Tranter percussion revolver
The Tranter percussion revolver was a percussion revolver developed by the English armorer William Tranter around 1856. It was produced as a double-action revolver, although there was a double-action model that made use of a special double trigger mechanism. The weapon was a further development of the Beaumont-Adams revolver .
history
Until the American Civil War
William Tranter (1816–1890) was an English armourer who modified the models of Robert Adams. By 1853 he had already produced over 8,000 percussion revolvers.
His first model was based on the frame of an Adams revolver , but already had some modifications in the mechanics that Tranter developed together with James Kerr. Therefore, the first model was launched under the name Tranter-Adams-Kerr revolver. Basically it was a modification of the Beaumont-Adams revolver .
The most interesting of his models was the double-trigger revolver. Tranter modified Adams' system and patented the double trigger in 1853.
With the onset of the US Civil War , the demand for foreign weapons in the southern states increased because they no longer had access to the arms factories in the north. Tranter was able to sign a contract with the import company Hyde & Goodrich in New Orleans , which imported and distributed its weapons. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Hyde & Goodrich separated and the company was renamed Thomas, Griswold & Company.
As the weapon proved to be reliable and functional, it soon enjoyed great popularity with the Southern Army . The weapon was originally made in six calibers . In the USA the calibers .36, .44 and .50 finally prevail, with the .50 becoming very popular. Tranter even developed an Army (caliber .44) and a Navy version (caliber .36) for the US market.
Successes after the civil war
After the end of the war, Tranter continued to produce percussion revolvers , as many people thought this system was safer and cheaper than the "newfangled" cartridge revolvers . In 1863, however, Tranter secured a patent for rimfire cartridges in England, where he was one of the first. He started production, still using the same frame. As early as 1868 he began manufacturing revolvers for center fire cartridges.
His factory was expanded as early as 1867: in Aston Cross (England) he opened a new plant under the name The Tranter Gun and Pistol Factory . Among other things, he received a contract from the British Army in 1878 for the supply of revolvers.
Between 1849 and 1888 Tranter registered 24 patents for weapons, 19 of them for cartridge weapons alone.
Structure / functionality
The Tranter revolver was a closed-frame weapon that looked very much like the Beaumont-Adams revolver. The loading bar was attached to the left of the frame, the drum had horizontally arranged ignition nipples. In the course of the 3 models developed by Tranter, only the attachment of the loading ram changed. While this was still removable in the first model, in the second model it was fixed by a wedge on the frame and a hook on the barrel. It was not until the third model (1856) that it was decided to fix the loading ram with a screw.
A special feature was the Tranter double trigger turret: this had a second trigger under the trigger guard, which was used to cock the hammer. The cock on this model no longer had a spur and could therefore not be cocked with the thumb in the classic way. To use the weapon in single-action mode, you first had to pull the lower trigger, this cocked the hammer, then you could fire the shot with the upper trigger. If you wanted to use the weapon in double-action mode, you had to pull both triggers at the same time, with the lower trigger being pulled with the middle finger. Only as a model with a trigger did the rooster have the usual spur.
Others
Famous bearers of the weapon were Allan Pinkerton , founder of the Pinkerton detective agency (which, among others, persecuted Jesse James ) and the Southern General James Ewell Brown Stuart .