol ball, and percussion caps. It is a single-action,
pinfire A pinfire cartridge is an obsolete type of metallic firearm cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin which protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge. Invented by Frenchman Casimir Lefaucheux in ...
revolver holding six rounds. On November 17, 1856,
Daniel B. Wesson Daniel Baird Wesson (May 18, 1825 – August 4, 1906) was an American inventor and firearms designer. He helped develop several influential firearm designs over the course of his life; he and Horace Smith were the co-founders of two companies n ...
and Horace Smith signed an agreement for the exclusive use of the
Rollin White Rollin White (June 6, 1817 – March 22, 1892) was an American gunsmith who invented a single shot bored-through revolver cylinder that allowed paper cartridges to be loaded from the rear of a revolver's cylinder. Because the open breeches were ...
Patent at a rate of 25 cents for every revolver.
Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
began production late in 1857, and enjoyed years of exclusive production of rear-loading cartridge revolvers in America due to their association with Rollin White, who held the patent and vigorously defended it against any perceived infringement by other manufacturers (much as Colt had done with his original patent on the revolver). Although White held the patent, other manufacturers were able to sell firearms using the design, provided they were willing to pay royalties. After White's patent expired in April 1869, a third extension was refused. Other gun-makers were then allowed to produce their own weapons using the rear-loading method, without having to pay a royalty on each gun sold. Early guns were often conversions of earlier cap-and-ball revolvers, modified to accept metallic cartridges loaded from the rear, but later models, such as the Colt Model 1872 "open top" and the
Smith & Wesson Model 3 The Smith & Wesson Model 3 is a single-action, Cartridge (firearms), cartridge-firing, Revolver#Top break, top-break revolver produced by Smith & Wesson (S&W) from around 1870 to 1915, and was recently again offered as a reproduction by Smith & W ...
, were designed from the start as cartridge revolvers. In 1873, Colt introduced the famous Model 1873, also known as the
Single Action Army The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a Trigger (firearms)#Single-action, single-action revolver handgun. It was designed in 1872 for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's P ...
, the "Colt .45" (not to be confused with Colt-made models of the
M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
semi-automatic) or simply, "the Peacemaker", one of the most famous handguns ever made. This popular design, which was a culmination of many of the advances introduced in earlier weapons, fired 6 metallic cartridges and was offered in over 30 different calibers and various barrel lengths. It is still in production, along with numerous
clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...
and lookalikes, and its overall appearance has remained the same since 1873. Although originally made for the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, the Model 1873 was widely distributed and popular with civilians,
ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
ers, lawmen, and
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
s alike. Its design has influenced countless other revolvers. Colt has discontinued its production twice, but brought it back due to popular demand and continues to make it to this day. In the U.S., the traditional single-action revolver still reigned supreme until the late 19th century. In Europe, however, arms makers were quick to adopt the double-action trigger. While the U.S. was producing weapons like the Model 1873, the Europeans were building double-action models like the French MAS Modèle 1873 and the somewhat later British Enfield Mk I and II revolvers (Britain relied on cartridge conversions of the earlier Beaumont–Adams double-action prior to this). Colt's first attempt at a double action revolver to compete with the European manufacturers was the Colt Model 1877, which earned lasting notoriety for its overly complex, expensive and fragile trigger mechanism, which in addition to failing frequently, also had a terrible trigger pull unless given the attentions of a competent gunsmith. In 1889, Colt introduced the Model 1889, the first truly modern double action revolver, which differed from earlier double action revolvers by having a "swing-out" cylinder, as opposed to a "top-break" or "side-loading" cylinder. Swing out cylinders quickly caught on, because they combined the best features of earlier designs. Top-break actions gave the ability to eject all empty shells simultaneously, and exposed all chambers for easy reloading, but having the frame hinged into two halves weakened the gun and negatively affected accuracy, due to lack of rigidity. "Side-loaders", like the earlier Colt Model 1871 and 1873, gave a rigid frame, but required the user to eject and load one chamber at a time as they rotated the cylinder to line each chamber up with the side-mounted loading gate. Smith & Wesson followed seven years later with the Hand Ejector, Model 1896 in .32 S&W Long caliber, followed by the very similar, yet improved, Model 1899 (later known as the Model 10), which introduced the new
.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...
cartridge. The Model 10 went on to become the best selling handgun of the 20th century, at 6,000,000 units, and the .38 Special is still the most popular chambering for revolvers in the world. These new guns were an improvement over the Colt 1889 design since they incorporated a combined center-pin and ejector rod to lock the cylinder in position. The 1889 did not use a center pin and the cylinder was prone to move out of alignment. Revolvers have remained popular to the present day in many areas, although in the military and law enforcement, they have largely been supplanted by magazine-fed semi-automatic pistols such as the
Beretta M9 The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 19 ...
and the
SIG Sauer M17 The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are service pistols derived from the SIG Sauer P320 in use with the United States Armed Forces. On January 19, 2017, the United States Army announced that a customized version of SIG Sauer's P320 had won the Army's XM17 ...
, especially in circumstances where reload time and higher cartridge capacity are deemed important.


