Colt Open Top Pocket .22 revolver
The Colt Open Top Pocket .22 revolver was the first, from 1871 by Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co. manufactured small caliber cartridge revolvers. It was brought onto the market by Colt to compete with the numerous cheap “Suicide Special” revolvers with a higher quality product. Of the Colt Open Top .22, 114,200 copies were made by the end of 1877. At the same time, a further development, the "New Line .22 Caliber Revolver", came onto the market from 1873.
history
After the Rollin-White patent expired in April 1869, which forbade the launch of revolvers with a cylindrically bored drum, Colt engineers William Mason and Charles Richards began developing various cartridge revolvers. One of the first on the market was the small open top revolver in .22 caliber. The large-caliber Colt Open Top .44, the Colt House / Cloverleaf, the various Colt New Line pocket revolvers and, in 1873, the Colt Single Action Army developed by Mason were added later .
technology
The open top pocket model fired the .22-short- and .22-long black powder cartridges of that time, the drum holds 7 rounds. The first examples made in 1871 had case ejectors to the right of the barrel; they were available as standard in barrel lengths of 6 cm (2 3/8 ") and 7.3 cm (2 7/8"). The second, later variant was only available with the shorter barrel and without an ejector. The loading opening is to the right behind the drum. A loading flap is not necessary because the frame covers the edge of the cartridge in the firing position of the drum. The housing is made of bronze, the barrel is made of steel, the weapons were completely nickel-plated or available with a burnished barrel.
production
- Manufacture: 1871–1877
- Total production: 114,200
- Production of the first model with an ejector: 3000–3500
- Retail price: $ 8 initially, $ 4.50 toward the end of production.
See also
literature
- Robert Q. Sutherland, Robert L. Wilson, "The Book of Colt Firearms," 1971 Published by Robert Q. Sutherland, Kansas City MO
- James E. Serven, "Colt Firearms from 1836", 1981 Published by Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, ISBN 0-8117-0400-9