{"id":2692,"date":"2024-11-05T05:25:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T05:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2692"},"modified":"2024-11-05T05:25:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T05:25:31","slug":"revolving-rifles-use-handgun-design-of-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2692","title":{"rendered":"Revolving Rifles Use Handgun Design of the Times"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Firearms date back to the 10th century in China, and you have to imagine some of those first users wished they could fire multiple times before reloading. Sure, you could carry multiple smaller guns or add on extra barrels, but wouldn\u2019t it be nice if one could have five or six shots available at their immediate disposal? Enter revolving arms.<\/p>\n

Early gunsmiths explored various options for creating multi-shot firearms, even as far back as revolving matchlocks, but many were cumbersome, unreliable, dangerous, or too complicated and expensive to be adopted on a large scale. That changed by the late 18th century when designs improved and multi-shot revolving arms became more practical.<\/p>\n

While revolving handguns, commonly known as revolving pistols in the 19th century, have remained the most iconic and popular form of revolving firearms, revolving long guns were also popular in the 19th century. Many revolving firearms designs were produced both in handgun and long gun forms though some designs barely made it past the prototype stage and are little known and rarely seen today.<\/p>\n

Rock Island Auction Company\u2019s upcoming Premier Firearms Auction December 6-8, 2024, features an impressive array of revolving long guns from the 18th and 19th centuries demonstrating the advancement of this arms technology in both Europe and the United States, including rare revolving flintlocks, percussion classics by Samuel Colt, and rare metallic cartridge revolving rifles.<\/p>\n

Swivel Breech Guns<\/h3>\n

One of the earliest relatively popular multi-shot \u201crevolving\u201d firearms in the 18th century was the swivel breech long gun known as a \u201cwender\u201d that translates to \u201cturner\u201d in German or as \u201cturn-overs.\u201d These are typically two-shot firearms like an over\/under shotgun. However, the barrels can be manually rotated allowing the user to fire two or more shots using a single lock.<\/p>\n

Swivel breech designs continued to be produced in Europe and America during the 19th century after the widespread adoption of the percussion system. Some examples had more than two barrels, and some were combination guns with the barrels in different calibers or a combination of rifled, straight rifled, and smoothbore.<\/p>\n

The swivel breeches were commonly sporting guns rather than military firearms, but some swivel breech pistols were likely used by military officers. A smaller number of similar guns often originating from Carlsbad, Bohemia, were made with single barrels and multiple rotating \u201cchambers\u201d foreshadowing some of the flintlock revolvers that followed.<\/p>\n

Russian Revolving Arms<\/h3>\n

The Russian tsars appear to have taken a particular interest in revolving arms, and several models originated from the Tula Arms Factory in the latter part of the 18th century. The rare example below is very similar to examples in museum collections in Russia, including the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. A pair of revolvers from the Tula Arms Factory c. 1790 were also displayed as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Emperors, Artists & Inventors: Transformative Gifts of Fine Arms and Armor” exhibition in 2020-2022.<\/p>\n

The Met<\/a> notes that the royal factory at Tula “produced both plain military arms and deluxe hunting weapons for personal use by the imperial family and members of the court, as well as for diplomatic gifts,\u201d and that fine firearms from Tula are exceptionally rare outside Russia.<\/p>\n

While likely made in Russia, the revolving sporting gun in Rock Island Auction Company\u2019s upcoming December Premier Firearms Auction is believed to have been owned by the dukes (later kings) of Wurttemberg up through Duke Carl Alexander (d. 1964). Norman R. Blank acquired the gun from a private collection in Europe via W. Keith Neal in June 1960. It may have originally been a gift from Catherine the Great.<\/p>\n

The Colliers<\/h3>\n

Arguably the first commercially produced revolving firearms were the Collier revolvers. They were designed in the United States but manufactured in England. Elisha Haydon Collier (1788-1856) of Boston, Mass., patented an improvement of Capt. Artemus Wheeler’s American patented design in England in 1818 and received UK patent no. 4315.<\/p>\n

The Colliers were produced in a variety of handgun and long gun configurations. The First Model and Second Model variations are revolving flintlocks. The First Model had a delicate and complex clockwork-assisted rotation mechanism that revolved the cylinder automatically. The Second Model revolvers have manually rotated cylinders. Later variants, known as Third Models, using percussion ignition (the first known use of caps for a revolver) were also manufactured in limited numbers, including rare revolving shotguns like the example in Rock Island Auction\u2019s December catalog.<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