Patents

Elisha Collier Elisha Haydon Collier (1788–1856) of Boston, USA, invented a flintlock revolver around 1814. His weapon is one of the earliest true revolvers, in contrast to the earlier pepperboxes which were multi-barreled guns. Collier's revolver was not self ...
of Boston, Massachusetts, patented a flintlock revolver in Britain in 1818, and significant numbers were being produced in London by 1822. The origination of this invention is in doubt, as similar designs were patented in the same year by Artemus Wheeler in the United States, and by
Cornelius Coolidge Cornelius Coolidge (August 30, 1778 - September 4, 1843) was a real estate developer in early 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts, who constructed buildings in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, and elsewhere. As a young man he had been involved in ...
in France. Samuel Colt submitted a British patent for his revolver in 1835 and an American patent (number 138) on February 25, 1836, for a ''Revolving gun'', and made the first production model on March 5 of that year. Another revolver patent was issued to Samuel Colt on August 29, 1839. The February 25, 1836, patent was then reissued as entitled ''Revolving gun'' on October 24, 1848. This was followed by on September 3, 1850, for a ''Revolver'', and by on September 10, 1850, for a ''Revolver''. was issued to
Roger C. Field Roger C. Field (born 31 July 1945) is best known as the inventor of the Foldaxe folding electric guitar which won the Designers' Choice Award for the United States in 1980. He is also an inventor with over 100 patents, an industrial designer, ...
for an economical device for minimizing the flash gap of a revolver between the barrel and the cylinder. In 1855, Rollin White patented the bored-through cylinder entitled ''Improvement in revolving fire-arms'' . In 1856, Horace Smith & Daniel Wesson formed a partnership (S&W), developed and manufactured a revolver chambered for a self-contained metallic cartridge.


Design

A revolver works by having several firing chambers arranged in a circle in a cylindrical block that are brought into alignment with the firing mechanism and barrel one at a time. In contrast, other repeating firearms, such as bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, and semi-automatic, have a single firing chamber and a mechanism to load and extract cartridges into it. A single-action revolver requires the hammer to be pulled back by hand before each shot, which also revolves the cylinder. This leaves the trigger with just one "single action" left to perform - releasing the hammer to fire the shot - so the force and distance required to pull the trigger can be minimal. In contrast, with a self-cocking revolver, one long squeeze of the trigger pulls back the hammer and revolves the cylinder, then finally fires the shot. They can generally be fired faster than a single-action, but with reduced accuracy in the hands of most shooters. Most modern revolvers are "traditional double-action", which means they may operate either in single-action or self-cocking mode. The accepted meaning of "double-action" has, confusingly, come to be the same as "self-cocking", so modern revolvers that cannot be pre-cocked are called "double-action-only". These are intended for concealed carry, because the hammer of a traditional design is prone to snagging on clothes when drawn. Most revolvers do not come with accessory rails, which are used for mounting
lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...
and
lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
, except for the Smith & Wesson M&P R8 (
.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
), Smith & Wesson Model 325 Thunder Ranch (
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
), and all versions of the
Chiappa Rhino The Chiappa Rhino is a revolver produced by Italian manufacturer Chiappa Firearms. The Rhino's frame is CNC-machined from a solid block of high-tensile aluminium alloy and all internal parts are CNC-machined from steel. Chambered for the .357 ...
(.357 Magnum, 9×19mm, .40 S&W, or
9×21mm The 9×21mm pistol cartridge (also known as the 9×21mm IMI, 9mm IMI, 9x21mm Italian, or 9mm Italian) was designed by Jager (Loano, Italy), then adopted and commercialised by Israel Military Industries for those jurisdictions where military servi ...
) except for the 2" and 3" models, respectively. However, certain revolvers, such as the
Taurus Judge The Taurus Judge is a five shot revolver designed and produced by Taurus International, chambered for .410 bore shot shells and the .45 Colt cartridge. Taurus promotes the Judge as a self-defense tool against carjacking and for home protection. ...
and
Charter Arms Charter Arms Co. is an American manufacturer of revolvers. Since its founding in 1964, Charter Arms has produced revolvers chambered in the following calibers: .22 Long Rifle, .22 Winchester Magnum, .32 Long, .32 H&R Magnum, .327 Federal Mag ...
revolvers, can be fitted with accessory rails. Most commonly, such revolvers have 5 or 6 chambers, hence the common names of "six-gun" or "six-shooter". However, some revolvers have 7, 8, 9, or 10 chambers, often depending on the
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 ...
, and at least one revolver has 12 chambers (the US Fire Arms Model 12/22). Each chamber has to be reloaded manually, which makes reloading a revolver a much slower procedure than reloading a semi-automatic pistol. Compared to autoloading handguns, a revolver is often much simpler to operate and may have greater reliability. For example, should a semiautomatic pistol fail to fire, clearing the chamber requires manually cycling the action to remove the errant round, as cycling the action normally depends on the energy of a cartridge firing. With a revolver, this is not necessary as none of the energy for cycling the revolver comes from the firing of the cartridge, but is supplied by the user either through cocking the hammer or, in a double-action design, by just squeezing the trigger. Another significant advantage of revolvers is superior ergonomics, particularly for users with small hands. A revolver's grip does not hold a magazine, and it can be designed or customized much more than the grip of a typical semi-automatic. Partially because of these reasons, revolvers still hold significant market share as concealed carry and home-defense weapons. A revolver can be kept loaded and ready to fire without fatiguing any springs and is not very dependent on lubrication for proper firing. Additionally, in the case of double-action-only revolvers there is no risk of accidental discharge from dropping alone, as the hammer is cocked by the trigger pull. However, the revolver's clockwork-like internal parts are relatively delicate and can become misaligned after a severe impact, and its revolving cylinder can become jammed by excessive dirt or debris. Over the long period of development of the revolver, many calibers have been used. Some of these have proved more durable during periods of standardization and some have entered general public awareness. Among these are the .22 rimfire, a caliber popular for target shooting and teaching novice shooters; .38 Special and .357 Magnum, known for police use; the .44 Magnum, famous from
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
's ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'' films; and the
.45 Colt The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1 ...
, used in the Colt revolver of the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
. Introduced in 2003, the
Smith & Wesson Model 500 The Smith & Wesson Model 500 is a five-shot, double/single action large-caliber revolver produced by Smith & Wesson, firing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge. Design The Model 500 was built on the entirely new X-Frame, which was developed exclusiv ...
is one of the most powerful revolvers, utilizing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge. Because the rounds in a revolver are
headspace Headspace may refer to: *Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation *Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health *Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container ...
d on the rim, some revolvers are capable of chambering more than one type of ammunition. The .44 Magnum round will also chamber the
.44 Special The .44 Smith & Wesson Special, also commonly known as .44 S&W Special, .44 Special, .44 Spl, .44 Spc, (pronounced "forty-four special"), or 10.9x29mmR is a smokeless powder center fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1 ...
and
.44 Russian The .44 Russian, also known as the .44 S&W Russian, is a black-powder center-fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1870..38 Long Colt The .38 Long Colt, also known as .38 LC, is a black powder cartridge introduced by Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1875. In 1892, it was adopted as a standard military pistol cartridge by the United States Army for the Colt M1892 revolver. The ...
, and
.38 Short Colt The .38 Short Colt, also known as .38 SC, was a heeled bullet cartridge intended for metallic cartridge conversions of the cap and ball Colt 1851 Navy Revolver from the American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861  ...
. In 1996, a revolver known as the Medusa M47 was made that could chamber 25 different cartridges with bullet diameters between .355" and .357". Revolver technology lives on in other weapons used by the military. Some
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
s and grenade launchers use mechanisms similar to revolvers, and some
riot shotgun A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon, by the use of a short barrel and sometimes a larger magazine capacity than shotguns marketed for hunting. The riot shotgun is used by military personnel f ...
s use spring-loaded cylinders holding up to 12 rounds. In addition to serving as backup guns, revolvers still fill the specialized niche role as a shield gun; law enforcement personnel using a "bulletproof" gun shield sometimes opt for a revolver instead of a self-loading pistol, because the slide of a pistol may strike the front of the shield when fired. Revolvers do not suffer from this disadvantage. A second revolver may be secured behind the shield to provide a quick means of continuity of fire. Many police also still use revolvers as their duty weapon due to their relative mechanical simplicity and user friendliness. With the advancement of technology and design in 2010, major revolver manufacturers started producing polymer frame revolvers like the
Ruger LCR The Ruger LCR is a compact revolver built by Sturm, Ruger & Co. and announced in January 2009. LCR stands for "Lightweight Compact Revolver". It incorporates several novel features such as a polymer grip and trigger housing, monolithic receiver ...
, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38, and
Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...
Protector Polymer. The new innovative design incorporates advanced polymer technology that lowers weight significantly, helps absorbs recoil, and strong enough to handle .38 Special +P and .357 Magnum loads. The polymer is only used on the lower frame and joined to a metal alloy upper frame, barrel, and cylinder. Polymer technology is considered one of the major advancements in revolver history because the frame has always been metal alloy and mostly a one piece frame design. Another recent development in revolver technology is the Chiappa Rhino, a revolver introduced by Italian manufacturer Chiappa in 2009, and first sold in the U.S. in 2010. The Rhino, built with the U.S. concealed carry market in mind, is designed so the bullet fires from the bottom chamber of the cylinder instead of the top chamber as in standard revolvers. This is intended to reduce
muzzle flip Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a firearm's or airgun's muzzle (front end of the barrel) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, cau ...
, allowing for faster and more accurate repeat shots. In addition, the cylinder cross-section is hexagonal instead of circular, further reducing the weapon's profile.


