Revolver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the firearm. For other uses, see Revolver (disambiguation)
.
"Six Shooter" redirects here. For other uses, see Six Shooter (disambiguation).
Colt Single Action Army
Photo of a Smith & Wesson 686 .38 Special, taken with an ultra high speed flash
(air-gap flash)
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a revolving cylinder containing multi
ple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The term "revolver" refers to a
handgun, but other weapons may also have a revolving chamber. These include som
e models of grenade launchers, shotguns, and rifles.
Though the original name was "revolving gun", the short-hand "revolver" is unive
rsally used. (Cannons using this mechanism are known as revolver cannons.) Nearl
y all early revolvers and many modern ones have six chambers in the cylinder, gi
ving rise to the slang term "six-shooter"; however, revolvers with 3 to 24 chamb
ers have been made, with most modern revolvers having 5 or 6 chambers.
The revolver allows the user to fire multiple rounds without reloading. Each tim
e the user cocks the hammer, the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and
round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name. In
a single-action revolver, the user pulls the hammer back with his free hand or
thumb; the trigger pull only releases the hammer. In a double-action revolver, p
ulling the trigger moves the hammer back, then releases it, which requires a lon
ger and heavier trigger pull than single-action. Loading and unloading a double
action revolver requires the operator to swing out the cylinder and insert the p
roper ammunition all while keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.
The first guns with multichambered cylinders that revolved to feed one barrel we
re made in the late 1500s in Europe. They were expensive and rare curiosities. N
ot until the 1800s would revolvers become practical weapons for non-rich owners.
One of the first was a flintlock revolver made by Elisha Collier in 1814. The f
irst percussion cap revolver was invented by the Italian Francesco Antonio Brocc
u 1833. He received a prize of 300 francs for his invention, although he did not
patent it, his revolver was shown to the King Charles Albert of Sardinia. Howev
er, in 1835 a similar handgun was patented by Samuel Colt, who would go on to ma
ke the first mass-produced revolver.
The first cartridge revolvers were produced around 1856 by Smith & Wesson.
Revolvers soon became standard for nearly all uses. In the early 20th century, s
emi-automatic pistols were developed, which can hold more rounds, and are faster
to reload. "Automatic" pistols also have a flat profile, more suitable for conc
ealed carry. Semi-auto pistols were not considered reliable enough for serious p
olice work or self-defense until the later half of the century, however, and rev
olvers were the dominant handgun for police and civilians until modern pistols s
uch as the Beretta 92 and Glock 17 were developed in the 70s and 80s. Automatic
pistols have almost completely replaced revolvers in military and law enforcemen
t use (in military use, from 1910-1960; in law enforcement, in the 1980s and 199
0s).
Revolvers still remain popular as back-up and off-duty handguns among American l
aw enforcement officers and security guards. Also, revolvers are still common in
the American private sector as defensive and sporting/hunting firearms. Famous
police and military revolvers include the Webley, the Colt Single Action Army, t
he Colt Police Special, the Smith & Wesson Model 36, the Smith & Wesson Model 10

, the Smith & Wesson 1917, the Smith & Wesson Model 3 the Nagant M1895.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Patents
2 Design
3 Loading and unloading
3.1 Front loading
3.2 Fixed cylinder designs
3.3 Top break
3.4 Tip up
3.5 Swing out cylinder
4 Action
4.1 Single-action
4.2 Double-action
4.3 Other
5 3D printed revolver
6 Use with suppressors
7 Automatic revolvers
8 Revolving long guns
8.1 Rifles
8.2 Shotguns
9 Six gun
10 Notable brands and manufacturers
11 Gallery
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
History[edit]
Detail of an 8-chambered matchlock revolver (Germany ca. 1580)
In the development of firearms, an important limiting factor was the time it too
k to reload the weapon after it was fired. While the user was reloading, the wea
pon was useless, and an adversary might be able to take advantage of the situati
on and kill or wound the user. Several approaches to the problem of increasing t
he rate of fire were developed, the earliest being multi-barrelled weapons which
allowed two or more shots without reloading.[1]
Later multibarreled guns, called pepper-box pistols, used a
ontaining multiple chamber-with-barrel passages. Many early
ichamber cylinder revolving to feed one barrel) were partly
e on pepper-boxes. Firing through a single barrel saved the
f having the multiple barrels of the pepper-box.[1]

revolving cylinder c
true revolvers (mult
an attempt to improv
expense and weight o

