What would you like to see in a new revolver design?

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Colt451985

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Say you own a machine shop with 5-axis CNC machining centers, CNC turning centers, Wire EDM, digital optical comparators, NDT, and so on, and you want your company to get into the firearm industry in a big way. Like any good businessman, you need to find a niche. One potential niche that might exist is custom revolvers.

By "custom revolver," I mean a revolver design that can be personalized and customized by its owner as easily as the AR-15, 1911, Remington 700, and 10/22. I'm not just talking about swapping a factory barrel and a trigger job. I'm talking about making unique weapons with aftermarket barrels, triggers, hammers, and small parts machined from the highest quality materials.

In other words, the "Ed Brown" or "Wilson Combat" of revolvers.

I'm interested in what you folks would like to see introduced in the revolver market. I'm especially interested in what gunsmiths would like to see.
 
A break top 7-shot 357. Blue or stainless. Air guaged 4 inch match grade barrel. 5.5lb trigger. Adjustable sights. :)
 
I WOULD GO FOR A 10 pound double action trigger

I like the idea of a top break, but I would add a 5 shot in 9m.m. P or .38 Special +P and keep the weight down with an aluminum or polymer frame.

I want a 10 pound (MAX) double action trigger and concealed or bobbed hammer. Option of a tritium night sight on the front sight post would be great as well and a 3 inch barrel as well.

Also, get the trigger right with something similar to the PACHMAYR COMPAC Professional grip.

A convertible .22 LR and .22 Magnum might be an interesting variation.

One more would be a .32 H&R Magnum 5 shot with the frame and cylinder scaled down to size instead of using a 6 shot gun that is just as big as the 5 shot .38 Specials.

Use the FEDERAL Hydro Shok bullet made for the .327 magnum and it just might be a perfect pocket gun.

Jim
 
I think a 5 shot 9mm top break the size of a 38 S&W Safety Hammerless made of modern metal with modern sights. Give it a Charter Arms style ejector star for ejecting the rimless cartridge, and I'd bet you'd sell a ton of them.

The 9mm chambering could make it shorter and maybe a touch skinnier than the orginal Lemon Squeezer Saftey Hammerless and definitly smaller than a J frame.

In other words, the "Ed Brown" or "Wilson Combat" of revolvers.

Those already exsist in the works of Bowen, Harton, Stroh, Linebaugh, Reeder etc. etc.

Ruger single actions being one of the favorites to build off of.
 
I would like to second what Thaddeus wrote about the top-break 7-shot 357. I also wish somebody would start making revolvers with Dan Wesson Pistol Pac style barrels again.
 
Something like the Dan Wesson revolvers but with interchangable cylinders and barrels. 1 revolver that you could have a 45c, 44 spec., or 38 spec. cylinders and barrels for in different lengths. I'd be happy with that. Forget the plastic. You could even offer custom bore cylinders and barrels, kinda like a thompson contender. Sell a high quality revolver and then sell cylinders and barrels for it for the next 10 years.
 
Eliminate the crane. Push the release button and a flick of the wrist, cylinder pops out the right side. Snap a new one in from the left, without taking the sights off target. No more speedloaders, spare cylinders. Have to have some sort of clip to hold rounds in place.
The blackpowder guys used to do similar, but I bet it can be done so that the average Joe or Jane can reload with the ease of a Glock.
That would be my selling point. The reliability and simplicity of a revolver with the easy reload of a semi-auto.
 
