In 1872, two Austro-Hungarian military officers named Julius Payer and Carl Weyprecht set out on an expedition to find a northeast passage to reach the Orient by traversing across the Arctic Ocean above Russia. The expedition was well-funded, and among their other specialized articles equipment they had several bronze Gasser M1870 revolvers and Werndl rifles. Why bronze? That is a bit unclear; it may have been from concerns about iron becoming brittle at arctic temperatures, or perhaps to get better salt water corrosion resistance.
The expedition was not successful in finding passage to Japan, but it did discover and chart an archipelago which they named Franz Josef Land (now claimed by Russia). Despite losing their ship trapped in ice and having to escape by sledges and longboats, the expedition was able to successfully make it to Novaya Zemlya where they met up with Russian fishermen who helped them get transport back to Norway. It was a two year journey, and only one man died along the way (of tuberculosis). Ultimately, it led to a series of internationally coordinated sets of scientific expeditions (International Polar Years) to study the arctic in 1882/3, 1932/3, 1957/8, and 2007-2009.
Article on the 1872 expedition and its ramifications:
“(…)Austro-Hungarian(…)Julius Paye(..)expedition(…)Arctic(…)”
Eyewitness account is available at Project Gutenberg as New Lands Within the Arctic Circle https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/60258 during describing SLEDGE EXPEDITION part he claims that
As for arms, it is enough to have three double-barrelled Lefaucheux rifles and one revolver; and even in districts where encounters with bears may be daily expected, three cartridges a day are a sufficient stock of ammunition. These should be explosive shells, with steel points. Small shot cartridges are indispensable on sledge expeditions, as birds are not unfrequently met with. When the cold is excessive, great caution must be used with the cock of the lock, as the brittleness of the metal then causes it to be easily broken; and from the same cause the hammer will often not stand at half-cock. The guns must not be oiled, as it sometimes happens that the hammer on full-cock will not go down where the lock is smeared with oil. Light woollen gloves should be worn for shooting, in order that the fingers may not be frozen in handling the guns.