Sam Colt's rivals

When Colt patented his early revolvers he faced stiff competition from other gunsmiths. Seeking to gain a monopoly on the handgun market Colt sued anyone who produced a revolver similar to his. Above is the 1839 Wesson-Leavitt revolver, not to be confused with Smith and Wesson. Winfield Scott carried a gun of this type during the Mexican War, but few were produced before Colt's lawsuit (based on the loading lever's similarity to his own Dragoon) ended production


Edited by Nick1986 - 13-Nov-2011 at 19:23

The Civil War enabled southern businesses to produce illegal copies of the Colt Navy in former cotton mills. These had brass frames to save iron. Above is a Dance Revolver used after the war by the Texas Rangers

Other gunsmiths circumvented Colt's patent by developing bizarre weapons like this lever-action Porter Turret Rifle. Its magazine could be quickly removed and changed and it remained in production well into the 1850s

The Volcanic Pistol, precursor of the Henry and Winchester rifles. This early repeater was produced in the years leading up to the Civil War

The transitional revolvers of the 1840s, developed from the 1820s pepperbox, continued to be used into the 1860s as a cheap alternative to Colt's Navy and Dragoon. These were much less complicated to produce and were usually smoothbore as handguns were mainly used for close-quarters defence in Britain

An improved version of the Adams revolver made by William Tranter. It has a double trigger for more rapid shooting, ideal for British officers facing spear-wielding Zulus or mutinous Sepoys

The 1834 Cochran revolver predates Colt's first gun, the Patterson. Its cylinders could be quickly changed, but it was bulky and inaccurate: fine for naval boarding parties but useless for horsemen or as a self-defence weapon. A chainfire would kill or seriously maim the shooter as several of the chambers point backwards

Kinard, Pistols: an illustrated history

Scroll halfway down this link for a more detailed description of the teatfire

Double action Kerr revolver, a popular sidearm for Confederate officers