Speedloader for revolver - a device that is 142 years old!

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Speedloader for revolver - a device that is 142 years old!
Cartridge revolver "Remington" "New Model" .46 caliber. One of the first revolvers with a quick-detachable drum and a discharge system due to a movable pin. Photo littlegun.info

After parting with his companion, the mustanger took out the most perfect weaponthat has ever been raised against the inhabitants of the prairie - for attack or defense - against Indians, bison or bears. It was a Colonel Colt six-shot revolver. Not some cheap fake, under the guise of an improvement, from the firm of Dean, Adams and the like, but a genuine product of the "country of nutmegs" with the brand "Hartford" on the breech.
"Headless horseman". Mine Reid, 1865

Weapon stories. This article was supposed to appear by order of one of the readers last year. But... it didn't show up. It was necessary to revise a lot of pictures, a lot of patents and bring it all into one material. But now, finally, the work has been completed and the material about revolver loading accelerators is in front of you.


Capsule "Remington" model 1861. Photo littlegun.info


The same revolver with the drum removed


The same revolver with the drum axis extended from the frame

Well, the story about them should begin with an appeal to the technical features of a revolver as a weapon. Moreover, it is important that the revolver has a very annoying drawback that affects almost everyone who uses it in the field: after you shoot the drum, it must be loaded again. And if with the same rifle this is not a big problem: he inserted a clip, pulled the bolt and shoot yourself further, then everything was different with a revolver. Six chambers - insert a cartridge six times or fill in gunpowder, drive the bullet tightly, cover it with gun fat, put a primer on the brand tube. This is if you have a primer revolver. That is why, already on the first Colt revolver, the drum was removed, and by removing one, empty, it was possible to insert another, loaded. Colt himself later refused this, but this system did not take root on Remington revolvers.




Pusher pin on a Remington New Model revolver. The retention of the lever for tight driving of the bullet allowed the use of interchangeable drums. Photo littlegun.info

It was improved by W. H. Elliot of the Remington Design Bureau. On December 17, 1861, he was granted patent No. 33 for design improvements that made it possible to remove the rotating axis of the drum without lowering the loading arm to drive the bullet tightly. Before that, in order to remove this axle (for example, on the 932 model), it had to be lowered down, which was not very convenient. The model became known as the Remington M1858 percussion revolver. True, the field experience of their operation showed that the axis of the drum sometimes moved forward due to recoil forces, which led to jamming of the revolver.


"New model" - "Abadie's door". Photo littlegun.info

Cartridge systems seemed to be faster, for example, the same Smith and Wesson, which entered service with the Russian army. However, he only quickly discharged. It was still necessary to load it by inserting cartridges into the chambers one at a time! Well, you can’t even remember about our famous “Nagant” at all, but for the sake of order, you have to: seven times it was necessary to knock out the shells from the drum, then insert the cartridges seven times. All this turned this revolver into almost a disposable weapon.

True, revolvers, fortunately for their owners, did not have to be fired so often, and those who fired often carried two revolvers with them. Still, it wasn't a very good way out. It was necessary to figure out not only how to quickly unload a revolver, but also how to quickly load it.


Patent No. 223100 for the Bell accelerator

And there was a man who came up with exactly this, and exactly 142 years ago, in 1879. His name was William H. Bell, and he came up with a device that was a simple metal disk with a rotating locking mechanism that could hold six revolver cartridges. It was intended for use on the Smith and Wesson turning point revolver. It was installed on a drum and at the same time all six finished cartridges were loaded into it. It is not known for certain if Bell's device was ever produced, but it is certainly the first of its kind. In any case, earlier patents for something similar are unknown.


1894 Prideaux patent

In 1894, a certain Mr. William de Courcy Prideaux, a subject of Queen Victoria, patented a device that he called the "cartridge holder". It was a round disk, in which 12 metal springy "fingers" of six pairs stuck out. Each pair contained one cartridge in .455 caliber for the British Webley revolver. An improved design from later 1916 added a handle to the back of the plate.


1916 Prideaux Patent No. 1181034


Prideaux Patent 1916 No. 1181034. The second part of the scheme

Prideaux's device became popular with army officers and discerning marksmen. That's when he got the nickname "speedloader" ...

Webley revolver owners in the UK have now been able to reload their revolvers very quickly in any stressful situation (even in total darkness). Speedloaders began to be used in the Boer War, and then in the First World War. In October 1918, the Prideaux speedloader was officially adopted by the British Army, although none were purchased before the end of the war - all surviving military examples are dated 1919.


"Cartridge holder" Prideaux to the revolver "Webley". Photo forgottenweapons.com

Some designers decided to create multi-shot magazines for reloading revolvers. But they were very bulky and uncomfortable.