Loading and unloading


Front-loading cylinder

The first revolvers were ''front loading'' (also referred to as muzzleloading), and were a bit like muskets in that the powder and bullet were loaded separately. These were caplocks or "cap and ball" revolvers, because the caplock method of priming was the first to be compact enough to make a practical revolver feasible. When loading, each chamber in the cylinder was rotated out of line with the barrel, and charged from the front with loose powder and an oversized bullet. Next, the chamber was aligned with the ramming lever underneath the barrel. Pulling the lever would drive a
rammer A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held ...
into the chamber, pushing the ball securely in place. Finally, the user would place percussion caps on the nipples on the rear face of the cylinder. After each shot, a user was advised to raise his revolver vertically while cocking back the hammer so as to allow the fragments of the spent percussion cap to fall out safely. Otherwise, the fragments could fall into the revolver's mechanism and jam it. Caplock revolvers were vulnerable to "chain fires", wherein hot gas from a shot ignited the powder in the other chambers. This could be prevented by sealing the chambers with cotton, wax, or grease. Chain fire led to the shots hitting the shooters hand, which is one of the main reasons why revolver rifles were uncommon. By the time metallic cartridges became common, more effective mechanisms for a repeating rifle, such as
lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...
, had been developed. Loading a cylinder in this manner was a slow and awkward process and generally could not be done in the midst of battle. Some soldiers solved this by carrying multiple revolvers in the field. Another solution was to use a revolver with a detachable cylinder design. These revolvers allowed the shooter to quickly remove a cylinder and replace it with a full one.