The earliest examples of what today is called a revolver were made in Europe in
the late 1500s. One is a shoulder-gun-length weapon made in Nuremberg, Germany,
circa 1580. Another is a revolving arquebus, produced by Hans Stopler of Nurembe
rg in 1597.[2] Another early specimen, now in the Tower of London armouries, is
dated to the middle 17th century and attributed to John Dafte of London. This ex
ample, a flintlock, uses a single lock, with a flash pan for each of the six cha
mbers. The cylinder is rotated by hand, and locks in place for firing. This was
still not perfected, however, as it was apparently destroyed by a misfire.[3] Tw
o revolver-type weapons were found in the armoury of the French King Louis XIII.
One was a combined sword and revolver of Spanish origin while the other was a f
lintlock revolver designed by the Russian gunsmith Pervusha Issayev in about 162
5 with six shots.[4]
An early 17th-century flintlock revolver of French or Flemish origin with a rema
rkably similar design to Samuel Colt's original design was purchased by Samuel C
olt from the Tower of London in order to prevent any infringement upon his paten

ts.[5]
James Puckle patented a revolving chamber gun in 1718. This gun, which had a 1.2
5 inch bore (30 mm), was tripod mounted, and the 11-shot cylinder was operated b
y a hand crank. It is often cited as the first machine gun. By changing cylinder
s to reload (an early example of a speedloader), the gun was fired and reloaded
to fire a total of 63 rounds in seven minutes.[6]
Elisha Collier patented a flintlock revolver in Britain in 1818, and significant
numbers were being produced in London by 1822.[7]
Francesco Antonio Broccu developed a percussion cap revolver in 1833, which he r
eceived a prize of 300 francs for, though he didn't patent it.
The revolver mechanism was sometimes used in rifle design. The problem with this
approach is that the hot gas that leaks from the gap between the cylinder and b
arrel can ignite remaining loads in the cylinder, they can heavily burn the user
's forearm and hand.
In 1836, Samuel Colt patented a revolver mechanism that led to the widespread us
e of the revolver. According to Samuel Colt, he came up with the idea for the re
volver while at sea, inspired by the capstan, which had a ratchet and pawl mecha
nism on it, a version of which was used in his guns to rotate the cylinder. Revo
lvers proliferated largely due to Colt's ability as a salesman. But his influenc
e spread in other ways as well; the build quality of his company's guns became f
amous, and its armories in America and England trained several seminal generatio
ns of toolmakers and other machinists, who had great influence in other manufact
uring efforts of the next half century.[8]
Early revolvers were caplocks and loaded like muskets: the user poured powder in
to a chamber, rammed down a bullet, then placed percussion caps between the hamm
er and cylinder. After firing a shot, the user would raise his pistol vertically
as he cocked the hammer back so as to let the fragments of the percussion cap f
all out and not jam the mechanism.[9]
Sketch of a "bicycle chain" gun from a 19th-century handgun.
A more ambitious idea that had features of both revolvers and prefigured belt-fe
d machine guns circulated in the 1850s and 1860s. Instead of a simple cylinder,
these guns used a larger capacity, somewhat flexible circular chain of chambers
that was indexed by a slightly more sophisticated mechanism involving one or mor
e sprockets. Examples include the 14-round Treeby "chain gun" developed in Engla
nd,[10] the 20-round Josselyn "chain revolver" developed in the US which is now
part of the Smithsonian collection.[10][11] None of these achieved much commerci
al success. George Chinn commented that "It is relatively easy to imagine what e
mbarrassment might be experienced by a man who, in defense of his person, is req
uired to extract from his pocket a gun with a foot or so of loose chain attached
. Nevertheless, although the gun no doubt does not represent the most convenient
hand arm, the basic idea is sound from the mechanical viewpoint and might even
have proved to be useful in a machine gun. At any rate, it serves to demonstrate
that very few stones were left unturned in the search for the ideal form of the
multiple chamber mechanism."[12]
Revolvers have remained popular to the present day in many areas, although in th
e military and law enforcement they have largely been supplanted by magazine-fed
semi-automatic pistols such as the Beretta M9, especially in circumstances wher
e reload time and higher cartridge capacity are deemed important.[13]
Patents[edit]
Elisha Collier of Boston, Massachusetts patented a flintlock revolver in Britain