Repeating magazine R. White 1878

A device similar to the Prideaux speedloader began to be produced by Major Arthur in the same 1919, but with the advent of self-loading pistols, revolving accelerators fell out of fashion for some time. But not quite!


The original accelerator was invented by Garau W. Silva in 1924. With his device, he resembled garden shears!

Despite the near-universal interest in semi-automatic pistols by militaries around the world, American law enforcement officials continued to use revolvers. For most of the 20th century, it was revolvers that were issued to American police, and with them, accelerators began to be used again. So, in the middle of the century, the speedloader again experienced a rebirth. For example, Pachmair of Los Angeles developed a rubber-plastic speedloader designed by J. M. Hunt.


J. Pfaume 1933 patent


S. Mason 1953 patent

In 1965, Matic began to produce them, but they did not have much success.


The reason is that it was not easy to use them, as they were demanding on the technique of application. If the user retracted the Matic accelerator at the wrong angle to the frame of the revolver, he risked pulling the cartridges out of the chambers. That is, they had to be correctly inserted and remembered exactly how this should be done. Photo revolverguy.com


A simple, as you can see, but not very convenient design was at the Matic company. Photo revolverguy.com


In November 1973, William T. Griffis received a patent for his unique accelerator design, with a plastic body and a ring on the outside that slid up and down its entire length. The ring engaged the rims of the cartridges, and when pushed forward, it pushed the cartridges out of the accelerator and into the drum. He called his accelerator "Second Six"

The advantage of this system is that its operation did not depend on the orientation of the revolver. It could be loaded even when it was facing up or lying on its side, which made it popular with police officers who realized that they might have to load from an awkward position or with one hand, unable to point it down. Griffis allowed the sale of his speedloader only to the police. It was used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a number of other law enforcement agencies.


Speedloader "Dade". Photo revolverguy.com

In 1968, Dade Machine Screw Products produced an all-plastic-framed revolver speedloader that could hold six cartridges for various framed S&W revolvers and Colt revolvers. To make them cheap, light, easy to make and reliable, Dade made the body of the speedloader out of plastic. The spring held the cartridges in their sockets and prevented them from falling out. After aligning with the open and empty drum of the revolver, it was necessary to press the central button, after which all the cartridges were simultaneously dropped into the chamber. In practice, this meant that an average shooter, after a little training, could reload his revolver in less than four seconds, while manually reloading each individual chamber took several times longer.


The simplest speedloaders for .45 ACP cartridges

Dade boosters were hailed as the best invention of their time, and like the earlier speedloaders, many policemen around the country began to buy them at their own expense. Fictional San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry films had Dade speedloaders for his .44 Magnum revolver, which no doubt helped their publicity. By the end of the 1970s, there were plenty of different types of speedloaders, and police departments began to buy them for their officers and train them in their use. This led two other companies, HKS and Safariland, to produce their own improved versions of the plastic cased speedloader.


HKS speedloader. Photo revolverguy.com


1959 M. Hunt patent


Safariland's Hunt speedloader gained great popularity from the very beginning, and soon it was recognized by law enforcement agencies. He perfectly kept the sleeves in case of an accidental fall of the accelerator to the ground. Photo revolverguy.com

For those who are looking for something different, many small firms make special customized presentation grade speedloaders to order. One of the most famous companies is Five Star Firearms, which makes them from high quality aluminum alloy with stainless steel internals. That is, everything for those who like to show their coolness and viability!

Pachmair, a subsidiary of Lyman Products Holding, which produces tools and accessories for weapons, also makes speedloaders from a single milled piece of aluminum. The case has a polygonal shape for reduced bulk and wide compatibility with Smith & Wesson revolvers with different frames, as well as with the Ruger revolver model. Inside the design there is an O-ring that prevents the movement of cartridges. Release from fixation occurs in just one movement due to the rotation of the knurled drum.