Fixed cylinder designs

In many of the first generation of cartridge revolvers (especially those that were converted after manufacture), the base pin on which the cylinder revolved was removed, and the cylinder taken from the revolver for loading. Most revolvers using this method of loading are single-action revolvers, although Iver Johnson produced double-action models with removable cylinders. The removable-cylinder design is employed in some modern "micro-revolvers" (usually chambered in .22 rimfire), in order to simplify their design. These weapons are small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Later single-action revolver models with a fixed cylinder used a loading gate at the rear of the cylinder that allowed insertion of one cartridge at a time for loading, while a rod under the barrel could be pressed rearward to eject the fired case. The loading gate on the original Colt designs (and on nearly all single-action revolvers since, such as the famous Colt Single Action Army) is on the right side, which was done to facilitate loading while on horseback; with the revolver held in the left hand with the reins of the horse, the cartridges can be ejected and loaded with the right hand. Because the cylinders in these types of revolvers are firmly attached at the front and rear of the frame, and the frame is typically full thickness all the way around, fixed cylinder revolvers are inherently strong designs. Accordingly, many modern large caliber hunting revolvers tend to be based on the fixed cylinder design. Fixed cylinder revolvers can fire the strongest and most powerful cartridges, but at the price of being the slowest to load or unload, as they cannot use speedloaders or moon clips for loading, as only one chamber is exposed at a time to the loading gate.


Top-break cylinder

In a
top-break Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be requir ...
revolver, the frame is hinged at the bottom front of the cylinder. Releasing the lock and pushing the barrel down exposes the rear face of the cylinder. In most top-break revolvers, this act also operates an extractor that pushes the cartridges in the chambers back far enough that they will fall free, or can be removed easily. Fresh rounds are then inserted into the cylinder. The barrel and cylinder are then rotated back and locked in place, and the revolver is ready to fire. Top-break revolvers are able to be loaded more rapidly than fixed frame revolvers, especially with the aid of a
speedloader A speedloader is a device used to reduce the time and effort needed to reload a firearm. Speedloaders come in a variety of forms for reloading revolvers, or the magazines used with other types of firearms such as rifles and shotguns. Generally ...
or
moon clip A moon clip is a ring-shaped or star-shaped piece of metal designed to hold multiple cartridges together as a unit, for simultaneous insertion and extraction from a revolver cylinder. Moon clips may either hold an entire cylinder's worth of cartri ...
. However, this design is much weaker and cannot handle high pressure rounds. While this design is mostly obsolete today, supplanted by the stronger yet equally convenient swing-out cylinder design, manufacturers have begun making reproductions of late 19th century designs for use in
cowboy action shooting Cowboy action shooting (CAS, also known as western action shooting, single action shooting, Cowboy 3 Gun, Western 3-gun) is a competitive shooting sport that originated in Southern California in the early 1980s, at the Coto de Caza Shooting R ...
. The first top-break revolver was patented in France and Britain at the end of December in 1858 by Devisme. The most commonly found top-break revolvers were manufactured by Smith & Wesson, Webley & Scott, Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Manhattan Fire Arms,
Meriden Arms The Meriden Firearms Company of Meriden, Connecticut, USA manufactured small arms from 1905 to 1918. Meriden manufactured 20 varieties of hammer and hammerless revolvers with an output of 100 handguns a day in 1906. In addition to revolvers the co ...
and
Forehand & Wadsworth Forehand & Wadsworth (later known as Forehand Arms) was an American firearms manufacturing company based in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was formed in 1871 by Sullivan Forehand and Henry C. Wadsworth after the death of their father-in-law, Ethan A ...
.


Tip-up cylinder

The tip-up revolver was the first design to be used with metallic cartridges in the
Smith & Wesson Model 1 The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was the first firearm manufactured by Smith & Wesson, with production spanning the years 1857 through 1882. It was the first commercially successful revolver to use rimfire cartridges instead of loose powder, musket b ...
, on which the barrel pivoted upwards, hinged on the forward end of the topstrap. On the S&W tip-up revolvers, the barrel release catch is located on both sides of the frame in front of the trigger. Smith & Wesson discontinued it in the third series of the Smith & Wesson Model 1 1/2 but it was fairly widely used in Europe in the 19th century, after a patent by Spirlet in 1870, which also included an ejector star.


Swing-out cylinder

The most modern method of loading and unloading a revolver is by means of the ''swing-out cylinder''. The first swing-out cylinder revolver was patented in France and Britain at the end of December in 1858 by Devisme. The cylinder is mounted on a pivot that is parallel to the chambers, and the cylinder swings out and down (to the left in most cases). An extractor is fitted, operated by a rod projecting from the front of the cylinder assembly. When pressed, it will push all fired rounds free simultaneously (as in top-break models, the travel is designed to not completely extract longer, unfired rounds). The cylinder may then be loaded, individually or again with the use of a speedloader, closed, and latched in place. The pivoting part that supports the cylinder is called the crane; it is the weak point of swing-out cylinder designs. Using the method often portrayed in movies and television of flipping the cylinder open and closed with a flick of the wrist can in fact cause the crane to bend over time, throwing the cylinder out of alignment with the barrel. Lack of alignment between chamber and barrel is a dangerous condition, as it can impede the bullet's transition from chamber to barrel. This gives rise to higher pressures in the chamber, bullet damage, and the potential for an explosion if the bullet becomes stuck. The shock of firing can exert a great deal of stress on the crane, as in most designs the cylinder is only held closed at one point, the rear of the cylinder. Stronger designs, such as the Ruger Super Redhawk, use a lock in the crane as well as the lock at the rear of the cylinder. This latch provides a more secure bond between cylinder and frame, and allows the use of larger, more powerful cartridges. Swing-out cylinders are rather strong, but not as strong as fixed cylinders, and great care must be taken with the cylinder when loading, so as not to damage the crane.


Other designs

One unique design was designed by Merwin Hulbert in which the barrel and cylinder assembly were rotated 90° and pulled forward to eject shells from the cylinder.


