CHAPTER X.
REVOLVING PISTOLS.
Revolving or repeating pistols have now become as necessary in war as the rifle. The peculiarity of the contests in various parts of America first showed the necessity of a weapon being constructed, the moral and destructive effects of which should be equal.
Colonel Colt was unquestionably the first to overcome the difficulties found to exist in the earliest productions, and when the introduction of the revolver into Europe became general, and the demands for it increased, the manufacturers were enabled, from the commencement, to avoid the defects which he had overcome in the course of his experience; and thus, their task was a lighter one than his. An immense number of revolving pistols have been constructed in a very short time; but, like all new creations in mechanical science, the production has been distinguished by quantity rather than quality. The general adoption of these arms has been greatly impeded by the very inferior quality produced. Revolving pistols may be had from 10_s._ upwards; but as to the utility of such cheap trash nothing can be said. The possession of one may have a moral effect on the courage of the bearer, and its appearance may act on the fears of the opponent, but the danger is greatest to him who fires. The complicated arrangement of all repeating fire-arms requires that they should be of the very best workmanship, if they are to be safe and efficient weapons. That they have been of the utmost use to the allied armies in the Crimea, and in that more desultory but treacherous struggle in the East, is certain. Many and valuable lives have been saved by their ready application. The moral effect of the revolver was amply demonstrated where one noble young soldier held his post at “Rewah” by the dread of his revolver alone; the mutineers knowing well that six of them must fall before they could reach him, and feeling that each might be one of the six, he held his own until relief came.
Again, a tale is told of another gallant officer who shot five in succession, reserving the sixth for that arch-miscreant Nana Sahib; but unfortunately that sixth barrel missed fire. How many thousands of lives that shot might have saved had it been successfully fired! With all good, however, comes a certain amount of evil: no perfect weapon has ever yet been constructed; but this shows how desirable it is that a perfect revolver should be invented, if possible.
There are but few manufacturers of revolvers who have reached any degree of eminence: Colt, Dean, Adams, Tranter, and Webley, comprise nearly all the distinguished men in this country. There are a multitude of second-rate makers in England, France, and Belgium; but the most celebrated makers in Europe are those I have enumerated; and in order to guide the reader as far as my knowledge will serve, I will impartially point out the advantages and defects belonging to each production.
The construction of Colonel Colt’s repeating pistol is, according to his own description, a motion got by cocking the lock and rotating the cylinders; as described in the following quotation:--
“They differ from those formerly made, principally in the greater simplicity and the better proportions of the parts of the lock and the framework. Important additions and improvements have been made in the loading lever and rammer for forcing the balls firmly into the cylinder, the employment of the helical or spiral groove on the arbor on which the cylinder turns, whose sharp edges are intended to prevent fouling by scraping off any smoke or dirt accumulating in the cylinder from the lateral fire entering the centre opening, and the inclined plane leading to the recesses on the periphery of the cylinder, to direct the bolt below the opposite shoulder in the recesses; thus preventing the cylinder from being accidentally thrown too far by the sudden action of cocking. The lock is now composed of five working parts, instead of seventeen, as formerly; and it is obvious that if the several parts of the machinery are made proportionally strong for the work they have to do, so is the arm rendered more efficient by the greater simplicity of the general construction.
“In all arms having a moveable breech it is desirable to bring the barrel and cylinder as nearly in contact as possible, in order to prevent the escape of lateral fire, and yet to leave freedom for motion, without friction: this is now effected by the base pin, on which the cylinder turns, entering a corresponding opening in the under part of the barrel, being there held in place by a key passing through and bearing against the back end of the slot in the barrel, and the fore end of the slot in the base pin, which is thus drawn up to the bottom of the hole, and yet the barrel is prevented from being brought too close upon, or in absolute contact with, the cylinder, whilst its end is still held in its proper position with respect to the cylinder. In the event of any abrasion of the end of the cylinder or of the barrel, by deepening the cavity, or filing the end of the base pin, the key can be driven further in, and the proper distance for the readjustment of those parts be maintained, whilst the essential rigidity of structure is secured.
