Revolver - Forgotten Weapons

Japanese National Police Revolvers: S&W 37-2 and 360J

December 19, 2025 Ian McCollum 13

Before World War Two, the national police in Japan were used substantially as an enforcement agency for political reasons. After the war this changed, and the police were re-formed with a vision of them being […]

Knife-Gun Monday: Sigaud-Barnerias 5mm Pinfire

September 3, 2025 Ian McCollum 36

Jacques Sigaud-Barnerias ran a business in Theirs, France (in the south, east of Lyon) making a variety of cutlery and associated products. Among his various table knives, pruning knives, corkscrews, and pock knives he also […]

Webley .22 Target Model Mk IV Revolver

August 29, 2025 Ian McCollum 17

Webley made a variety of .22 rimfire revolvers and revolver conversions for most of its history. Rimfire conversions were used by the military for reduced-cost training, and they were popular on the civilian market for […]

Galand de Guerre Model 1872: Too Good for the Military

June 23, 2025 Ian McCollum 14

Charles François Galand is best known for his simultaneous-extraction Model 1868, but he also developed a very good solid-frame revolver. This was specifically for the French 1871 military trials, which specifically required a solid frame. […]

Herman Brevete: A Pepperbox Hidden in Your Bicycle Handlebars

April 18, 2025 Ian McCollum 21

In the 1890s, there was a lot of interest in small caliber, simple revolvers for self-defense by cyclists, primarily against dogs. This led to the creation of a whole category of “velodog” revolvers, and a […]

Deckard’s Pfläger-Katsumata Series D 5223

February 8, 2025 Ian McCollum 35

In the film Blade Runner, Deckard carries a pistol called a Pfläger-Katsumata Series D 5223 – a name created by the fan community to have the initials “PKD” after Phillip K. Dick, who wrote Blade […]

TOZ-36 and TOZ-49: Soviet Gas-Seal Target Revolvers

January 22, 2025 Ian McCollum 30

These two revolvers were developed for competitive sport shooting in the Soviet Union. They are usually described as variants of the Model 1895 Nagant, but they actually work on a different mechanism, despite both being […]

Best of American and Europe: the Webley No5 Express New Army

December 6, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

Webley introduced their No5 Express New Army model revolver in 1878. This was essentially a ruggedized and scaled up variation on the No5 RIC revolvers that was very popular with police forces. The RIC was […]

A DAO Service Revolver in the Civil War: the Pettengill Army

November 15, 2024 Ian McCollum 8

The Pettengill revolver is a 6-shot, muzzleloading double-action-only system designed and patented by C.S. Pettengill in 1856, and improved by Edward Raymond and Charles Robitaille in 1858. In 1859, the Rogers & Spencer company was […]

Colt Boa: Rarest of the Snake Revolvers

November 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 20

Of the seven revolvers Colt named after snakes, the rarest is the Colt Boa. Only a single production run of these were made totaling just 1,200 guns. They were made in 1985 as a custom […]