Action


Single-action

In a single-action revolver, the hammer is manually cocked, usually with the thumb of the firing or supporting hand. This action advances the cylinder to the next round and locks the cylinder in place with the chamber aligned with the barrel. The trigger, when pulled, releases the hammer, which fires the round in the chamber. To fire again, the hammer must be manually cocked again. This is called "single-action" because the trigger only performs a single action, of releasing the hammer. Because only a single action is performed and trigger pull is lightened, firing a revolver in this way allows most shooters to achieve greater accuracy. Additionally, the need to cock the hammer manually acts as a safety. Unfortunately with some revolvers, since the hammer rests on the primer or nipple, accidental discharge from impact is more likely if all 6 chambers are loaded. The
Colt Paterson The Colt Paterson revolver was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the Unit ...
,
Colt Walker The Colt Walker, sometimes known as the Walker Colt, is a single-action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six charges of black powder behind six bullets (typically .44 caliber lead balls). It was designed in 1846 by American firearms in ...
, Colt Dragoon, and
Colt Single Action Army The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a single-action revolver handgun. It was designed in 1872 for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Compa ...
of the American frontier era are all good examples of this system.


Double-action

In double-action (DA), the stroke of the trigger pull generates two actions: #The hammer is pulled back to the cocked position which also
indexes Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
the cylinder to the next round. #The hammer is released to strike the
firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...
. Thus, DA means that a cocking action separate from the trigger pull is unnecessary; every trigger pull will result in a complete cycle. This allows uncocked carry, while also allowing draw-and-fire using only the trigger. A longer and harder trigger stroke is the trade-off. However, this drawback can also be viewed as a safety feature, as the gun is safer against accidental discharges from being dropped. Most double-action revolvers may be fired in two ways. # The first way is single-action; that is, exactly the same as a single-action revolver; the hammer is cocked with the thumb, which indexes the cylinder, and when the trigger is pulled, the hammer is tripped. # The second way is double-action, or from a hammer-down position. In this case, the trigger first cocks the hammer and revolves the cylinder, then trips the hammer at the rear of the trigger stroke, firing the round in the chamber. Certain revolvers, called ''double-action-only'' (DAO) or, more correctly but less commonly, ''self-cocking'', lack the latch that enables the hammer to be locked to the rear, and thus can only be fired in the double-action mode. With no way to lock the hammer back, DAO designs tend to have ''bobbed'' or ''spurless'' hammers, and may even have the hammer completely covered by the revolver's frame (i.e., shrouded or hooded). These are generally intended for concealed carrying, where a hammer spur could snag when the revolver is drawn. The potential reduction in accuracy in aimed fire is offset by the increased capability for concealment. DA and DAO revolvers were the standard-issue sidearm of countless police departments for many decades. Only in the 1980s and 1990s did the semiautomatic pistol begin to make serious inroads after the advent of
safe action Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...
s. The reasons for these choices are the modes of carry and use. Double action is good for high-stress situations because it allows a mode of carry in which "draw and pull the trigger" is the only requirement—no safety catch release nor separate cocking stroke is required.


Other

In the cap-and-ball days of the mid 19th century, two revolver models, the English Tranter and the American Savage "Figure Eight", used a method whereby the hammer was cocked by the shooter's middle finger pulling on a second trigger below the main trigger. Iver Johnson made an unusual model from 1940 to 1947 called the ''Trigger Cocking Double Action''. If the hammer was down, pulling the trigger would cock the hammer. If the trigger was pulled with the hammer cocked, it would then fire. This meant that to fire the revolver from a hammer down state, the trigger must be pulled twice.


3D printed revolver

The Zig zag revolver is a 3D printed .38 Revolver made public in May 2014.5 Different 3D Printed Gun Models Have Been Fired Since May, 2013 – Here They Are
3D Print, September 10, 2014.
archive
Japanese Man Arrested For Printing His Own Revolvers
Tech Crunch, May 8, 2014.
archive
It was created by a $500 3D-printer using plastic filament, but the name of the printer was not revealed by the creator. It was created by a Japanese citizen from Kawasaki named Yoshitomo Imura. He was arrested in May 2014 after he had posted a video online of himself firing a 3D printed Zig Zag revolver. It is the first 3D printed Japanese gun in the world which can discharge live cartridges.


Use with suppressors

As a general rule, revolvers cannot be effective with a
sound suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, b ...
("silencer"), as there is usually a small gap between the revolving cylinder and the barrel which a bullet must traverse or jump when fired. From this opening, a rather loud report is produced. A suppressor can only suppress noise coming from the muzzle. A suppressible revolver design does exist in the Nagant M1895, a Belgian designed revolver used by Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union from 1895 through
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. This revolver uses a unique cartridge whose case extends beyond the tip of the bullet, and a cylinder that moves forward to place the end of the cartridge inside the barrel when ready to fire. This bridges the gap between the cylinder and the barrel, and expands to seal the gap when fired. While the tiny gap between cylinder and barrel on most revolvers is insignificant to the
internal ballistics Internal ballistics (also interior ballistics), a subfield of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile. In guns, internal ballistics covers the time from the propellant's ignition until the projectile exits the gun barrel. The s ...
, the seal is especially effective when used with a suppressor, and a number of suppressed Nagant revolvers have been used since its invention. There is a modern revolver of Russian design, the
OTs-38 The OTs-38 Stechkin is a 5-shot, double-action revolver, in production and service since 2002, chambered in the silent 7.62×41mm SP-4 cartridge. Design The effective range of fire for the OTs-38 Stechkin is 50 m. The fired cases are kept in t ...
, which uses ammunition that incorporates the silencing mechanism into the cartridge case, making the gap between cylinder and barrel irrelevant as far as the suppression issue is concerned. The OTs-38 does need an unusually close and precise fit between the cylinder and barrel due to the shape of bullet in the special ammunition (Soviet SP-4), which was originally designed for use in a semi-automatic. Additionally, the US Military experimented with designing a special version of the
Smith & Wesson Model 29 The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson. The Model 29 was offered with barrels as standard models. Other barrel lengt ...
for
tunnel rat The tunnel rats were American, Australian, New Zealander, and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afgha ...
s, called the Quiet Special Purpose Revolver or QSPR. Using special .40 caliber ammunition, it never entered official service.Popenker, Max R.
Smith & Wesson/ AAI Quiet Special Purpose Revolver/ QSPR/ Tunnel Revolver
", '' world.guns.ru'', Retrieved 2010-04-05