in 1818, and significant numbers were being produced in London by 1822.[7] The
origination of this invention is in doubt, as similar designs were patented in t
he same year by Artemus Wheeler in the United States and by Cornelius Coolidge i
n France.[14] Samuel Colt submitted a British patent for his revolver in 1835 an
d 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.[15]
Another revolver patent was issued to Samuel Colt on August 29, 1839. The Februa
ry 25, 1836 patent was then reissued as U.S. Patent RE00,124 entitled Revolving
gun to Samuel Colt on October 24, 1848. This was followed by U.S. Patent 0,007,6
13 on September 3, 1850 for a Revolver, and by U.S. Patent 0,007,629 on Septembe
r 10, 1850 for a Revolver. U.S. Patent 5,333,531 was issued to Roger C. Field fo
r an economical device for minimizing the flash gap of a revolver between the ba
rrel and the cylinder. In 1855, Rollin White patented the bored-through cylinder
entitled Improvement in revolving fire-arms U.S. Patent 00,093,653. In 1856 Hor
ace Smith & Daniel Wesson formed a partnership (S&W), developed and manufactured
a revolver chambered for a self-contained metallic cartridge.[16]
Design[edit]
Details of a Schmidt M1882, showing the hammer, chambers for the ammunition in t
he cylinder, and the mechanism to rotate the cylinder. Revolver of the Gendarmer
ie of Vaud, on display at Morges castle museum.
A revolver works by having several firing chambers arranged in a circle in a cyl
indrical block that are brought into alignment with the firing mechanism and bar
rel one at a time. In contrast, other repeating firearms, such as lever-action,
pump-action, and semi-automatic, have a single firing chamber and a mechanism to
load and extract cartridges into it.[17]
A single-action revolver requires the hammer to be pulled back by hand before ea
ch 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 th
e force and distance required to pull the trigger can be minimal. In contrast, w
ith a self-cocking revolver, one long squeeze of the trigger pulls back the hamm
er 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 mo
st shooters.[17]
Most modern revolvers are "traditional double-action", which means they may oper
ate either in single-action or self-cocking mode. The accepted meaning of "doubl
e-action" has, confusingly, come to be the same as "self-cocking", so modern rev
olvers that cannot be pre-cocked are called "double-action-only".[17] These are
intended for concealed carry, because the hammer of a traditional design is pron
e to snagging on clothes when drawn. Most revolvers do not come with accessory r
ails, which are used for mounting lights and lasers, except for the Smith & Wess
on M&P R8 (.357 Magnum),[18] Smith & Wesson Model 325 Thunder Ranch (.45 ACP),[1
9] and all versions of the Chiappa Rhino (.357 Magnum, 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W,
or 9x21mm) except for the 2" model, respectively.[20] However, certain revolvers
, such as the Taurus Judge and Charter Arms revolvers, can be fitted with access
ory rails.[21]
Most commonly, such revolvers have a 5 or 6 shot capacity, hence the common name
s of "six-gun" or "six-shooter".[22] However, some revolvers have a 7 to 10 shot
capacity,[22] often depending on the caliber, and at least one revolver has a 1
2 shot capacity (the US Fire Arms Model 12/22).[23] Each chamber has to be reloa
ded manually, which makes reloading a revolver a much slower procedure than relo
ading a semi-automatic pistol.[22]
Compared to autoloading handguns, a revolver is often much simpler to operate an
d may have greater reliability.[22] For example, should a semiautomatic pistol f

