History of the Revolver

Several months ago, we told you to keep an eye out for a blog dedicated to the revolver. Luckily, it didn’t take us as long to write this blog as it did for Colt to get the “revolving gun" to gain acceptance (over 10 years!)

The revolver originally got its start, accepted or not, in 1836, so it’s been around for a long time. In all these years,  it’s become an iconic piece of weaponry.

Even those who don’t know about firearms know about this infamous gun. So, let’s dive in; here’s a brief history of the revolver.

History of the Revolver

We could go back really far here, back before anyone reading this was even a thought in their parents’ eyes (probably because your parents weren’t alive yet either, and neither were theirs). In fact, we’re going to go so far back, your great great great grandparents weren’t alive, back to the 1500s. Why might we start here, you ask?

To understand, we’ll first need to define what a revolver is. Which, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “a handgun with a cylinder of several chambers brought successively into line with the barrel and discharged with the same hammer." Now that you know that let’s talk about the pre-revolver design.

Way back in the 1500s, the Chinese recognized there was a reloading problem. And if they wanted to be successful in war, they would need to speed things up a bit. Unfortunately, that’s about all they had, as their solution didn’t come with a lot of accuracy.  The reason we’re stating so far back is that this was one of the earliest parts in history where someone tried fixing this problem in a way that almost lines up with today’s definition of a revolver.

So, what was China’s solution, exactly? Glad you asked!

The Chinese invented something known as the pole gun. If you’ve never heard of one before, which is likely, considering you weren’t alive during its invention, then let me fill you in.

The pole gun had 3 separate barrels. While they were separate, each attached to a central staff and loaded simultaneously, and firing separately – kind of like the 6 (or 5) shot, revolving cylinder you’re used to firing.

The pole gun could be shot by holding a flame to the touch hole; luckily, you don’t have to do that sort of thing anymore. Besides not being practical, there was also a lack of accuracy. This had to be improved, and many years later, it would be, when the first “true" revolver came along.

When was the Revolver Invented?

Fast forward to meeting a man by the name of James Puckle. Mr. Puckle is important because he patented the very first rotating cylinder in 1718. However, we’re still not quite to the revolver you can buy at the local gun shop. That’s because this patent was more of a machine gun than a handgun. But, it did have a cylinder; in fact, it had cylinders and was reloaded by switching these cylinders out.

And unlike your 6-shooter, Puckle’s design could shoot up to 63 rounds in less than 8 minutes – a pretty big deal given the timeframe.

Where did the Revolver Originate?

Now let’s talk about the inspiration behind the revolver you carry. About 100 years after Mr. Puckle’s machine gun “revolver," there came along a new design that would change history. An individual named Elisha Collier designed something known as a flintlock weapon featuring a revolving cylinder.

Unfortunately, this design needed further improvement, as a few limitations came with it, such as the need for black powder; also, the mechanisms were inefficient. 

Who Made the First Revolver

Despite the inefficient mechanisms in Collier’s design, it’s still thought to be the inspiration behind the man who created the revolver design known in today’s generation of weaponry. And that man’s name is Samuel Colt, who was the first, in 1836, to patent the “revolving gun."

Who is Samuel Colt

If you’ve been in the business of firearms a while, you might know some of these facts about Mr. Colt. However, if you’re the new kid on the block, we think you’ll find this list about the founder of Colt quite interesting.

1. Depending on your definition, Colt might have been an alcoholic, or at least we know he was a big drinker—who doesn’t love whiskey and guns?
2. Colt’s “revolving gun" didn’t take off right away.
3. Colt thought it was a good idea to sell weapons to both sides during the Civil War (and he didn’t try to hide it).
4. You might think that Colt would learn from personal experience—ideas take time to catch on—he didn’t afford the same opportunity to employees. Colt was quick to fire anyone who tried suggesting improvements to his design. 
5. Not listening to his employees’ ideas eventually came to bite him in the butt—one might say it’s how S&W got its start.
6. The Mexican-American War is basically what made Colt famous.

The First Double Action Revolver

Men like Samuel Colt helped change the game when it came to the firearm industry. Of course, that was until the first double-action came into the picture.

The first double-action revolver was patented in 1851 by a man named Robert Adams. This shook things up because people could now shoot faster, which might lead you to believe that the double-action would take off on the battlefield. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. But why?

Back in 1851, there wasn’t much automatic machinery to create exact replicas of the components used in firearms. As a result, a lot of these components were created by hand, meaning parts like the springs would come out looking a bit different from a spring made for a different gun of the same model. This inconsistency would result in a lack of quality and accuracy, and shooting slower but more accurately is always better than shooting faster and not hitting the target.

Colt’s Answer to Double-Action Reliability

Colt realized the flaw in making revolver components by hand, and improvement came along using an assembly line technique. As a result, double-actions finally took off because components could be made more reliably. Of course, this doesn’t mean single-action revolvers are a thing of the past. In fact, they’re still manufactured today.

How Do Revolvers work?

As I’ve pointed out, revolvers haven’t always looked the same, not like the "true" revolver we’ve come to know. They also haven’t always worked the same. Over time, the revolver has worked with gunpowder, balls, and caps.

Let’s take a closer look. The revolver works by loading each camber, within the cylinder, with ammunition. However, the difference over the years is that the chamber needed to be loaded with gunpowder and the bullet, with a percussion cap on the nipples. Unfortunately, this would be a slow process. But, once done, the shooter could easily shoot off 6 rounds and very quickly.

Fortunately, the slow process of loading a revolver has improved by using bullet cartridges, which have everything the shooter needs to be combined into one.

Luckily, we don’t have to use flintlock to shoot anymore either. Now, there’s a spring-loaded hammer without flint attached to it.  The spring helps by throwing the hammer forward, where the primer is hit, causing an explosion that ignites the propellent and sends the bullet on its way.

What is flintlock?

I mentioned flintlock earlier, so I thought it might be helpful to explain what it is and how it works. So first, what is flint? Flint is what creates a spark. If you’ve ever used one of those fire starters, they create the spark by using flint. When you strike the flint with a piece of metal, the spark is created, and hopefully, a fire is started. This is important because you need a spark to ignite gunpowder; the flintlock mechanism creates this spark for the ignition process. 

Now, we’re going to start getting into some terminology you’re probably familiar with, the hammer, which you need to make the flintlock mechanism work.

The hammer is important because that’s where the flint is attached. The flint would be used to strike something known as a steel frizzen once the shooter pulls the trigger. Once the trigger is pulled, it puts into motion the flint so that it strikes the frizzen, creates a spark, and then ignites the black powder, sending the bullet out of the barrel.

Conclusion

So, there you have it—a very short history of the revolver. Of course, there’s a lot more history there, and we recognize that a lot of information was left out. Not because it’s not relevant, it’s just that we’re not writing a novel here. We’ll probably add more details over time, but until then, feel free to leave more details in the comments below.

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