It has been reported in many publications on Colt\u2019s early history that he was influenced primarily by the capstan on a ship while he was a young sailor on the Corvo in 1830-31, but <\/a>Colt later said the Collier design did influence his own<\/a><\/u>. In fact, the Collier patents and testimony from Collier were also part of the <\/a>1851 court case<\/a><\/u> brought by Colt against the Massachusetts Arms Co.<\/p>\n

Miller Patent Revolving Rifles<\/h3>\n

Before we get to Samuel Colt, it is important to recognize that another American design predates Colt\u2019s patent. James Millar (also spelled Miller) patented his own revolving firearms system on <\/a>June 11, 1829,<\/a><\/u> and manufactured them with his brother John Millar in Rochester, New York, in the 1830s. The early examples were pill primed, but later examples based on the design used percussion caps. As with many early revolving arms, the cylinder was manually rotated between shots. To make this easier, many Miller patent revolving rifles have serrated or otherwise textured cylinders.<\/p>\n

It is known that at minimum 15 different gunsmiths made revolving rifles based on the Miller patent. Of these, William Billinghurst is by far the best known. He was a former employee of the Millers and purchased the patent rights in 1841. Billinghurst produced a significant percentage of the total Miller patent revolving rifles. Given this, the Miller patent revolving rifles are often known as \u201cBillinghurst revolving rifles.\u201d Though fairly well known and generally a high quality design, it is estimated that only a few hundred were produced in total.<\/p>\n

Samuel Colt’s Revolving Rifles and Shotguns<\/h3>\n

Samuel Colt received his first American firearm patent on <\/a>Feb. 25, 1836<\/a><\/u>, for an <\/a>\u201cimprovement in fire-arms\u201d<\/a><\/u> which included a design that had clear similarities to the Collier design in the handgun version which included a bayonet and a really interesting lever-operated revolving rifle. He submitted his patent in England in 1835. Colt formed the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company based in Paterson, New Jersey, to produce and market his new revolving arms.<\/p>\n

The ring lever revolving rifles were actually the first to be manufactured. They utilize a lever with a loop to rotate the cylinder and cock the internal hammer. Only 200 of Colt\u2019s First Models were manufactured c. 1837-1838. Unlike earlier revolving arms, the No. 1 \u201cRing Lever\u201d rifles were actually adopted by the military, and the U.S. Ordnance Department purchased them for use in the Seminole Wars in Florida. Unfortunately for Colt, his business faltered and closed.<\/p>\n

Colt\u2019s firearms business was revived thanks to renewed interest in his revolving arms during the Mexican-American War and the development of the Colt Walker. In addition to introducing shoulder-stocked<\/a><\/u> revolving pistols in various models, Colt again began to manufacture revolving rifles and shotguns alongside his new \u201crevolving pistols.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Model 1855 First Model and New Model 1855 series long guns were very similar to the \u201cNew Model Pocket Revolving Pistols\u201d (Model 1855 \u201cRoot\u201d revolvers) but on a significantly larger scale. Instead of being a .28 or .31 caliber pocket pistol, the New Model 1855 long guns could be had with chambers as large as 10 gauge and packed some serious firepower.<\/p>\n

Unlike most earlier revolving firearms, Colt\u2019s firearms were particularly significant in that they were machine made and could be mass produced. The Colt 1855 revolving rifles were offered in several different variations and saw use in the Civil War with the Berdan Sharpshooters for a short time, Confederate cavalry, and others. They were also used by the famous Pony Express.<\/p>\n

Rare and Short-Lived Percussion Revolving Rifle Designs<\/h3>\n

While Colt\u2019s revolving rifles and shotguns were highly successful, there were many other attempts in the mid-19th century that barely got past the drawing board. Some interesting and functional designs such as the Warner were developed but were only produced in limited numbers due to Samuel Colt\u2019s patent protections which were extended to 1857. Other designs were simply too complicated or delicate to be reliable.<\/p>\n

