I dreamed up a new type of rifle last night,,,

A

aarondhgraham

New member
I dreamed up a new type of rifle last night,,,
Honest to gawsh it came to me in a dream I was having.

I had just watched "The Free State of Jones) yesterday evening,,,
I had a dream about an ante-bellum gun battle.

I was shooting at someone with my 1858 Remington revolving carbine,,,
When it came time to reload, instead of pulling the cylinder pin and swapping in a loaded cylinder,,,
I hit a latch on the top strap to open the rifle like a break open revolver, removed the empty cylinder, and replaced it with a new loaded one from my belt.

It was so danged vivid that it woke me up,,,
I went and got my reproduction carbine out of the safe,,,
And stared at it for a while wondering if this could have been manufactured.

Is this an honest to gawsh original idea,,,
Or was it done at one time and failed miserably?

The more I think of it the more I think it would have worked.

Any thoughts?

Aarond

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weren't some revolvers of the era actually loaded exactly the way your suggesting?

Also I thought some webley's were issued with extra cylinders for just that purpose? I know cartridge vs. black powder but same concept. I think Ian Trellis wrote about this in one of his books which may or may not be a historical representation but he clearly spells out the idea you mentioned in the Webley.
 
A Hopkins & Allen police positive model was able to be loaded that way. There was a small latch that was pressed allowing the removal of the cylinder.
 
Hello gentlemen,,,

I don't see this as being much of an advantage for cartridge revolvers,,,
My thinking is that they reload quickly enough already.

But for the cap and ball revolvers,,,
This could have decreased the reloading time considerably.

Of course there would have been the expense of extra cylinders,,,
But imagine a rifle squad where each man had six extras all loaded and capped.

That is firepower that would have approached the Henry rifles of the era.

I'm not so naive as to believe I've dreamed up something new,,,
But in my 65 years of gun-nuttery I've never seen this.

For modern times though it would be a fun thing for some gunsmith to try making.

Doncha think?

Aarond

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Adding pivot points and latches could lead to a carbine shaking loose quicker than a handgun because of the extra weight and such, but I can imagine the use of a mechanism like that on break barrel shotguns that could be pretty tough. Morph that with a revolving carbine and instead of dropping in a shell, you drop on a new charged cylinder.
 
Morph that with a revolving carbine and instead of dropping in a shell, you drop on a new charged cylinder.
Click to expand...

That's the whole idea. ;)

To register the cylinder I envision a key/blade on the cylinder pin,,,
The action of cocking the hammer turns the entire pin,,,
Which rotates the cylinder as well.

It's amazing what a good movie (and a few shots of fine tequila) will inspire.

Aarond

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Here's an image from another poster,,,

40770-1490372521.jpg


It's a cartridge rifle but does have the same basic attribute I was envisioning,,,
Break open the gun and drop in a new cylinder type of thing.

Aarond

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The thing is and a lot of people will argue the point is cylinder swapping wasn't done on a large scale if at all.
 
I don't think it was ever done in a historical cap and ball design. It would be neat. I would rig up something with a Webley latch and taking C&B Walker cylinders. THAT would be a heavy hitter out of a 12-16" barrel with a fast reload. I think you're on to something.
 
Hello Hawg and Model12Win,,,

The thing is and a lot of people will argue the point is cylinder swapping wasn't done on a large scale if at all.
Click to expand...

I agree, although it is easily done with an 1858 Remington,,,
C'mon, if Clint Eastwood can do it in a movie,,,
Surely someone else did it at least once.

I have seen cylinder pouches though,,,
They were leather with a wood insert.

I would rig up something with a Webley latch and taking C&B Walker cylinders. THAT would be a heavy hitter out of a 12-16" barrel with a fast reload. I think you're on to something.
Click to expand...

That's my point perzacktly,,,
Honestly I'll be surprised if it wasn't ever tried.

Aarond

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This is from someone else but it's so danged close,,,

Starr 1858 revolver.

1858-starr-arms-army-revolver%20(10).jpg


Make it a carbine with a stock and a longer barrel,,,
Replace that pin/screw with a Webley latch,,,
You would have serious reloading firepower.

this started out as a somewhat humorous post,,,
But now it's approaching a high level of feasibility.

Aarond

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That must have been some very good Tequila! ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed "Free State Of Jones" a few months back.

IMO, the top-break latch (as employed by S&W on the Schofield, for instance) would have to be beefed up considerably to handle the weight of the rifle barrel. Or, it would have to be like the lockup on a double-barrel break-open shotgun with a cross-bolt.

If you come up with a feasible design, surely apply for a patent. Many worse things have been patented. :D If it is of good design, it might be worth your while to pay for all of the search fees (which can be somewhat exorbitant), but I am leaning toward the idea that no patents are extant concerning traditional C&B cylinders, but I am by no means a patent lawyer.

Good luck and sweet dreams, sir!

Jim
 
Do it a la Webley break open. I know a fellow who made a .357 Max with a .28 ga shotgun bbl. The. latter was ever so slightly rifled.
 
Some of the material I have read on the civil war, regarding the cavalry and especially the guerrilla raiders. It stated that they preferred the 36 caliber pistol because they were light, they carried one on the hip, a saber on the other, a second pistol in a cross draw. They had two pistols in holsters tied to the saddle and extra cylinders, loaded in the saddle bags. These were acquired by capturing them from battle field casualties, friendly or enemy, because fire arms were hard to come by, they weren't left behind.
It wasn't just Clint Eastwood and Hollywood, by no means.
 
Quantrell and Bloody Bill Anderson were reported to be outfitted like I stated, and I wasn't clear on that point. The union cavalry and early confederate cavalry were also outfitted out with extra pistols, but not cylinders. But it has been my understanding when arms became hard to get, and the war wore on, what ever they found, shootable or not, if it was a match for your gun it was kept for whatever reason. The union army had plenty of guns, and as the war wore on the confederacy was have difficulty getting arms because of naval blockades, financial reasons and lack of factories to build them. As a result the union arms that were captured on the battlefields were very much in demand and very much utilized by them.
 
Quantrell and Bloody Bill Anderson were reported to be outfitted like I stated,
Click to expand...

First I've heard of it. Cavalry on either side were not "outfitted" with extra pistols. Regulations only allowed one. Southern cavalry were more lax in following some regulations while northerners were more strict but none on either side were ever issued extra guns. It was mostly Southern cavalry and guerrillas that had extras and they carried 4-8. Cylinders were hand fit to the individual gun back in the day. You didn't just pick up a cylinder from one and expect it to fit and function in another one any more than you could swap a hand or a bolt from one to another.
 
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