“In loading the present arm, it is necessary to draw back the hammer to the half notch, to allow the cylinder to be rotated freely by hand; a charge of powder is then placed in each chamber, and the balls, without wadding or patch, are put one at a time upon the mouths of the chambers, turned under the rammer and forced down, by the lever, below the mouth of the chamber. This is repeated until all the chambers are loaded. Percussion caps are then placed on the nipples, when, by drawing back the hammer to the full catch, the click or lever is brought into contact with one of the ratchet teeth, on the base of the cylinder, bringing the nipple into the precise position to receive the blow of the hammer: the arm is then in a condition for being discharged by simply pulling the trigger; and a repetition of the same portion produces the like results, until all the chambers are discharged through the barrel.
“The movements of the revolving chamber and hammer are admirably provided for. The breach, containing six cylindrical cells for holding the powder and ball, moves one-sixth of a revolution at a time; it can, therefore, only be fired when the chamber and the barrel are in a direct line. The base of the cylindrical breech being cut externally into a circular ratchet of six teeth (the lever which moves the ratchet being attached to the hammer), as the hammer is raised in the act of cocking, the cylinder is made to revolve, and to revolve in one direction only. While the hammer is falling, the chamber is firmly held in its position by a lever fitted for the purpose; when the hammer is raised, the lever is removed and the chamber released.
“So long as the hammer remains at half-cock the chamber is free, and can be loaded at pleasure. The rapidity with which these arms can be loaded is one of their great recommendations, the powder being merely poured into each receptacle in succession, and the balls being then dropped in upon it, without any wadding, and driven home by the ramrod, which of course is never required to enter the barrel.
“While carried in the pocket, or belt, there is no possibility of an accidental discharge of these pistols. Whenever it is required to clean the barrel and chamber, they can be taken to pieces in a moment, wiped out, oiled, and replaced.
“The hammer at full-cock forms the sight by which aim is taken. The pistol is readily cocked by the thumb of the right hand, a plan in every way far superior to the arrangement whereby the hammer is raised by a pull on the trigger: this is in every respect most objectionable, the pull materially interfering with the correctness of aim; and the sear-spring having the duty of the main-spring to perform as well, is apt constantly to be getting out of order.
“The ramrod attached to these pistols consists of a very clever but simple compound lever, which, forcing the ball effectually home, hermetically seals the chamber containing the powder, and by the application of a small quantity of wax to the nipple before capping, the pistol may be immersed for hours in water without the chance of a miss-fire.”
The great disadvantage said to be existing in this revolver is the necessity of cocking and half-cocking at every discharge; which double action is difficult in certain positions where revolvers are of the greatest use, as in a melée surrounded by many enemies, where the cocking and firing by one pulling motion, as in Tranter’s and Dean’s, is more expeditious: in fact, certificates are published by officers who, at the battle of Inkermann, would have been cut down had the slightest delay been necessary for cocking the pistol. On the other hand, it is said, that no certain aim can be taken where the pulling up and sudden liberation of the mainspring discharges the pistol; the act of discharging it destroying the aim. These two points have their advocates and their objectors, as has always been the case with new plans.
The mechanical construction of Colt’s pistol is effected entirely by machinery, and on this account superiority is claimed for it; in my opinion, however, the boasted benefits of machinery have never yet been realised. The manufacture of guns without machinery is difficult, but the entire use of it is unnecessary. Certain portions of pistol-making can never be done as they should be by machinery; and I have not yet been able to discover anything in Colt’s manufacture to make me advocate the use of machinery. I should not consider a pistol made by hand, and equal to the best of Colt’s, as well made; a hand-made pistol ought to be much better in all respects.
