Revolver Reloading: Faster and Faster
devours peoples hostile to him,
crushes their bones
and strikes the enemy with his arrows.
The fourth book of Moses. Numbers 24:8
stories about weapons. So, in the previous article, we got acquainted, firstly, with the next attempts to circumvent the patents of a number of large firms, and secondly, with the developments of gunsmith designers to ensure high-speed reloading of their revolvers. "He who shoots second is the first to be killed." They remembered this, and if so, it was very important to make sure that the shooter could replenish the ammunition of his weapon and not remain unarmed in front of a new enemy. And the easiest way to solve this problem was the quick change of the drum, first carried out on Remington revolvers. But gunsmiths in Europe did not lag behind.
And sometimes they created very interesting designs. Thus, the famous creator of new revolvers, Robert Adams, parted ways with the firm "Dina" in 1856 and instructed Frederick Beaumont to develop a new model that would be both single and double action. But the designer William Harding remained there, who, together with the owners of the company, patented the design of a percussion revolver that could work both in single and double action.
But then cartridge revolvers appeared, and Dean and Harding patented a rare transitional model of a .44 caliber revolver, which was supplied to the market with two drums at once: one primer and another for cartridges. The hammer is designed in such a way that it can fire either rimfire cartridges or primers, while retaining the loading lever under the barrel, typical of primer fire revolvers.
Dean Harding's later revolvers already received the lever-actuated cartridge case ejection rods typical of the time.
The axis of the drum in his revolver was spring-loaded, and under the barrel was a wooden "hat". It was possible to pull it, take it out of its nest, and thus tilt the drum to the side for reloading. But this revolver never appeared in metal.
And then, finally, the Frenchman Levo in 1873 received a patent for a revolver with a folding drum, practically no different from modern designs.
In the Levo revolver, the drum leaned to the right. Why? And the thing is that at that time the revolver was a cavalry weapon, and they held it in their left hand, and there was a saber in their right! Therefore, the drum leaned to the right, so that it would be more convenient to reload it.
Naturally, both imitations and attempts to circumvent the patent immediately appeared. In particular, in the USA - a small American pocket revolver for 5 rounds of .32 caliber rimfire. It was one of the first "switch drum" revolvers made in America. Patented on November 4, 1879, it was manufactured in small quantities by the C.S. Shattuck Company of Hatfield, Massachusetts.
The axis of the drum was fixed under the barrel with a screw. With the help of a cam on the right side, the back of the drum was released, which could then turn outward for loading.
On the handle plates on the right is an embossed portrait of Abraham Lincoln and on the left is James A. Garfield, two presidents who left a prominent mark on stories United States, but were eventually killed.
The system, of course, turned out to be funny. The cylinder "leans back" 90 degrees to the side, and the liners are removed in one motion. Made in 1880. Circulation several thousand. Revolvers chambered in .22, .32, .38 and .41 are known.
The production of "shattungs" continued into the twentieth century. So, in the period from 1907 to 1915, several thousand of these revolvers were produced. There are .22 and .32 caliber revolvers chambered for rimfire cartridges. Some .25 and .30 calibers exist but are quite rare. Nickel plating was standard on most models, but blued examples are very rare. Interestingly, on the trunks of some of the Shattungs there was an inscription: "Invisible Protector."
The company "Varnan" offered its own version of a folding magazine with simultaneous extraction.
The lever behind which the drum leaned back, and, again, to the right, was under the barrel. And when the drum on the frame leaned back, this lever could be pressed and thus the extractor rod could be pulled out of the drum, which was also the axis of rotation of the drum. The system was quite simple, convenient and reliable.
In France, the Saint-Etienne revolver of 1892 was created, in which the drum also leaned to the right. The drum extractor was manual on the drum axis. The revolver was used from 1893 to 1965 and, despite the fact that its small caliber and weak bullet action were noted as a drawback, it proved to be a very good weapon.
But the Francott revolver, already created in Belgium at the same time, received a reloading system with a drum that leaned to the left. The trunk is round with a flat top stripe. The trigger is massive with a striker. On the left side of the case there is a Mauser type fuse. The handle consists of two plates of walnut wood and ends with a ring.
Naturally, the Smith & Wesson firm, which made a fortune in the production of turning point revolvers for the Russian Imperial Army, did not stand aside from innovations with a reclining drum.
The new "Smitvesson", created in 1899, really liked the American sailors and ... policemen. The latter at that time were armed with the New Police Colts mod. 1896 in .32 caliber (7,65 mm). And although the revolver was light and convenient, the stopping effect of its bullets was relatively small. Of course, there was also an army .45 caliber, but such revolvers were heavy for the police (and sailors, they don’t shoot often!)
So the police started ordering them along with fleet. New orders - new money. It is not surprising that by 1905 the revolver had been improved seven times, in particular, in 1902 it was adapted for the stronger .38 Special cartridges.
Therefore, in 1905 he began to be called the "military policeman" (Military & Police), without any mention of his "naval" origin. In 1957, all the "Smithwessons" received serial numbers, and this revolver received the number 10. So, the "ten" is produced ... until now! Perfection seems to have been achieved!
By the way, the fashion for reclining drums also touched the famous "revolver". In 1910, a "revolver" appeared with a drum that leans to the right. Very simple, traditionally reliable, retaining all its previous advantages, but having lost the "bag loading". But, alas, they did not even try to accept him into service with the Russian army. And why, it seems, when the era of self-loading pistols has already begun. As a result, before the war, she did not receive either an automatic pistol or a new, more modern revolver, which our industry could master very quickly.
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