ail 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 car
tridge firing.[22] 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.[22] Another significant advantage of revolvers is s
uperior ergonomics, particularly for users with small hands.[22] A revolver's gr
ip does not hold a magazine, and it can be designed or customized much more than
the grip of a typical semi-automatic.[22] Partially because of these reasons, r
evolvers still hold significant market share as concealed carry and home-defense
weapons.[22]
A revolver can be kept loaded and ready to fire without fatiguing any springs an
d is not very dependent on lubrication for proper firing.[22] Additionally, in t
he 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.[22] However,
the revolver's clockwork-like internal parts are relatively delicate and can bec
ome misaligned after a severe impact, and its revolving cylinder can become jamm
ed by excessive dirt or debris.[22]
Over the long period of development of the revolver, many calibers have been use
d.[24] 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 Eastwo
od's "Dirty Harry" films; and the .45 Colt, used in the Colt revolver of the Wil
d West. Introduced in 2003, the Smith & Wesson Model 500 is one of the most powe
rful revolvers, utilizing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge.[25]
Because the rounds in a revolver are headspaced on the rim, some revolvers are c
apable of chambering more than one type of ammunition. The .44 Magnum round will
chamber the shorter .44 Special and shorter .44 Colt, likewise the .357 Magnum
will safely chamber .38 Special and .38 Colt. In 1996 a revolver known as the Me
dusa M47 was made that could chamber 25 different cartridges with bullet diamete
rs between .355" and .357".[26]
The LeMat Revolver, an unusual revolver from the American Civil War era with 9 r
evolving chambers firing bullets and a center shotgun barrel firing lead shot.
Revolver technology lives on in other weapons used by the military. Some autocan
nons and grenade launchers use mechanisms similar to revolvers, and some riot sh
otguns use spring-loaded cylinders holding up to 12 rounds.[27] In addition to s
erving as backup guns, revolvers still fill the specialized niche role as a shie
ld gun; law enforcement personnel using a "bulletproof" ballistic shield (Gun sh
ield) 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 n
ot suffer from this disadvantage. A second revolver may be secured behind the sh
ield 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 u
ser friendliness.[28]
With the advancement of technology and design in 2010 major revolver manufacture
rs are coming out with polymer frame revolvers like the Ruger LCR, Smith & Wesso
n Bodyguard 38, and Taurus Protector Polymer. The new innovative design incorpor
ates advanced polymer technology that lowers weight significantly, helps absorbs
recoil, and strong enough to handle +P and .357 Magnum loads. The polymer is on
ly 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 revo
lver history because the frame has always been metal alloy and mostly one piece
frame design.[29]

