Colt's New Model revolving rifle
Early repeating rifle with a rotating cylinder.
Colt’s New Model revolving rifle, made from 1855 to 1864, was an early repeater. Its rotating cylinder, holding five or six shots in calibers from .36 to .64 inches, mirrored revolver handguns. The weapon offered a fast firing rate, but serious design flaws led to its discontinuation.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- United States
- Service
- 1855–1876
- Cartridge
- Cap and ball
- Caliber
- .36,.44, or.56
- Barrel length
- 15-inches, 18-inches, 21-inches and 24-inches
- Action
- Revolving
- Feed
- 6-shot (.36/.44) or 5-shot (.56)
- Used by
- United States
- Native Americans
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- British Empire
- Russian Empire
Facts from the source article.
History
Colt's revolving rifles were an early attempt to boost a rifle's fire rate by grafting a revolving pistol mechanism onto it. Colt started tinkering with the idea in the early 1800s, turning out models in many calibers and barrel lengths. These guns became the first repeating rifles the U.S. government officially adopted, but they came with serious drawbacks. A shooter could fire six shots, but then faced a painfully slow reload. Worse, the rifle sometimes let off all its rounds at once, putting the user in danger. Despite these flaws, an early version saw action in the Seminole Wars in 1838. In March 1836, Colt founded the Patent Arms Company in a converted silk mill in Paterson, New Jersey. His first product was a ring-lever rifle, available in .34, .36, .38, .40, and .44 caliber, where a ring in front of the trigger cocked the hammer and rotated the cylinder. He soon followed with a revolving pistol. The company also made smoothbore revolving carbines and shotguns. War with the Seminole tribe gave Colt his big break. Seminole fighters had figured out how to rush soldiers while they reloaded their single-shot guns, but Colt's revolving rifles countered that tactic, leading the army to buy them for the Florida campaign. In 1855, Colt introduced the Model 1855 Sidehammer revolver, also called the Root revolver after factory superintendent and chief engineer Elisha K. Root. Using that same design, Colt then produced the Sidehammer Model 1855 rifles and carbines for both military and sporting use, along with a revolving shotgun.
Design and features
The Colt revolving rifle used a rotating cylinder that held five or six rounds in calibers from .36 to .64 inches. The Model 1855, the most widely produced version, was available in .36, .44, and .56 caliber, with barrel lengths of 15, 18, 21, and 24 inches. A six-shot cylinder was used for .36 or .44 caliber, and a five-shot cylinder for .56 caliber. The rifle used percussion caps. A cartridge of powder and a lead ball was loaded into the front of the chamber and compressed with a plunger beneath the barrel. Percussion caps were placed over the vent nipples at the rear of the cylinder. The design was susceptible to chain fire, and the revolving cylinder could spray lead splinters into the user's wrist and hand. Some models could be fitted with sword or socket bayonets; the front sight doubled as a bayonet lug for socket bayonets, while sword bayonets attached to lugs on the right side.
Use
Eight men guarding the Pony Express route from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe carried Colt revolving pistols and rifles. The Missouri government declared these men could fire 136 shots without reloading, expressing no fear for the mail's safety, and all deliveries on that run were completed safely. Before the Civil War, the U.S. government bought 765 Colt revolving carbines and rifles, many sent south and later used by the Confederacy. After the war started, the Union bought more, with total purchases estimated between 4,400 and 4,800. The weapon performed well in combat. The 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry used it at the Slaughter Pen during the Battle of Stones River and at Snodgrass Hill during the Battle of Chickamauga. The volume of fire made Confederates think they faced an entire division, but the Ohioans ran out of ammunition and surrendered. Despite these successes, the rifle's flaws ended its use. A board of officers decided to discontinue it, and the rifles sold for 42 cents each, far less than the original 44-dollar cost. Many state militias bought revolving rifles and entered the Civil War with them but rarely used them in battle. Soldiers disliked the weapons because of the flash and loud report near the face, plus the dangerously strong recoil when multiple chambers fired at once.
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