Automatic revolvers

The term "automatic revolver" has two different meanings, the first being used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when "automatic" referred not to the operational mechanism of firing, but of extraction and ejection of spent casings. An "automatic revolver" in this context is one which extracts empty fired cases "automatically", i.e., upon breaking open the action, rather than requiring manual extraction of each case individually with a sliding rod or pin (as in the Colt Single Action Army design). This term was widely used in the advertising of the period as a way to distinguish such revolvers from the far more common rod-extraction types. In the second sense, "automatic revolver" refers to the mechanism of firing rather than extraction. Double-action revolvers use a long trigger pull to cock the hammer, thus negating the need to manually cock the hammer between shots. The disadvantage of this is that the long, heavy pull cocking the hammer makes the double-action revolver much harder to shoot accurately than a single-action revolver (although cocking the hammer of a double-action reduces the length and weight of the trigger pull). A rare class of revolvers, called automatic for its firing design, attempts to overcome this restriction, giving the high speed of a double-action with the trigger effort of a single-action. The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver is the most famous commercial example. It was recoil-operated, and the cylinder and barrel recoiled backwards to cock the hammer and revolve the cylinder. Cam grooves were milled on the outside of the cylinder to provide a means of advancing to the next chamber—half a turn as the cylinder moved back, and half a turn as it moved forward. .38 caliber versions held eight shots, .455 caliber versions six. At the time, the few available automatic pistols were larger, less reliable, and more expensive. The automatic revolver was popular when it first came out, but was quickly superseded by the creation of reliable, inexpensive semi-automatic pistols. In 1997, the
Mateba Mateba, a contraction of the Italian words Macchine Termo-Balistiche (Thermo-Ballistic Machines), was an Italian machine manufacturer based in Pavia, Italy. It is better known for its low-barrelled revolver pistols that it produced under the lead ...
company developed a type of recoil-operated automatic revolver, commercially named the
Mateba Autorevolver The Mateba Model 6 Unica (often known simply as the Mateba or the Mateba Autorevolver) is a recoil operated automatic revolver, semi-automatic revolver, one of only a few of this type ever produced. It was developed by Mateba (company), Mateba, b ...
, which uses the recoil energy to auto-rotate a normal revolver cylinder holding six or seven cartridges, depending on the model. The company has made several versions of its Autorevolver, including longer-barrelled and carbine variations, chambered in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and
.454 Casull The .454 Casull () is a firearm cartridge, developed as a wildcat cartridge in 1958 by Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer. It was announced in November 1959 by ''Guns & Ammo'' magazine. The design is a lengthened and structurally improve ...
. The
Pancor Jackhammer The Pancor Corporation Jackhammer is a 12-gauge, blow-forward gas-operated bullpup automatic shotgun designed in 1984 and patented in 1987. Only three working prototypes of the Jackhammer were built. Nonetheless, its distinctive aesthetics and futu ...
is a
combat shotgun A combat shotgun is a shotgun issued by militaries for warfare. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically us ...
based on a similar mechanism to an automatic revolver. It uses a
blow-forward Blow-forward is a firearm action where the propellant gas pressure and the friction of the bullet traveling down the bore drag the whole gun barrel forward to facilitate the opening of the breech. This forward barrel motion provides most ...
action to move the barrel forward (which unlocks it from the cylinder) and then rotate the cylinder and cock the hammer.


Revolving long guns

Revolvers were not limited to handguns and as a longer barrelled arm is more useful in military applications than a sidearm, the idea was applied to both rifles and shotguns throughout the history of the revolver mechanism with mixed degrees of success.


Rifles

Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combining them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier for revolving pistols. Colt began experimenting with revolving rifles in the early 19th century, making them in a variety of calibers and barrel lengths.
Colt revolving rifle The Colt New Model Revolving rifles were early repeating rifles produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1855 until 1864. The design was essentially similar to revolver type pistols, with a rotating cylinder that held five or six rounds i ...
s were the first repeating rifles adopted by the U.S. Government, but they had their problems. They were officially given to soldiers because of their rate of fire. But after firing six shots, the shooter had to take an excessive amount of time to reload. Also, on occasion Colt rifles discharged all their rounds at once, endangering the shooter. Even so, an early model was used in the
Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Geography of Florida, Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation whi ...
in 1838. During the Civil War a LeMat Carbine was made based on the LeMat revolver. Taurus manufactures a carbine variant of the Taurus Judge revolver along with its Australian partner company, Rossi known as the ''Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge''. It comes in the original combination chambering of .45 Long Colt and
.410 bore The .410 bore is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available (along with the 9mm Flobert rimfire cartridge, and the less common .22 rimfire shot shell). A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small g ...
, as well as the .44 Magnum chambering and dual-cylinder .22LR/ .22WMR model. The rifle has small blast shields attached to the cylinder to protect the shooter from hot gases escaping between the cylinder and barrel.


