Odd But Good?

A perusal of revolvers developed around the world in the last 150 years cannot help but give you some insight about the human mind. It can go off in many directions: some good and some wacky. Revolver developments can even reveal a sense of national character. Americans have devised many that are visually attractive. For instance consider some Colt single-action revolvers with their graceful lines and color casehardened frames. Obviously someone with a true sense of esthetics designed them. They’re actually pretty.

Great Britain on the other hand could be called the “Kingdom of Ugly Revolvers.” There is not one single thing about a Webley Mark VI that could be called visually attractive. It’s ugly, ungainly, awkward and far too large for its puny .455 caliber. Then someone over there decided to make it smaller. That move resulted in the .38 caliber Enfield No. 2. It’s every bit as ugly as the big Webley but at least reasonable in size. How the Brits can make those wonderful double rifles and come up with such butt-ugly handguns is a mystery.

Funny But Okay

Now I will be the first to admit sometimes a features added to a revolver make it look a bit funny but is still practical. Take for instance, the Smith & Wesson Model #3 as ordered by the Russian Government in their third contract in 1873. Somebody over there realized that a handsaw’s handle has a “knuckle” at its top so that it won’t slip during use. Smith & Wesson’s original grip shape did just that during recoil. So the Ruskies told S&W to put a “knuckle” at the top of the grip of the revolvers they ordered. Privately, Misters Smith and Wesson complained about what that did to their revolvers’ looks but since the Russians were paying in gold, the company obliged. If the Russians’ Model #3s had been chambered for a truly powerful cartridge like the .45 Colt, that grip shape would hurt. But, they were happy with the much less powerful .44 S&W Russian so a “knuckled” grip is actually very comfortable.

Here’s another odd handgun feature, more or less idiosyncratic to the Russians. That is to put a spur hanging down from a revolver’s triggerguard. They also began ordering that feature on their Smith & Wesson Model #3s. What its purpose actually is has been a matter for debate in gun magazines for decades. Some say it was put there as a “hook” so that when shoved into a sash around the bearer’s waist it would not slip on through. That sounds pretty fanciful. Others say Russian cavalry doctrine called for troops to perform charges with their revolvers cocked but with the trigger finger resting on the spur for safety’s sake. That actually does make some sense because it wasn’t uncommon for American cavalrymen to shoot their own horses with their revolvers. Custer himself did just that once when chasing a bison bull on the Kansas plains and had to walk back to the 7th Cavalry’s camp. I’ve found that when shooting my Navy Arms’ replica of the S&W 3rd Model .44 Russian, the spur makes a good anchor point for the off-hand’s index finger in 2-handed shooting. That’s a case of odd — but good.

But what’s really odd is that after a couple of decades of being armed with fine S&W handguns the Russians adopted Mr. Nagant’s Model 1895 7.65mm revolver. This idiotic contraption was built so that upon being cocked, the cylinder moved forward to mate with the rear of the barrel so there was no gas leakage. At that point in history who would care about a little gas leakage? A half-century of prior revolvers showed it mattered not at all. And worse yet the Russians/Soviets issued the things for over 50 years.

Get The Old Out

Since metallic cartridges became the norm for handgun ammunition circa the 1860s, designers have been trying to figure out fast and reliable ways to get empty cases out of the chambers to make room for loaded ones. Smith & Wesson actually hit upon a fairly good method right in the beginning. They hinged their revolvers so the front half pivoted downward at the same time a cam pushed the cylinder extractor upwards. That popped all the empty cases up and hopefully out of the chambers, in turn exposing them for reloading. In truth, however, this had to be done with a forward “throwaway” gesture. Otherwise a case would slip under the extractor tying up the works until fished out.

There were a couple other downsides to that system. One is if there were any loaded rounds remaining in the chambers they were also thrown out. Two is that the top-break method doesn’t make for very strong handguns. When a bullet slams into the forcing cone of a revolver barrel, there is a tremendous force actually pushing on the barrel. That’s why it’s common to encounter vintage S&W Model #3 top-break revolvers that are so loose the barrels wobble when the handgun is given a shake. It’s also the reason the Brits had to stick with such puny calibers for their top-break Webley and Enfield revolvers well into the smokeless powder era.