Quite cool accelerators are made by 5 Star Firearms. Photo: 5starfirearms.com


To load it, you can purchase such a machine ... Photo: 5starfirearms.com

So once again this example shows that the good is so good and remains, no matter how much time passes ... There are also special loading accelerators for machine gun magazines and for stuffing machine-gun belts. But this is completely different story...
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19 comments
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  1. Aag
    +9
    1 July 2022 06: 13
    Thanks to the Author for the work done! hi
    1. +6
      1 July 2022 07: 19
      I agree autumn informative
    2. +12
      1 July 2022 09: 05
      Speedloaders have also been developed for double-barreled shotguns.
      1. +4
        1 July 2022 09: 08
        Well, this is already superfluous, they are mad with fat. laughing

        Hi Michael! smile
        1. +7
          1 July 2022 09: 48
          Quote: Sea Cat
          Hi Michael!

          hi
          If there is demand, why not produce?
          Though pink pistols
          1. +9
            1 July 2022 10: 16
            "Pink guns" are something from the other world wassat , a "real kid" would rather break a picket than pick up this muck. laughing

            1. +8
              1 July 2022 11: 40
              Quote: Sea Cat
              "Pink guns" are something from the other world

              What do you think of the pink limousine?
              Elton John ordered this car many years ago.
              The klaxon does not hum, but grunts and cackles.
              The British aristocracy was in shock
              1. +4
                1 July 2022 12: 27
                Well, Elton is forgivable, he is not only gay, but also a decent singer. And it’s a sin not to mock the aristocracy, especially the British one, with their paranoid adherence to ancient traditions. laughing

                But how do you like it? Yes, and with a bra on the trunk, as far as you can see. wassat

                1. +7
                  1 July 2022 12: 52
                  Quote: Sea Cat
                  But how do you like it?

                  Not impressive.
                  I prefer national style






                  1. +4
                    1 July 2022 12: 59
                    Khokhloma, Gzhel, Zhostovo trays?)))
                    Life abounds! And all over the head... wassat
  2. 0
    1 July 2022 07: 37
    Colleagues, Vyacheslav Olegovich, colleagues, good morning.
    I have not seen any mention of a speedloader anywhere, neither in Prater, nor in Spilein, nor in Chase. None of these authors mentioned the accelerator.
    "Dirty Gary" I don't remember such a movie
    1. +8
      1 July 2022 08: 49
      Gorgeous Clint Eastwood!
      1. +8
        1 July 2022 08: 54
        by the way . in the movie "fatal beauty" or something like that. with whoopi goldberg
  3. +6
    1 July 2022 08: 30
    Good morning everyone and have a nice day! smile
    Vyacheslav hi Thank you, the article is really very interesting, I swallowed it wholeheartedly. good
    I have a pneumatic Smith-Wesson model 28 Highway Patrolman, a great toy, I tell you, it does not release gas from a can at all. So, I bought a quick loader for him in Moscow, very similar to the Dade Speedloader, everything is fine, it was very convenient to use, but ... once I left it under the desk lamp turned on and as a result the plastic "floated" and the device covered itself , such is the problem. Now I equip, as in the old days, one cartridge at a time, I have not seen speedloaders for sale in Ryazan. smile
    Now about the quote, it's accurate, but
    against Indians, bison or bears.

    I don't know about the Indians, but Bret Hart would have disagreed with Mine Reed about the bison. In his book The Steppe Foundling, the protagonist Clarence Brandt fires all six bullets from a Colt revolver into a buffalo's head and they all bounce off his forehead.
    1. +6
      1 July 2022 09: 47
      Quote: Sea Cat
      under the included table lamp and as a result the plastic "floated" and the device covered itself

      What kind of lamp do you have? With such a lamp power, it's just scary to use it!
      1. +5
        1 July 2022 10: 10
        The usual 100-watt, it didn’t just lie under for a long time, and the quickloader itself is not for military weapons, the walls are thin, although, if necessary, it can, of course, be used for military weapons.
  4. +2
    1 July 2022 09: 37
    Similar accelerators can be used for revolvers with a drop-down frame or with folding (to the side) drums. Those. revolvers of modern designs, 20th century. For old designs - alas.
  5. +1
    1 July 2022 22: 24
    Well, I can’t read Shpakovsky without a smile. lol
    Though on trifles, but it will make you laugh. What would seem difficult, we take the year 2022, subtract 142 years, we get the 1880th. Is it logical? But they didn't guess. laughing
    and exactly 142 years ago, in 1879.

    It remains only to assume that having written the text for this article more than six months ago, Shpakovsky simply did not bother to re-read it yesterday, before publication. laughing

    And the article itself is even nothing. The theme of speedloaders is fresh, not worn out. Many times I met references in films and books, but for the first time I had a chance to look at the diagrams and drawings. Thank you for this, of course! good
  6. 0
    2 July 2022 00: 46
    Here I am not an expert in pistols,
    but there is an abyss between magazine and drum pistols.
    I don’t understand at all why in the same USA revolvers
    so popular. Recoil (no shutter), difficulty
    reloading, thickness - three times a magazine pistol.
    The complexity of the mechanics. Gas breakthrough.
    I repeat - I am not an expert in pistols.
    Weight replica 1911 colt suits me,
    personally completely. At 25 meters behaves more than adequately.

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