Shotguns

Colt briefly manufactured several revolving
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
s that were met with mixed success. The Colt Model 1839 Shotgun was manufactured between 1839 and 1841. Later, the Colt Model 1855 Shotgun, based on the Model 1855 revolving rifle, was manufactured between 1860 and 1863. Because of their low production numbers and age they are among the rarest of all Colt firearms. The
Armsel Striker The Armsel Striker, also known as the Sentinel Arms Co Striker-12, Protecta, Protecta Bulldog and SWD Street Sweeper is a 12-gauge shotgun with a revolving cylinder that was designed for riot control and combat. History The Armsel Striker was de ...
was a modern take on the revolving shotgun that held 10 rounds of 12 Gauge ammunition in its cylinder. It was copied by
Cobray The Cobray Company was an American developer and manufacturer of submachine guns, automatic carbines, handguns, shotguns, and non-lethal 37 mm launchers. These were manufactured by SWD. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cobray was a counter terrorist tr ...
as the Streetsweeper. As noted, the original Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge is chambered to use both .45LC cartridges and .410 bore shells. However, it utilizes a rifled, rather than smooth-bore barrel. The
MTs255 The MTs255 (russian: МЦ255) is a Russian shotgun fed by a 5-round internal revolving cylinder. It is produced by the TsKIB SOO,Виктор Юрьев. Револьверное ружьё МЦ255 // журнал «Оружие и охота», ...
(russian: МЦ255) is a shotgun fed by a 5-round internal revolving cylinder. It is produced by the
TsKIB SOO The Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms, abbreviated TsKIB SOO (russian: ЦКИБ СОО) is a Russian small arms design bureau based in Tula, Russia. It was established in 1946, and it is currently managed as a branch o ...
, Central Design, and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms. They are available in 12, 20, 28, and 32 gauges, and .410 bore.


Other weapons

The
Hawk MM-1 The MM-1 is a 40x46mm semi-automatic grenade launcher manufactured in the United States by the Hawk Engineering Company. Relatively heavy and bulky, the MM-1 can provide considerable firepower, with practical rate of fire as high as 30 rounds pe ...
,
Milkor MGL The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher (variations also fire 37/38mm) developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the ...
,
RG-6 RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. An RG-6/U coaxial cable has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. The term, ''RG-6'', is generic and is applied to a wide variety of ...
, and RGP-40 are grenade launchers that use a revolver action. Because the cylinders are much more massive, they use a spring-wound mechanism to index the cylinder.
Revolver cannon A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to fur ...
s use a motor-driven revolver-like mechanism to fire medium caliber ammunition.


Six gun

A six gun is a revolver that holds six cartridges. The cylinder in a six gun is often called a "wheel", and the six gun is itself often called a "wheel gun". Although a "six gun" can refer to any six-chambered revolver, it is typically a reference to the Colt Single Action Army, or its modern look-alikes such as the
Ruger Vaquero The Ruger Vaquero is a six-shot single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. based on the New Model Ruger Blackhawk frame and was introduced in 1993. It comes in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish (the latter glo ...
and
Beretta Stampede The Beretta Stampede is a single-action revolver manufactured by Beretta that is a close clone of the Colt Single Action Army "Peacemaker". The main difference is that the Beretta utilizes a transfer bar like the Ruger Vaquero which makes the gu ...
. Until the 1970s, when older-design revolvers such as the Colt Single Action Army and
Ruger Blackhawk The Ruger Blackhawk is a six-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths. History In the early 1950s, Westerns were popular in movies and television. Colt ...
were re-engineered with drop safeties (such as firing pin blocks, hammer blocks, or transfer bars) that prevent the firing pin from contacting the cartridge's
primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a t ...
unless the trigger is pulled, safe carry required the hammer being positioned over an empty chamber, reducing the available cartridges from six to five, or, on some models, in between chambers on either a pin or in a groove for that purpose, thus keeping the full six rounds available. This kept the uncocked hammer from resting directly on the primer of a cartridge. If not used in this manner, the hammer rests directly on a primer and unintentional firing may occur if the gun is dropped or the hammer is struck. Some holster makers provided a thick leather thong to place underneath the hammer that both allowed the carry of a gun fully loaded with all six rounds and secured the gun in the holster to help prevent its accidental loss. Six guns are used commonly by single-action shooting enthusiasts in shooting competitions, designed to mimic the gunfights of the Old West, and for general target shooting, hunting and personal defense.Handloader Ammunition Reloading Journal, August 2009 edition in the "From the Hip" article by Brian Pearce. Page 32.