Dean and Adams were the first makers of note who contested the palm with Colt. They thus describe their pistol:--
“The barrel, the lock-frame, and top-bar were all forged out of one piece of iron: the chamber to contain five charges, revolved on a centre pin, which could be either drawn entirely, or partially out, as was required and was held in its position by a side spring; the toothed ratchet was secured to the base of the chamber by two screws, so as to admit of its being renewed, when it was abraded by use, and motion was given to it by a ratchet pall, connected with the hammer, which was lifted by pulling the trigger. The hammer moved on a transverse pin, and was pressed down on the nipple by a back spring in the stock, being connected with it by a swivel link; the trigger was kept in position by a horizontal bent spring, and had attached to it the hammer-lifter and the ratchet pall; the point of the former fell into a notch in the base of the hammer, so that as the trigger was pulled, the hammer was raised, until the rounded portion of the base, acting as a cam, forced the lifter out of the notch, and allowed the hammer to descend on the nipple and to explode the percussion-cap. On withdrawing the finger from the trigger, the lifter and ratchet pall descended and again slipped into the notches of the hammer and the chamber, in readiness for repeating the operation of firing. The lifter was retained in contact with the hammer, by a small flat spring, the upper end of which was attached to the pall, while the lower end acted upon the lifter, which, in turning on its centre, brought the lower prolongation against the spring, below the centre, so as to press the upper end in the proper direction, in order that its action might be certain.
“The rotation of the chambers was obtained by a ratchet pall, acting on a tooth each time the trigger was pulled, thus causing the chambers to revolve, so far as to bring a nipple into the proper position for receiving the blow of the hammer, and in that situation it was held by a projecting stop on the back of the trigger.
“In order to load the chambers it was necessary that they should revolve free of the stop: this was effected by pressing inwards another stop, attached to a spring on the side of the lock, which engaged the point of the hammer and prevented it from descending on the nipple, until the chambers were loaded, when, on the trigger being pulled, the side spring stop was released and resumed its original position, leaving the weapon ready for action.
“The bullets were cast with a small ‘tang’ on them, which served to fix a wad on each; thus no ramrod was required in loading, the bullets being merely pressed in with the finger. The aperture of the barrel was slightly expanded at the lower end to admit of the bullets entering more readily in firing. The rifling of the barrel was the reverse of the ordinary system, as it consisted of three projecting ‘feathers,’ or ridges, extending the length of the tube, leaving very wide grooves between them.
“It would be observed, that the cocking and firing were performed by the same action of the trigger; therefore the rapidity of firing was proportionally great; the arm was very light, its construction simple, and its action certain.”
The defect of cocking and firing by the same action of the trigger must have been important; for new patents were, I believe, taken to cover both plans, and they now manufacture what is termed a double-action pistol, which acts either by cocking with the finger, or by the trigger, as of old. The important improvement in the durability and soundness of Dean and Adams’s pistol over Colt’s is, that the barrel, the lock-frame, and top bar, are all forged out of one piece of iron; thus, the cylinders revolve in a frame which cannot undergo any displacement.
In Colt’s, the barrel is supported by a crooked elbow, rising from the centre, or revolving pin; its principal support consequently is some distance below the tube of the barrel, but parallel to it: the effect of long firing is to bend this elbow, causing the barrel to fall or droop downward, instead of continuing in a straight line with the chambers; thus, an opening between the chambers and the barrel is established, increasing the space for lateral escape.
Next, though certainly not least, is Tranter’s pistol, of three different modes of construction. The name of this manufacturer has risen higher than that of his London competitors; owing, no doubt, in a great measure, to the generally entertained opinion that all essential improvements in the English revolving pistols have arisen from the skill and untiring industry of Mr. William Tranter. Whether the opinion that he originated all the improvements claimed for Dean and Adams’s pistol is well founded or not, I cannot say: I only reiterate the opinion; and I believe, from the very great attention Mr. Tranter has paid to the subject, and from his great mechanical skill, that he is quite capable of effecting these improvements. Any admirer of beautiful arrangements in gunnery has only to examine one of his double-trigger revolving pistols, to be struck with the elaborate nature of his improvements. I give a wood-cut of it on the next page, and some quotations from his own description of its quality:--
“W. Tranter’s patents for a double trigger, a safety-hammer spring, an elongated socket for the chamber, a loading lever, and a lubricating bullet for revolving arms, increase the value and efficiency of these arms as defensive weapons.
