Hammerli Revolver

M

mete

New member
Anyone remember the Hammerli Revolver from the '70s ? Not too many were made .Called the Virginian ,a 45 Colt chambering .
IIRC they found that the gun was more accurate if they separated the two things the bullet did as it went from chamber to barrel. So they cut away the rifling at the back of the barrel so the bullet first aligned with the bore , then engaged the rifling. Anyone familiar with the revolver ?
 
I remember them and my first handgun deer was killed with a later .44 Magnum 'Dragoon' in stainless steel with an 8" barrel. Lee Martin penned an excellent article on the evolution of the series beginning with the Hammerlis and it is required reading for anyone interested in these excellent old sixguns.

http://www.singleactions.com/VADragoons.pdf
 
I am generally familiar with the make, around here they were commonly known as the Virgin Dragon.

I have not examined one to see if the rifling is relieved at the throat.
The usual term for that is Taylor Throating and you can find information under that name. I have found references that Ron Sward used it on the V.D.
 
The story of the trademark change from Interarmco to Interarms has an interesting history. After the assassination of JFK, anything having to do with guns was considered evil in some powerful and wealthy circles, not just the left wing. In that group were people associated with the steel company ARMCO. Eager to strike at any gun company (or at least any gun company that didn't use their steel), they claimed to have noticed for the first time that the trademark of the Alexandria, VA, gun importing company contained their own trademark and, using some stretching of a point, claimed that this would create public confusion and, they told the press, bring ARMCO into disrepute. So they filed suit in federal court. The full story is pretty well told here:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/19661203249FSupp954_11030

As an interesting footnote, ARMCO is now owned by AK Steel, whose initials are more commonly associated with a gun than "Interarmco" ever was.

JK
 
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