Adjustable sights, ramp front sights, shrouded ejector rods, target triggers and hammers, trigger stops, and red insert front sights were introduced. The Combat Masterpiece, Shooting Master, Target Masterpiece, Trooper, Highway Patrolman, Python, Detective Special, Chief’s Special, Cobra, Python and Combat Magnum were among them. There were many excellent revolvers manufactured during the heyday of this competition. The price point and good performance made Smith and Wesson the leader. I think that while the revolvers looked similar and handled the same, there were differences in the grip and trigger action that had appeal to different shooters. His favorite revolver was a Smith and Wesson Military and Police, but he liked the Colt Detective Special better than the Smith and Wesson Chief’s Special. He told me that he would not flip for the difference between the two. When I was growing up during the 1960s and beginning a lifelong interest in revolvers, my grandfather expressed a common opinion. Eventually, Smith and Wesson enjoyed a considerable price advantage over Colt for similar handguns. Colt introduced some models such as the Python, but Smith and Wesson introduced more models at more attractive prices. Many felt Smith and Wesson had the edge when they reinvested war time profits in new machinery and models after World War II. The S&W Perfected Double Action and Safety Hammerless are over 120 years old and still function well, despite years of use. By the 1970s Smith and Wesson carried three quarters of the police market. During the 1930s the race was real with Colt having an edge. They traded in the top position in sales for some 50 years. While the Colt Single Action Army remained popular past its prime, the primary spear point of competition for the two makers was in double action. 38 Special became the most popular revolver cartridge of all time. 38 Long Colt cartridge slightly and improved performance from a 152-grain bullet at 750 fps to a 158-grain bullet at 850 fps. Army asked for a revolver more robust than the Colt 1892 and a more powerful cartridge. 38 Colt was a dismal failure in action in the Philippines and at home. A big change occurred with the introduction of the Smith and Wesson Military and Police. 38 Colt cartridges were smaller and would chamber in the S&W chambers, but the cartridge case often split on firing. Previously, there had been proprietary cartridges for each maker. In a few years, there was another strong unifying moment in the handgun world. 38 J Frame is among the revolvers that put Smith and Wesson at the top. At this point in time, the companies were producing revolvers that in many ways were more similar than they differed. 32 Smith and Wesson Long and will not interchange. Smith and Wesson followed suit with the Hand Ejector, a similar size. During the 1880s Colt began development of swing out cylinder double action revolvers that would bring the two companies’ products much closer in design and appearance.Ĭolt’s revolvers such as the New Pocket featured a swing out cylinder, cylinder latch that pulled to the rear, and a smooth double action trigger. The Colt sold better domestically while Smith and Wesson armed Russia and Japan among other armies. The hinged frame, and later break top, Smith and Wesson revolvers competed with Colt’s solid frame revolvers. By the time of the Civil War both Smith and Wesson and Colt were manufacturing viable revolver designs.Īfter the war, both companies manufactured distinctive revolvers. Smith and Wesson’s original handgun was a lever-action design that led to the Winchester repeating rifle, but that is another story. In short, it was an immensely important invention. The Colt revolver was an offensive firearm and a credible military firearm that hastened the western movement. 45 caliber Smith and Wesson N frame revolver among his frontline working handguns. Either way, this article details Old Iron at its best! The author considers this 1917. The Colt revolver had to be designed to stabilize the firing hand to allow thumb cocking and to present the sights for proper aiming. Most handguns were horse pistols or pocket guns similar in design to rifles, they were simply shorter. When Samuel Colt invented the revolver as we know it, he turned the handgun world on its nose.
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