“By means of the patent double-trigger the pistol can be held more firmly in the hand while being fired, and only one hand is required to raise the hammer and fire the pistol. A perfectly accurate and quicker aim can be taken, and the pistol discharged at the instant desired; the hammer can be raised again without lowering or removing the pistol from the object till the whole of the chambers are fired off. The chamber is held firmly opposite the front barrel before the hammer begins to fall, and also at the moment it is discharged; the chamber cannot be turned away from the front barrel by the hammer at the moment it is discharged. In cases of emergency the pistol can be fired with the greatest rapidity by pulling both triggers together. The exploded caps do not get into the works and render the pistol useless till removed. But little practice is required to enable a person to shoot with accuracy.
“The patent safety hammer spring always acts with the hammer and trigger; should anything accidentally lift the hammer, the safety-spring instantly falls under it and prevents it falling upon the cap, thereby preventing an accidental discharge. The safety-spring also facilitates the loading, by allowing the hammer to rest upon it while the chambers are being charged, and at the same time acting as a safety-spring during the operation of loading. The pistol can be carried with perfect safety when loaded, either in the pocket or holster, by allowing the hammer to rest upon the safety-spring.
“By means of the patent elongating socket, the chamber can be properly and readily adjusted to the frame of the pistol; and as the chamber with use becomes too free, and the strength of the shooting depreciated, the elongating socket enables it to be readjusted as perfectly as when first made--an important consideration with these arms.
“The patent loading lever enables the pistol to be loaded with greater facility, and fits the lubricating bullet to the chamber so exactly that the powder cannot fail to bend up the flange of the bullet and distribute the lubrication all over the inner surface of the chamber and barrel; it also fixes the bullet so firmly in its place in the chamber that it does not fall out with being carried in the pocket or holster, neither does it project forward with the firing of the pistol.
“The patent lubricating bullet, with the lubricating composition, effectually lubricates the inner surface of the chamber as far as the bullet enters, also the face of the chamber where it comes in contact with the front barrel, and the whole of the inner surface of the front barrel; thereby preventing any deposit of lead or powder that may deform the bullet, enabling the pistol to be loaded with the greatest ease after firing a number of shots, and facilitating the passage of the bullet through the front barrel. The accurate fitting of the bullet and the repellent properties of the lubrication completely protect the powder from exposure to wet or damp, and effectually prevent one chamber igniting the powder in the other while being fired. The pistol has been fired five hundred times in succession with the lubricating bullets without being cleaned or getting out of order, the last fifty shots being fired with as much accuracy as the first; the pistol could then be loaded and fired with the greatest facility, there being no deposit which interfered either with the loading or firing.
“W. Tranter has taken out another patent for improvements in fire-arms, and having combined with those improvements some of the improvements comprised in his former patents, recommends the above as possessing every requisite for a double-action cocking revolver.”
These revolvers will be found to possess the following advantages:--
“The pistol can be used with one hand, and fired with the greatest rapidity and facility by pulling the trigger with the fore finger only.
“The hammer can be raised and the pistol fired as an ordinary fowling-piece.
“The spring lock for locking the chambers enables the pistol to be carried safely, and can be released when required by the thumb of the right hand.
“The lock of the pistol is simple, and not liable to derangement. It can be easily taken to pieces when required, and as easily put together again.
“The patent elongating socket is combined with this revolver in the same manner as with the patent double-trigger revolver, and with the same advantages.
“The new patent loading lever is attached to this revolver in the same manner and with the same advantages as to the patent double-trigger revolver.”
Webley’s patent revolving pistol is an improvement upon Colt’s best pistol, the cylinder rotating by the cocking of the lock. The advantages obtained are, an exceedingly simple construction in the rotating movement, enabling the patentee to manufacture them at a lower price than any of the preceding makers, and thus to produce, what is a great desideratum, a good and reasonable priced pistol.