Another recent development in revolver technology is the Rhino, a revolver intro

duced 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
that 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, allow
ing for faster and more accurate repeat shots. In addition, the cylinder cross-s
ection is hexagonal instead of circular, further reducing the weapon's profile.[
20]
Loading and unloading[edit]
Front loading[edit]
The first revolvers were front loading, 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 eno
ugh to make a practical revolver feasible. When loading, each chamber in the cyl
inder was rotated out of line with the barrel, and charged from the front with l
oose powder and an oversized bullet. Next, the chamber was aligned with the ramm
ing lever underneath the barrel. Pulling the lever would drive a rammer into the
chamber, pushing the ball securely in place. Finally, the user would place perc
ussion caps on the nipples on the rear face of the cylinder.[9]
After each shot, a user was advised to raise his revolver vertically while cocki
ng back the hammer so as to allow the fragments of the spent percussion cap to f
all out safely. Otherwise, the fragments could fall into the revolver's mechanis
m and jam it. Caplock revolvers were vulnerable to "chain fires", wherein hot ga
s from a shot ignited the powder in the other chambers. This could be prevented
by sealing the chambers with cotton, wax, or grease.[30]
Loading a cylinder in this manner was a slow and awkward process and generally c
ould not be done in the midst of battle.[31] Some soldiers solved this by carryi
ng multiple revolvers in the field. Another solution was to use a revolver with
a detachable cylinder design. These revolvers allowed the shooter to quickly rem
ove a cylinder and replace it with a full one.[17]
Colt 1851 Navy with powder flask.
Front reloading a cap and ball pistol.
Remington Model 1858 with a detached cylinder.
Fixed cylinder designs[edit]
A fixed-cylinder Nagant M1895 with gate open for loading
In many of the first generation of cartridge revolvers (especially those that we
re converted after manufacture), the base pin on which the cylinder revolved was
removed, and the cylinder taken from the revolver for loading. Most revolvers u
sing this method of loading are single-action revolvers, although Iver Johnson p
roduced double-action models with removable cylinders. The removable-cylinder de
sign is employed in some modern "micro-revolvers" (usually in .22 caliber), in o
rder to simplify their design. These weapons are small enough to fit in the palm
of the hand.[29]
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 fir
ed case.[32]
The loading gate on the original Colt designs (and on nearly all single-action r
evolvers 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 hel
d in the left hand with the reins of the horse, the cartridges can be ejected an
d loaded with the right hand.[33]
Because the cylinders in these types of revolvers are firmly attached at the fro
nt and rear of the frame, and the frame is typically full thickness all the way
around, fixed cylinder revolvers are inherently strong designs. Accordingly, man
y modern large caliber hunting revolvers tend to be based on the fixed cylinder
design. Fixed cylinder revolvers can fire the strongest and most powerful cartri
dges, but at the price of being the slowest to load and reload and they cannot u
se speedloaders or moon clips for loading, as only one chamber is exposed at a t
ime to the loading gate.[34]
Top break[edit]
An IOF .32 top-break revolver
In a top-break 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 cy
linder. In most top-break revolvers, this act also operates an extractor that pu
shes 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 ba
rrel and cylinder are then rotated back and locked in place, and the revolver is
ready to fire.[17]
Top break revolvers can be loaded more rapidly than fixed-frame revolvers, espec
ially with the aid of a speedloader or moon clip. However, this design is much w
eaker and cannot handle high pressure rounds. While this design is mostly obsole
te today, supplanted by the stronger yet equally convenient swing-out design, ma
nufacturers have begun making reproductions of late 19th century designs for use
in cowboy action shooting.[17]
The most commonly found top-break revolvers were manufactured by Smith & Wesson,
Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Manhattan Fire Arms, Meriden Arms and Fo
rehand & Wadsworth.[35]
Tip up[edit]
Smith & Wesson Model 1 Third Issue open
The tip-up was the first revolver design for use with metallic cartridges in the
Smith & Wesson Model 1. It is similar to the break-open design that had a hinge
on the top rear of the frame, but in the case of the tip-up, the barrel release
catch is located on the side of the frame in front of the trigger. Smith & Wess
on 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.[36]
Swing out cylinder[edit]
A swing-out cylinder revolver.
The most modern method of loading and unloading a revolver is by means of the sw
ing out cylinder.[37] 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 i
n top break models, the travel is designed to not completely extract longer, unf
ired rounds). The cylinder may then be loaded, singly or again with a speedloade
r, closed, and latched in place.[17]
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 wri
st can in fact cause the crane to bend over time, throwing the cylinder out of a
lignment with the barrel. Lack of alignment between chamber and barrel is a dang
erous 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 pot
ential for an explosion if the bullet becomes stuck.[38]
The shock of firing can exert a great deal of stress on the crane, as in most de
signs the cylinder is only held closed at one point, the rear of the cylinder. S
tronger designs, such as the Ruger Super Redhawk, use a lock in the crane as wel
l as the lock at the rear of the cylinder. This latch provides a more secure bon
d between cylinder and frame, and allows the use of larger, more powerful cartri
dges. Swing out cylinders are rather strong, but not as strong as fixed cylinder
s, and great care must be taken with the cylinder when loading, so as not to dam
age the crane.[38]
Action[edit]
Single-action[edit]
From Top: Replica of 1849 vintage. .44 Colt Revolving Holster Pistol (Dragoon);
Colt Single Action Army Model 1873; Ruger (New Model) Super Blackhawk- Mid and l
ate 20th Century.
In a single-action revolver, the hammer is manually cocked, usually with the thu
mb of the firing or supporting hand. This action advances the cylinder to the ne
xt round and locks the cylinder in place with the chamber aligned with the barre
l. The trigger, when pulled, releases the hammer, which fires the round in the c
hamber. 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 lighte
ned, firing a revolver in this way allows most shooters to achieve greater accur
acy. Additionally, the need to cock the hammer manually acts as a safety. The Co
lt Paterson Revolver, the Walker Colt, the Colt's Dragoon and the Colt Single Ac
tion Army pistol of the American Frontier era are all good examples of this syst
em.[17]
Double-action[edit]
Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum double-action revolver
In double-action (DA), the stroke of the trigger pull generates three actions:
The hammer is pulled back to the cocked position.
At the same time, the cylinder is indexed to the next round.
The hammer is released to strike the firing pin.
Thus, DA means that a cocking action separate from the trigger pull is unnecessa
ry; every trigger pull will result in a complete cycle. This allows uncocked car
ry, while also allowing draw-and-fire using only the trigger. A longer and harde
r 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 d
ropped.[17]
Most double-action revolvers may be fired in two ways.[17]
The first way is single-action; that is, exactly the same as a single-action rev
olver; 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, t
he trigger first cocks the hammer and revolves the cylinder, then trips the hamm
er at the rear of the trigger stroke, firing the round in the chamber.
Enfield No. 2 Mk I* double-action-only revolver. Note the spurless hammer.