Notable brands and manufacturers

* Robert Adams * Armscor * Astra *
Charter Arms Charter Arms Co. is an American manufacturer of revolvers. Since its founding in 1964, Charter Arms has produced revolvers chambered in the following calibers: .22 Long Rifle, .22 Winchester Magnum, .32 Long, .32 H&R Magnum, .327 Federal Mag ...
*
Chiappa Firearms Chiappa Firearms, Armi Sport di Chiappa, is an Italian firearms manufacturing company based in Brescia. It was founded in 1958 by Ezechiele Chiappa as Armi Sport. Total unit production is around 60,000 per year. Its U.S. headquarters are in D ...
*
Cimarron Firearms Cimarron Firearms is an American firearms importer that has been in operation since 1984. The company's field of specialty is reproduction firearms from the American Civil War to the end of the Old West period. Founded by Mike Harvey in Houston, ...
*
Colt's Manufacturing Company Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt and is now a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the succ ...
*
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal Fabrique Nationale Herstal (), trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium. It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. ...
*
Freedom Arms Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Wyoming based firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to produce the Mini revolver then later a revolver cham ...
* Griswold and Gunnison *
Harrington & Richardson H&R 1871, LLC, or more commonly known as Harrington & Richardson, is an American brand of firearms and a subsidiary of JJE Capital Holdings. H&R ceased production February 27, 2015. History The original H&R firm was in business for over a cent ...
*
Iver Johnson Iver Johnson was an American firearms, bicycle, and motorcycle manufacturer from 1871 to 1993. The company shared the same name as its founder, Norwegian-born Iver Johnson (1841–1895). The name was resold, and Iver Johnson Arms opened i ...
*
Janz (revolvers) Janz is a line of premium (costing up to 25,000 Euros), low volume (less than one hundred per year) revolvers manufactured by Janz-Präzisionstechnik GmbH, of Bad Malente, Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic ...
*
Kimber Manufacturing Kimber Manufacturing is an American company that designs, manufactures, and distributes small arms such as M1911 pistols, Solo pistols and rifles. The USA Shooting Team, Marines assigned to Special Operations Command, and the LAPD SWAT teamJ ...
*
Korth Korth is a high-end firearms manufacturer based in Lollar, Hesse, Germany. Their high-end revolvers cost over €3,000 and their semi-automatic pistols cost over €4,000. History The company was founded in 1954 by Willi Korth, a railway engin ...
*
Magnum Research Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) was an American privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactured and distributed firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum (President and CEO) and John Risdall (Chairman, COO), had been with ...
*
Manurhin Manurhin is a trademark used by Chapuis Armes since 1998. It is used to designate the Manurhin MR73 revolver family, manufactured at Saint-Bonnet-le-Château, France. The genesis of the term “Manurhin” is ''Manufacture de Machines du Haut- ...
* Mateba Arms * Meriden Firearms Co. * Merwin Hulbert * Nagant *
North American Arms North American Arms is a United States company, headquartered in Provo, Utah, that manufactures pocket pistols and mini- revolvers, also called mouse guns. The company was originally named ''Rocky Mountain Arms'' when it was founded in 1972. In 1 ...
* Remington Arms * Rossi * Royal Small Arms Factory * Sturm, Ruger & Co. *
Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
* Taurus Firearms * United States Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company * A. Uberti, Srl. * William Tranter *
Webley & Scott Webley & Scott is an arms manufacturer founded in Birmingham, England. Webley produced handguns and long guns from 1834 to 1979, when the company ceased to manufacture firearms and instead turned its attention to producing air pistols and ai ...
*
Dan Wesson Firearms Dan Wesson Firearms (DW), part of CZ-USA, is an American handgun manufacturer. The corporate headquarters, customer service and manufacturing plant is located in Norwich, New York. Dan Wesson Firearms is known for its revolver expertise and fo ...


Gallery

File:MatebaAutoRevolver6in.jpg,
Mateba Autorevolver The Mateba Model 6 Unica (often known simply as the Mateba or the Mateba Autorevolver) is a recoil operated automatic revolver, semi-automatic revolver, one of only a few of this type ever produced. It was developed by Mateba (company), Mateba, b ...
File:Anaconda-500.jpg,
Colt Anaconda The Colt Anaconda is a large frame double-action revolver featuring a full length under-barrel ejection-rod lug and six round cylinder, designed and produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1990. Chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum ...
.44 Magnum revolver File:Colt-Python.jpg,
Colt Python The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48. It w ...
.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
revolvers File:SW 625-JH02.jpg, Smith & Wesson Model 625 for IPSC shooting File:S&W 625JM.png, Smith & Wesson Model 625JM, as designed by
Jerry Miculek Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
. File:Alfa-Proj-9mm.jpg, Alfa Proj Model Alfa Para 9mm caliber File:Taurus-605-left.jpg,
Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...
.357 Magnum Model 605 File:Taurus Judge Magnum.JPG, Taurus .45 Colt/
.410 bore The .410 bore is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available (along with the 9mm Flobert rimfire cartridge, and the less common .22 rimfire shot shell). A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small g ...
Model 4510 ' The Judge' File:IOF-32-REV-1.JPG, IOF .32 Revolver in .32 S&W File:Colt revolver, 1849-1872 - Skoklosters slott - 90731.tif, Colt 1849 Pocket Model, made 1850–1873. File:Revolver Lefaucheux IMG 3108.jpg, Belgian-made Lefaucheux revolver, c. 1860-1865 File:MWP Nagant.JPG, A Russian Nagant M1895 File:S&W Model 29-2.jpg, A
Smith & Wesson Model 29 The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson. The Model 29 was offered with barrels as standard models. Other barrel lengt ...
File:Naamini22.jpg, North American Arms (NAA) mini revolver in .22 LR. It can fold into its own grip for safe belt clip carry.


See also

*
Gunspinning Gunspinning refers to the old west tradition and Hollywood legend of a cowboy gunslinger twirling his pistol around his trigger finger. Gunspinning is a western art such as trick roping, and is sometimes referred as gunplay, gun artistry, and gun tw ...
*
List of revolvers This is a list of single- and double-action revolvers, listed alphabetically by manufacturer. Dan Wesson 715 See also *List of firearms *List of multiple-barrel firearms *List of submachine guns *List of assault rifles *List of machine guns *L ...
* Russian roulette * Turret gun


References


External links

* —''Revolving gun'' * —''Improvement in firearms'' * —''Revolver'' * —''Revolver'' * —''Repeating firearm'' * —''Revolver'' {{Authority control American inventions Firearm actions 1836 introductions Western (genre) staples and terminology