Colt revolving rifle

The Colt revolving rifles were early repeating rifles produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. They were mainly based upon the patent and mechanism of already existing Colt revolvers like the Colt Sidehammer or the Colt Dragoon.

History
Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combining them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier for revolving pistols. Colt began experimenting with revolving rifles in the early 19th century, making them in a variety of calibers and barrel lengths. Colt revolving rifles were the first repeating rifles adopted by the U.S. Government, but they had their problems. They were officially given to soldiers because of their rate of fire. But after firing six shots, the shooter had to take an excessive amount of time to reload. Also, on occasion Colt rifles discharged all their rounds at once, endangering the shooter. Even so, an early model was used in the Seminole Wars in 1838.

Various models were made: the Colt Paterson in the 1830s. Total quantity produced c. 1838–41 was approximately 950.

In March, 1836, Colt formed the Patent Arms Company and began operation in an unused silk mill along the banks of the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey. His first product was a ring-lever revolving rifle, available in .34, .36, .38, .40, and .44 caliber, in which a ring located forward of the trigger served to cock the hammer and advance the cylinder for each shot. This was soon followed with a revolving pistol. These five-shot "Paterson" revolvers featured folding triggers, and were available both with and without loading levers in .28, .31, and .36 caliber. Patent Arms also produced smoothbore revolving carbines and shotguns. The outbreak of war between the U.S. government and the Seminole tribe provided Colt with his first break. Seminole warriors had learned that soldiers were vulnerable while reloading their single-shot firearms, and they developed a tactic of drawing fire, then rushing the temporarily defenseless soldiers and wiping them out before they could fire a second volley. Colt's revolving rifles were quite effective against this, and the army purchased his products for use by troops in the Florida campaign.

In 1855, with his Model 1855 patent, Colt introduced a spur-trigger revolver that featured a fully enclosed cylinder. These handguns were officially named Sidehammer revolvers, but they also were known as "Root" revolvers after Elisha K. Root, who at that time was employed as Colt's factory superintendent and Chief Engineer. Based on the Sidehammer design, Colt produced the Sidehammer Model 1855 rifles and carbines for military and sporting use, as well as a revolving shotgun. In failing health, Colt expanded his factory on the eve of the Civil War, and began production of a new, lightweight .44 caliber Army revolver, followed a year later by a .36 caliber Navy version.

Dragoon carbines – other than the Belgian copies and experimental carbines, there are not many known examples; most likely they were only available as a special order.

The most widely produced revolving rifle was the Model 1855. An estimated total of only 4,435 were manufactured in the Hartford factory c. 1856–1864.

This was produced in a rifle version as well as a shortened carbine. In 1855 it became the first repeating rifle to be adopted for service by the U.S. Military, but problems with the design prevented its use until 1857. The principal problem was that gunpowder would sometimes leak from the paper cartridges in field conditions, lodging in various recesses around the firing cylinder. Hot gas leaking from the gap between the firing cylinder and the barrel would ignite this powder, which would in turn, ignite all of the powder in the chambers waiting to be fired. This is known as a "chain fire" and was a relatively common failure with early percussion revolving firearms. When this happened with the Colt Revolving Rifle, a spray of metal would be sent forward into the left arm and hand of the user.

This fault resulted in an understandable distrust in the weapon. Commanders attempted to get around the problem in a number of ways. The rifle had to be properly and thoroughly cleaned, since sloppy cleaning would leave residue behind that would increase the risk of a chain fire. Some commanders instructed their men to fire the weapon only while supporting it directly in front of the trigger guard or by holding the lowered loading lever, which moved their left hand out of the path of danger during a chain fire. Other commanders instructed their men to load only a single chamber, preventing any chain fires from occurring. Loading a single chamber at a time also reduced the weapon to a single shot weapon, and effectively defeated the entire purpose of having a repeating rifle.

Brevete Colt Dragoon revolving rifles were made in Belgium under licence from Colt during the 1850s to 1860s

The 1873 Buntline was a special order; they were among the first effective repeating rifles. Many manufacturers offered special-order carbine versions of their popular single action revolvers, despite the popularity of the new lever-action rifles. The Colt Buntline 1873 single action target revolver has become one of the icons of the Old West. Tradition has it that dime novelist Ned Buntline presented special-order 1873 Colt revolvers with extra-long barrels, target sights, and detachable wire shoulder stocks to a select group of Old West celebrities including Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. Based on this story, the long-barreled Peacemakers came to be called Buntline Specials. Only 31 of the originals were ever produced, and only 18 of those are around today.

Design and Features
The design of the Colt revolving rifle was essentially similar to revolver type pistols, with a rotating cylinder that held five or six rounds in a variety of calibers from .36 to .64 inches.

The Model 1855, which was the most widely produced revolving rifle, was available in .36, .44 and .56 caliber. Four barrel lengths were available: 15, 18, 21 and 24 inches. A six shot cylinder was used if the caliber was .36 or the .44. If the caliber was .56, a five-shot cylinder was used.

The revolving rifle used percussion caps, like revolving pistols of the time. A cartridge consisting of powder and a lead ball were loaded into the front of the chamber, and were then compressed with a plunger that was located beneath the barrel. Once the cylinder's chambers were loaded, percussion caps were placed over the vent nipples at the rear of the cylinder. The weapon was now ready to fire. In addition to being susceptible to chain fire problems, the revolving cylinder design also tended to spray lead splinters into the wrist and hand of the user. Revolving pistols did not suffer from this problem since the user kept both hands behind the cylinder while firing a pistol.

Some models could be fitted with sword style bayonets. In these rifles, the front sight would double as the bayonet lug.

Use
A combination of Colt revolving pistols and revolving rifles were used on the Pony Express by the eight men who guarded the dangerous run between Independence, Missouri, and Santa Fe. When doubts were expressed about the ability of these eight men to deliver the letters on this run reliably, the Missouri government declared that "these eight men are ready in case of attack to discharge 136 shots without having to reload. We have no fears for the safety of the mail." All mail deliveries on this route were completed safely.

The U.S. government had purchased 765 Colt revolving carbines and rifles prior to the Civil War. Many of these were shipped to southern locations and ended up being used by the Confederacy. After the war began, the Union purchased many more rifles and carbines. Sources disagree over the exact number purchased, but approximately 4,400 to 4,800 were purchased in total over the length of the war.

The weapon performed superbly in combat, seeing action with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Union forces at Snodgrass Hill during the Battle of Chickamauga during the American Civil War. The volume of fire from this weapon proved to be so useful that the Confederate forces were convinced that they were attacking an entire division, not just a single regiment. Despite these victories, the rifle's faults would prove fatal for the weapon. A board of officers evaluated the evidence and decided to discontinue its use. The rifles were sold for 42 cents each, a fraction of the original purchase cost of 44 dollars.

Use in film
In 3:10 to Yuma (2007) the Mexican sharpshooter Campos (Rio Alexander) carries a Colt Model 1855 fitted with a full length telescopic sight and converted to fire metallic cartridges.

In the John Wayne movie El Dorado, actor Arthur Hunnicut's character, Bull Harris, carries a Model 1855 revolving carbine as his main weapon.

In the movie the Legend of Zorro the cavalry captain character carries an early revolving rifle