Certain revolvers, called double action only (DAO) or, more correctly but less c
ommonly, self cocking, lack the latch that enables the hammer to be locked to th
e rear, and thus can only be fired in the double action mode. With no way to loc
k 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.[39]
DA and DAO revolvers were the standard-issue sidearm of countless police departm
ents for many decades. Only in the 1990s did the semiautomatic pistol begin to m
ake serious inroads after the advent of safe actions. The reasons for these choi
ces are the modes of carry and use. Double action is good for high-stress situat
ions because it allows a mode of carry in which "draw and pull the trigger" is t
he only requirement no safety catch release nor separate cocking stroke is require
d.[39]
Other[edit]
In the cap-and-ball days of the mid 19th century, two revolver models, the Engli
sh 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 ma
in 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 hamme
r. If the trigger was pulled with the hammer cocked, it would then fire. This me
ant that to fire the revolver from a hammer down state, the trigger must be pull
ed twice.[40]
3D printed revolver[edit]
See also: List of 3D printed weapons and parts
Globe icon.
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view
of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk pa
ge. (February 2015)
The Zig zag revolver is a 3D printed .38 Revolver made public in May 2014.[41][4
2][42] It was created using an $500 plastic 3D-printer used, the name of the pri
nter was not revealed by the creator.[42] It was created by a Japanese citizen f
rom Kawasaki named Yoshitomo Imura[42] He was arrested in May 2014 after he had
posted a video online of himself firing a 3D printed Zig Zag revolver.[41] It is
the first 3D printed Japanese gun in the world which can discharge live cartrid
ges.[42]
Use with suppressors[edit]
As a general rule, revolvers cannot be effective with a sound suppressor ("silen
cer"), as there is usually a small gap between the revolving cylinder and the ba
rrel which a bullet must traverse or jump when fired. From this opening, a rathe
r loud report is produced. A suppressor can only suppress noise coming from the
muzzle.[43]
A suppressible revolver design does exist in the Nagant M1895, a Belgian designe
d revolver used by Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union from 1895 through
World War II. This revolver uses a unique cartridge whose case extends beyond th
e tip of the bullet, and a cylinder that moves forward to place the end of the c
artridge 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 intern
al ballistics, the seal is especially effective when used with a suppressor, and
a number of suppressed Nagant revolvers have been used since its invention.[44]

There is a modern revolver of Russian design, the OTs-38,[45] which uses ammunit
ion that incorporates the silencing mechanism into the cartridge case, making th
e 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 c
ylinder 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 t
he Smith & Wesson Model 29 for Tunnel Rats, called the Quiet Special Purpose Rev
olver or QSPR. Using special .40 caliber ammunition, it never entered official s
ervice.[46]
Automatic revolvers[edit]
Main article: Automatic revolver
Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver.
The term "automatic revolver" has two different meanings, the first being used i
n the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when "automatic" referred no
t to the operational mechanism of firing, but of extraction and ejection of spen
t casings. An "automatic revolver" in this context is one which extracts empty f
ired cases "automatically," i.e., upon breaking open the action, rather than req
uiring 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 advert
ising of the period as a way to distinguish such revolvers from the far more com
mon rod-extraction types.[47]
In the second sense, "automatic revolver" refers to the mechanism of firing rath
er 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 di
sadvantage of this is that the long, heavy pull cocking the hammer makes the dou
ble-action revolver much harder to shoot accurately than a single-action revolve
r (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 doubl
e-action with the trigger effort of a single-action. The Webley-Fosbery Automati
c Revolver is the most famous commercial example. It was recoil-operated, and th
e cylinder and barrel recoiled backwards to cock the hammer and revolve the cyli
nder. 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 se
mi-automatic pistols.[48]
In 1997, the Mateba company developed a type of recoil-operated automatic revolv
er, commercially named the Mateba Autorevolver, which uses the recoil energy to
auto-rotate a normal revolver cylinder holding six or seven cartridges, dependin
g on the model. The company has made several versions of its Autorevolver, inclu
ding longer-barrelled and carbine variations, chambered for .357 Magnum, .44 Mag
num and .454 Casull.[49]
The Pancor Jackhammer is a combat shotgun based on a similar mechanism to an aut
omatic revolver. It uses a Blow-Forward action to move the barrel forward (which
unlocks it from the cylinder) and then rotate the cylinder and cock the hammer.
[50]
Revolving long guns[edit]
Circuit Judge carbine.