Custom single actions based on the Old Model Ruger Blackhawk design, made with Freedom Arms level of precision. Every grip frame imaginable, Ruger Bisley, Colt Bisley, SAA/XR3, 1860 Army, etc.. Every top strap configuration imaginable from Ruger flat-top, Colt flat-top, Keith #5, Seyfried #13, dovetail Single Six, pre-war S&W, Colt 2nd generation SAA, etc.. Round, octagon, ovate and ribbed barrels. Various styles of front sight bases including something sculpted like Jim Stroh's, barrel bands, dovetails, Colt flat-top target style sights. Lightweight conversions. Three frame sizes including something comparable to the Single Six in six shot rimfires, .32H&R and .327Fed, plus five shot .38Spl's and .41Spl's. A medium frame like the Old Model .357 in various chamberings, plus five-shot .44Mag's, .45Colt's, .475Cooper, .50GI and .500Spl (.500S&W at .44Spl length). On the large frame, all the usual chamberings plus five-shot .45Colt, .475Linebaugh, .500Linebaugh, .500 S&W 1.4" and .50Spl.
 
Glider has the idea. But lighter DA trigger. Revolver triggers are some of the worst. Got a Taurus Raging Judge its a mule of a trigger
 
Stainless steel top-break in .22LR with a spur trigger. Larger than a NAA mini-revolver, but smaller than a J-Frame. Would make a great backcountry kit gun.
 
I have a weird niche interest based on a comment I read a few decades ago. I would be interested in an aluminum framed, 4 shot, revolver. One in 45acp or 44 Spec and one in .38 Spec.

Probably with a high vis front sight.

To me it would be the ultimate in reliable back-up/deep concealment.
 
Interchangeable barrel length revolvers. I believe Dan Wesson did something like this in the 70s. I would love to have a 357 with a 6 inch barrel for target shooting and a snubbie barrel in case I want to carry it.

I have also heard the rumor, that something about the way the interchangable barrels were constructed, and the way they were threaded, increased accuracy tremendously, a benefit that Wesson did not intend but took full credit for. I heard that talking to some old guys that shot competition in the late 1970s. Apparently when the Dan Wesson revolvers started showing up everyone was looking at them like they were dogs, with all their crazy features (interchangable barrel length) and super heavy frames. Then the Dan Wesson revolvers started winning competitions....

Just my two cents
 
My dream has always been a Speed Six in .44 Special. A few have been constructed over the years, but never mass produced. But the devil is in the details, and quality revolvers are not easy to make.
 
As a LH, I would like to see an ambidextrous revolver- think like the semi HK P7 - with cylinder that could open either way for RH or LH shooters with the release in the same vein. It should have swappable barrels so you could lengthen or shorten - think Dan Wesson - and swappable cylinders - think Ruger, in centerfire rounds like 38, 9mm, 40, 45ACP, etc.......
 
Revolver triggers are some of the worst. Got a Taurus Raging Judge its a mule of a trigger

Huh??

Kind of like saying "Motorcycles handle the worst. Got a H-D Fat Boy and it corners like dump truck." lol


Give a "good one" a try.
 
I think if you're looking to customize you'd need to explore polymer frames like the LCR. A modular revolver like the old Dan Wesson's, but with the entire cylinder/barrel assembly as a modular upper to the lower with the trigger group, hammer and grip.

Tough to do right, maybe too tough. But if it could be done it would be pretty sweet.
 
Webley that works

A modern top-break .45 ACP, that accepts moonclips. The GI bring-back Webleys have one of the niftiest reloads in the revolver world. Press lever, snap gun down to belt, gun opens and ejects, while you grab another moon. Drop in, snap up, fire. Rinse, repeat. Just make one that works, has a nice trigger, modern sights, etc. Give it just a stud to attach grips to, a la the Super Redhawk, that way people can make any grip they like to put on it.
 
Those already exsist in the works of Bowen, Harton, Stroh, Linebaugh, Reeder etc. etc.

I respectfully disagree. While these gentlemen are true craftsmen, they are limited to modifying mass produced revolvers made by Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Colt, and so on. They generally do not machine their own parts for their revolvers. In comparison, Ed Brown and Wilson Combat machine all of their own parts for their 1911s. I believe there is a niche for an "Ed Brown" or "Wilson Combat" of revolvers that machines all of their own parts for a new revolver design that can be personalized and customized to its users taste, wants, and needs.
 