After Colt\u2019s patent expired in 1857, many companies began producing revolvers, but revolving rifles and shotguns remained far less common. In part, the firearms market seemed largely satisfied by single and double barrel rifles and shotguns which had been the standards for generations. Revolving designs, while offering advantages in the number of shots available, were more expensive, more complicated, and potentially fragile which did not make them particularly well-suited for hunting or combat.<\/p>\n

An issue that plagued revolving rifles from the very beginning was the gas leak at the breech. When most revolvers are fired, some of the hot gas escapes between the face of the cylinder and the forcing cone\/breech end of the barrel. This gas could burn the shooter\u2019s supporting arm and small shavings of lead could cause injuries. Some early and later designs attempted to mitigate this by having the cylinder lock forward over the breech end of the barrel, but with revolving arms that automatically rotated, this is less common.<\/p>\n

Another serious risk for revolving arms were chain fires that occur when more than one chamber is ignited when a firearm is shot. Typically they will go off in a burst or \u201cchained\u201d sequence, but, in some cases, multiple shots can go off almost simultaneously. Chain fires can occur if the projectiles are not tightly fit and the hot gas from one chamber gets past the projectile in an adjacent chamber and ignites the powder charge. It can also occur from the rear end of the cylinder if hot gas gets into inadequately shielded vents or into the nipples due to loosely fitted caps. If a shooter had one of their hands ahead of the cylinder, they might be shot in the arm by one or more projectiles. A chainfire was even more potentially catastrophic with revolving \u201cturret\u201d designs that had some of the chambers facing towards the shooter and\/or to the side.<\/p>\n

American Breech-Loading Revolving Rifles and Shotguns<\/h3>\n

During the American Civil War, revolvers saw widespread use, but revolving long guns, aside from the Colt Model 1855, were not a major part of the action. Instead, new repeating designs like the Henry and Spencer lever action repeaters became the latest and greatest in repeating rifle technology. With the war\u2019s end, the firearms market entered a new stage. On one hand, the government\u2019s orders for new arms ground to a halt leading many companies to go out of business. There were also large quantities of arms being sold off as surplus, and the military and public shifted towards rimfire and centerfire cartridge breechloaders. While revolvers like the famous Colt Single Action Army are arguably the most famous firearms of the American West, revolving rifles and shotguns were far less common.<\/p>\n

At the end of the Civil War, Smith & Wesson still held the Rollin White patent which granted them rather dubious control of the breech-loading revolver market. This gave them a jump start on Colt and other companies in producing cartridge based revolving rifles.<\/p>\n

By the time White\u2019s patent expired in 1869, lever action rifles like the Henry<\/a><\/u>, Winchester Model 1866<\/a><\/u>, and Winchester Model 1873<\/a><\/u> were quite popular, but in 1879 Smith & Wesson attempted to compete in the repeating rifle market with their Model 320 revolving rifles<\/a><\/u>. Other companies such as the Roper Sporting Arms Co. also attempted rather unsuccessfully to compete with the lever actions. Abroad, the LeMat was also produced in small numbers as a metallic cartridge arm, and Mauser even produced a small number of revolving carbines based on their \u201cZig-Zag\u201d. However, as bolt actions and slide action designs were added to the mix, revolving rifles largely faded into obscurity.<\/p>\n

Revolving Arms at Rock Island Auction Company<\/h3>\n

Rock Island Auction Company is the number one source for antique and historic guns, and antique revolving firearms are certainly among our specialties. You\u2019ll find a wide variety of revolvers in each of our Premier, Sporting & Collector, Arms & Accessories Day, and RIAC On Time auction catalogs. We sell thousands of revolving arms every year from the extremely rare and obscure early revolving flintlocks to the classic 19th century Colts, the six-shooters of the Old West, and modern classics. To find out more, subscribe to the <\/a>Rock Island Auction newsletter<\/a><\/u> for weekly <\/a>gun blogs<\/a><\/u> and <\/a>gun videos<\/a><\/u> that dive deeper into the story behind the most famous firearms. A wide array of these fascinating yet sometimes obscure firearms profiled here will be on offer in the Dec. 6-8 Premier Auction in Bedford, Texas.<\/p>\n


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Firearms date back to the 10th century in China, and you have to imagine some of those first users wished they could fire multiple times before reloading. Sure, you could carry multiple smaller guns or add on extra barrels, but wouldn\u2019t it be nice if one could have five or six shots available at their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}