“Keep your powder dry” was the old watchword: “Take care of your ammunition” ought to be the watchword of the present day.
Facility of loading is no doubt to a certain extent an advantage, but doubts exist whether breech-loading guns, if brought to such a state of perfection as to come into general use, would not, from their very facility of loading, become a serious evil.
The difficulty which Commanding Officers have to contend with in war is in restraining their men from firing too rapidly, using two shots where one would suffice; but the process of loading inculcates care of it, takes considerable trouble, and hence men husband their fire the more.
The two different principles of revolvers illustrate this. The self-acting one is apt to be fired more than once; a man in a state of excitement may pull twice before he pauses, and two shots are expended where one would have sufficed. The cocking-lock pistol, in addition to the less pull required in firing, gives time for observation, as the necessity for cocking every time creates a pause, and is an admonition to coolness: this is often very advantageous in shooting game, in which, as in the more serious affair of shooting men, deliberate coolness is required.
Therefore, excepting only the chance--the very remote chance, that may arise, requiring you to fire six shots as rapidly as possible--so rapidly that the cocking pistol would be too slow, I would myself prefer the cocking pistol; from the fact of being able to take much better aim with it, and there being less chance of missing, through the heavy pull necessary to raise the cock and fire the pistol on the self-acting principle. The almost general adoption, in the present day, of the cocking-lock, and its application in both Adams’s and Tranter’s self-acting principles, is proof of the general bias towards the same opinion.
The tendency of all revolving pistols, and of course revolving rifles also, to foul in the barrel after a few shots, is a very serious drawback to their efficiency in use. The following quotation from Lieutenant Symons’ work is one opinion which I select from a number in my possession:--
“Revolving pistols only ought now-a-days, in my opinion, to be made breech-loading; and of these the pistol of Colonel Colt is a very good specimen. I can generally hit a target the size of a man with this pistol at a distance of 150 yards when clean, _i. e._, with the first shot; and I on one occasion put five out of the six shots into the target successively. When foul, however, the bullets will not fly steadily and on their points. I one day, for the purpose of experiment, fired 60 rounds without cleaning, at planks placed a few yards off only, when latterly the bullets, instead of cutting the circular holes they had been doing, commenced to make marks in the planks as if nails an inch long had struck them sideways. On taking off the barrel to ascertain the cause, I found that it was nearly choked up with lead. The barrel of this pistol rapidly fouls, though the chambers do not.”
It also furnishes a complete answer to the absurd proposition of imparting spiral motion to a bullet, by means of an increasing spiral, after it is put into high velocity. The fouling of the barrel by lead to an extent (as I have seen) of a considerable portion of the bore, is absolute proof that the bullet does not follow the course of the grooving: in its passage through the directing barrel it passes straight out, with the velocity imparted to it in the chamber.
The experience of this fact induced Mr. Tranter to invent his lubricating bullet, the only form of pistol with which many shots can be fired without cleaning. There are, in reality, many defects to be overcome (though it is very doubtful whether they will ever be) before revolvers can in any degree be relied upon for constant operations. I know for a fact that at this moment Government have in store many thousands, disabled for all useful purposes, though by the most trivial circumstances; fouling with lead being one of the most prominent defects, or some trifling disarrangement of the rotating machinery, such as it might be supposed could be repaired: but they are returned to store as hopeless, in the usual course, and thus their fate is sealed as a military weapon.
The double-barrelled under-and-over pistol was entirely discarded for the new toy; but hopes are entertained that the former will soon be restored to the lost preference of all who value their own safety, and would rather depend on two certainly destructive shots than six uncertain ones. For my own personal use in any scene of combat, my reliance would be on a pair of double-barrelled pistols; or what is of more use still, on double carbines. The Emperor of the French, however, is arming his sailors with revolving pistols; and lately, in India, a squadron of Dragoons used the revolver with deadly effect on a body of rebel Sepoys.