I like the idea of one revolver that can shoot the 45c, 44 spec., or 357 (so it can shoot the 357 and 38 spec).
The other post I thought was good 7-shot 357 or a 7-shot 44
 
The 9mm chambering could make it shorter and maybe a touch skinnier than the orginal Lemon Squeezer Saftey Hammerless and definitly smaller than a J frame.

In theory a 9mm chambering would give you a shorter revolver. In reality, you can only make the revolver so short before the cylinder gap is sitting right over your trigger finger. not a good place for it to be.
Why do you think all the 9mm revolvers made to date have had essentially 38spl.-length cylinders that are quite a bit longer than they need to be.
 
A new fangled ultimate carry revolver. It would be a 6 shooter with a 3" barrel for a full length ejector rod and chambered in .38 +P, with a concealed hammer like a S&W centennial or LCR. I'd like to see it made along the lines of the LCR with titanium and polymer components for durability and light weight; just omitting the lock. A version with a 4" barrel would be easy to offer as well.
 
a 9mm revolver with a cylinder sized for the 9mm (not 38 spl), and a frame sized for 9mm so the window fit the cylinder.

6" barrel and adjustable rear sites.
 
Interchangeable barrel length revolvers. I believe Dan Wesson did something like this in the 70s. I would love to have a 357 with a 6 inch barrel for target shooting and a snubbie barrel in case I want to carry it.

I have also heard the rumor, that something about the way the interchangable barrels were constructed, and the way they were threaded, increased accuracy tremendously, a benefit that Wesson did not intend but took full credit for. I heard that talking to some old guys that shot competition in the late 1970s. Apparently when the Dan Wesson revolvers started showing up everyone was looking at them like they were dogs, with all their crazy features (interchangable barrel length) and super heavy frames. Then the Dan Wesson revolvers started winning competitions....

Just my two cents

Dan Wesson's design was interesting. The design incorporated a barrel liner, barrel shroud, and barrel nut. The owner of the revolver assembles the barrel to the frame by placing a thickness gauge or feeler gauge between the cylinder and forcing cone. The barrel is then threaded into the frame and tightened until it is snug against the thickness gauge. The thickness gauge is then removed and the barrel shroud is placed over the barrel. When placing the barrel shroud over the barrel, there is a pin that indexes against the frame to position the barrel shroud in the correct orientation. The final step for assembly is to thread the barrel nut to the threads on the muzzle end of the barrel and tighten using the supplied spanner wrench. The barrel nut locks the barrel and barrel shroud in place. Because a thickness gauge is used during assembly, the barrel to cylinder gap can be repeatably and precisely set to the owners preference.

The flaw in the design, at least to some, is having to sight-in or zero the sights every time the barrel is changed. To some people, having to constantly mess with the sights every time you want to change the barrel length or handling characteristics is not worth the trouble. For these people, having multiple revolvers in different barrel lengths is preferable.
 
Here are links to a couple of designs with interesting ideas:

http://www.jtl.de/english/revolver/revolver_e.htm

http://www.korthusa.com/start_en.htm

The Korth has an interesting shrouded coil mainspring to prevent snaking. The Janz has the interchangeable calibers some are after. I guess it depends upon how big a niche one seeks as to the unique design that would be offered. Right now I would think the market would be in the concealable small to medium frame (about the size of the old Colt D frame) 6 shot .357 or 9mm (interchangeable cylinders?) with the 3" bbl. For a lightweight field gun one could have something like a Diamondback with vent rib barrel. Hmm, if the barrels interchanged, too, one could have both on one frame. Build it out of Titanium and or stainless. Nothing wrong with polymer but if I pay a lot of money I want something for it. As this would be a smaller gun it could also be offered in the .32's and perhaps .22LR or Mag. Design the action for a quality low weight double action pull of around 7 lbs or so. Have interchangeable sights.
 
A 6 shot .44 special on a Gp100 frame but with a S&W style "slide" cylinder release instead of the push button on current Rugers with a 4" barrel and engraved with an Elmer Keith style hat.
 
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