And it’s also the reason Colt had to add a topstrap to their single-action revolvers when adapting them to the powerful .45 Colt cartridge. The downside there is Colt SAAs had to be loaded one round at a time through a gate on the frame’s right side. Then each and every fired cartridge also had to be unloaded out that same gate. It was a slow procedure compared to the S&W top-break system but it’s what had to be done in order to have strength and power in an 1870s revolver.

A Real Oddball

All of the above led to the development of one of America’s oddest revolvers. But it still looked pretty good. That was the Merwin & Hulbert design. The M&H could probably be termed a “twist-frame” revolver as opposed to the S&W’s “top-break” style. This is always funny: if I hand my M&H Pocket Army .44 to an uninitiated person and ask them to open it, they will just look perplexed. To do so requires a button on the bottom of the frame to be pushed back while at the same time the barrel is turned clockwise 90 degrees and pulled forwards. If the revolver has been fired, empty cases will fall free. However, the rims of loaded rounds will be retained and their overall length will keep them started in the chambers. After the fired cases (hopefully) fall clear, the M&H is locked back by pushing the barrel rearwards and turning it counter-clockwise until it locks in place. Sadly, however, the speed loading ends there because then the empty chambers must be filled one cartridge at a time through a gate on the frame’s right side.

Keeping with the odd theme, M&H had a couple more features. One was the point of the grip frame. It was called the Skullcrusher, and was there for when altercations became hand-to-hand. The other was that M&H large frame .44 caliber revolvers could be purchased with both 3½” and 7″ barrel lengths. Switching barrels requires all of about 10 seconds. That was a heck of an option for an extra $4.00 in purchase price.

Faster And Faster

During the late 1800s, Colt thought fast firing was more important than fast reloading so they introduced a couple of oddballs of their own. These were double actions that loaded and unloaded just like their Single Action Army. First was the Model 1877DA in .38 and .41 Colt calibers. Colt considered these little handguns both pocket pistols and holster revolvers. When made as the former they had no provision for ejector rods and had barrel lengths of 2½” to 3½”. When made as holster guns they had 4½” and 6″ barrels and ejector rods.

Regardless, the Colt heritage is evident in their basic appearance. Where they radically differ from the big SAA is internally. Just about anyone, even the most mechanically inept such as myself, can replace parts in a SAA, but the little ’77s look like their innards were designed by a madman having a nightmare. Those tiny parts also break so often it seems as if they were designed to do so.

The next year Colt decided to upscale their double action design. That was the Model 1878DA, and it was the same size as the SAA and made for essentially the same calibers. Because its internal parts are bigger they never gained a reputation for breakage. The ’78s were actually a pretty good handgun, but for some reason never caught on to the gun-buying public as did the SAA.

Not Six?

American revolvers have traditionally been made with six chambers. In fact the word “sixgun” has become nearly synonymous with revolver in our language. Our own John Taffin bills himself as “Sixgunner” instead of “Revolverier.” But revolvers are not always six-shooters and haven’t been from the very beginning. Colt’s little Baby Dragoon .31 caliber cap & ball revolver from 1848 was a five-shooter. And today Smith & Wesson offers a host of 5-, 7- and 8-shot revolvers. Hi Standard once had a “Double Nine” .22 revolver that was not only double action but had nine chambers.

Not long ago U.S. Firearms Company sent me a .22 revolver to look over. It’s a traditionally styled single action except it is a 12-shooter. You can shoot it twice as long as a six-shooter but then again it takes twice as long to load and unload it. Actually it should be considered an 11-shooter because being traditionally styled it should only be carried with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

are many more odd ideas connected to revolvers, such as the new Taurus Judge that shoots .410 shotgun shells, and many different types that shoot rimless autoloading pistol cartridges. Space won’t allow more details here. It seems though, as long as gun-minded individuals are thinking, there will be different revolvers coming along — and many of them will be odd. And some of them might even be good.

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