Does anyone know?

[cherokeewoody]

I was watching an old western the other day (don't remember the name) and saw a rifle with a drum like a revolver. I have never seen one in real life and don't know what it's even called. Anyone?

 

[target64]

Could of been an 1844 cattleman carbine. was made in blackpowder and cartridge versions
Cabela's Cattleman's Carbine .44 Revolver with Starter Kit

 

[Indycar]

Oh man, my favorite John Wayne movie!!!! ELDORADO. The deputy sherriff "Bull Harris "I'm an old indian fighter" (plyed by Arthur Hunnicutt) carried a 5 shot Colt Half-Stock Sporting Rifle. I did an internet search, but couldn't find a pic of the rifle. Just imagine a Colt Dragoon rifle

 

[Claddagh]

Colt made a series of side hammer, revolving cylinder repeating longarms between 1855 and 1864. These included both sporting and military model rifles, carbines, and even a few shotguns. Colt's side hammer models are sometimes referred to as "Root" revolvers, from the name of the inventor and patent holder of the basic design.

They saw some limited use during the War Between the States, but the sporting models sold poorly.

I can't recall ever seeing one in a movie, but weirder things have happened in Hollywood. Given the extreme rarity and high value of original Colts, it must've been a high budget production. AFAIK, no one has ever produced repros of the side hammer Colt rifles.

 

[Indycar]

AHEM! It's called the "War of Northern Agression"!!!!!!!

 

[Claddagh]

It was indeed, and called exactly that where I grew up. I was gently reared and it seemed a more polite term to use when addressing 'mixed' company.

One of my great, great uncles' Christian name was States Rights. He was Acting Inspector General of the South Carolina Militia when Fort Sumter was fired on, headed the delegation sent by the governor of that state to persuade the other Southern states to join SC in seceeding from the Union and was killed along with five other CSA generals at the Battle of Franklin, TN in 1864.

 

[LPMan59]

war of northern aggression...lol old habits die hard, eh?

 

[mickar15]

The reason the revolving rifle did not become popular? Your non-firing hand was on the fore stock, in front of the cylinder. The old black powder model had a tendency to fire all the chambers at once, blowing your fingers off.

On the new replicas, they recommend you shoot it with both hands behind the cylinder.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

AHEM! It's called the "War of Northern Agression"!!!!!!! (sic)

Funny, here in the North it is called the "War of Southern Treason." Besides, the only side that was aggressive was the South, just ask our neighbors the Kentuckians and why they joined the Union (southern attacks made them respond in self-defence).

cher, I don't know about "drum" but perhaps you saw a cylinder on a Colt 1855?

Colt 1855 Carbine=>Colt revolving rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Col. Colt armed his volunteer regiment with it but the weapon had reliability issues. Ohio troops (21st Inf. Reg.) during the War of Southern Treason were famously armed with it.

21st Ohio=>21st Ohio Infantry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[indykid]

Up till very recently Beretta made a Stamped Carbine. Currently they sell it through Uberti:

 

[tcshooter]

oh yeah...the Cattleman Carbine...hot looking piece to me - love to own one...just couldn't figure out what the heck I would do with it

 

[Claddagh]

Don't know how common incidents of "chainfiring" might've been with those revolving rifles. I've been shooting C&B revolvers for over 40 years and I've never experienced one personally, but then again I've never had to try to reload and keep up a sustained rate of fire with one while other folks were shooting back at me either.

IIRC, almost all small arms ammo issued during the conflict came in the form of preassembled "cartridges", usually consisting of a paper, cloth or cardboard tube containing the powder charge and a projectile of one sort or another. Sometimes the bullet came lubed with some mixture, sometimes not. The few original 'factory' C&B revolver cartridges that I've seen in museum exhibits usually had a conical bullet rather than a ball but I couldn't tell for sure whether it'd been lubed or not.

I find it hard to imagine that many soldiers would be much inclined to take the time to add another laborious step (applying grease) to an already slow reloading process while standing/advancing in ranks under the sort of whithering return fire they faced. Frankly, I'm constantly in awe at the courage it must've taken for them to do that at all, even more so repeatedly.

I think it's quite possible, even likely, that the incidence of chainfires and/or spontaneous ignitions while reloading would be exponentially greater under those conditions with any C&B weapon. Even if it didn't have a multiple discharge, fighting with one of those revolving rifles couldn't have been too pleasant, IMO. Already 'generous' tolerances added to by heavy wear must've resulted in enough firing debris coming from the barrel/cylinder gap with every shot to make most folks wish they'd been issued a regular musket instead. I don't have any documentary evidence to back it up, but I'd bet that there were a lot of 'non-regulation' improvised arm/hand guards devised by the troopers who had to use them.

 

[Revolverteer]

I've been looking for a .44 cal Remington 1858 black powder revolving carbine version of this to go with my other Remington revolver.



.

 

[aero]

I would LOVE to get my hands on one of those, that and an old Billy The Kid 6 shooter.

 

[pgw0321321]

I put one up here for trade a few months ago, didn't get many offers, mostly old single shot shotguns.
It was to easy to shoot, 50 yards, 5 rounds thru a 1" grouping.
I sold it to a guy for $225 or $250, I can't remember.
Since it was the first black powder gun I ever onwed, chainfiring was the reason I got rid of it, I never had it happen but it was always in my mind ever time I squeezed the trigger.