Revolvers were not limited to handguns and as a longer barrelled arm is more use
ful in military applications than a sidearm, the idea was applied to both rifles
and shotguns throughout the history of the revolver mechanism with mixed degree
s of success.[51]
Rifles[edit]
Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combi
ning them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier fo
r revolving pistols. Colt began experimenting with revolving rifles in the early
19th century, making them in a variety of calibers and barrel lengths. Colt rev
olving rifles were the first repeating rifles adopted by the U.S. Government, bu
t they had their problems. They were officially given to soldiers because of the
ir rate of fire. But after firing six shots, the shooter had to take an excessiv
e amount of time to reload. Also, on occasion Colt rifles discharged all their r
ounds at once, endangering the shooter. Even so, an early model was used in the
Seminole Wars in 1838.[52][53] During the Civil War a LeMat Carbine was made bas
ed on the LeMat revolver.[54]
Shotguns[edit]
Colt briefly manufactured several revolving shotguns that were met with mixed su
ccess. 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 manu
factured between 1860 and 1863. Because of their low production numbers and age
they are among the rarest of all Colt firearms.[55]
The Armsel Striker was a modern take on the revolving shotgun that held 10 round
s of 12 Gauge ammunition in its cylinder. It was copied by Cobray as the Streets
weeper.[13][56]
Taurus manufactures a carbine variant of the Taurus Judge revolver along with it
s Australian partner company, Rossi known as the Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge. It
comes in the original combination chambering of .410 bore and .45 Long Colt, as
well as the .44 Remington Magnum chambering. The rifle has small blast shields a
ttached to the cylinder to protect the shooter from hot gases escaping between t
he cylinder and barrel.[57]
Six gun[edit]
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'.[58
][59] Although a "Six Gun" can refer to any six-chambered revolver, it is typica
lly a reference to the Colt Single Action Army, or its modern look-alikes such a
s the Ruger Vaquero and Beretta Stampede.
Until the 1970s, when older-design revolvers such as Colt Single Action Armys an
d Ruger Blackhawks were re-engineered with drop safeties (such as firing pin blo
cks, hammer blocks, or transfer bars) that prevent the firing pin from contactin
g the cartridge's primer unless the trigger is pulled, safe carry required the h
ammer 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 fir
ing 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. Human nature being what it has alwa
ys been, some people simply took the risk and carried the guns fully loaded with
no provisions for prevention of accidental discharges.
Six guns are used commonly by Single-Action Shooting enthusiasts in shooting com

petitions, designed to mimic the gunfights of the Old West, and for general targ
et shooting, hunting and personal defense.[60]
Notable brands and manufacturers[edit]
Robert Adams
Armscor
Astra
Charter Arms
Chiappa Firearms
Cimarron Firearms
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Royal Small Arms Factory
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Griswold and Gunnison
Harrington & Richardson
Iver Johnson
Magnum Research
Mateba Arms
Merwin Hulbert
Nagant
North American Arms
Remington Arms
Rossi
Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Co.
Smith & Wesson
Taurus Firearms
United States Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company
Uberti
William Tranter
Webley & Scott
Dan Wesson Firearms
Gallery[edit]
Mateba Autorevolver
Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver
Colt New Service revolver
Colt Python .357 Magnum revolvers
Smith & Wesson Model 625 for IPSC shooting
Smith & Wesson Model 625JM, as designed by Jerry Miculek.
Taurus .357 Magnum Model 605
Taurus .45 Colt/.410 bore Model 4510 'The Judge'
Webley Mk IV in .380 S&W

IOF .32 Revolver in .32 S&W

Belgian-made Lefaucheux revolver, circa 1860-1865
A Russian Nagant M1895
See also[edit]
Antique gun
Colt Diamondback
Gunspinning
Handgun effectiveness
List of handgun cartridges
List of cartridges by caliber
List of revolvers
Rat-shot
Revolver cannon
Russian roulette
Semiwadcutter
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
Wadcutter
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External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Revolvers.
U.S. Patent RE124 Revolving gun
U.S. Patent 1,304 Improvement in firearms
U.S. Patent 7,613 Revolver
U.S. Patent 7,629 Revolver
Categories: Firearm actions1836 introductionsRevolvers
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