Multi-caliber revolver?

[PaulKersey3]

Was doing some reading recently on the discontinued Phillips & Rodgers Medusa revolver. I'm wondering why there aren't more guns like these. I know if a reputable company came out with a revolver that could shoot .357, 9mm, .380 acp, .38 super, .38 S&W, .38 special and almost 20 other rounds in that caliber range, I'd buy as many as I could.

I know of Taurus making and quickly discontinuing a revolver they called the "Triad" that shot multiples in the .355 range. Anybody know of any others worth mentioning?

 

[Quiet]

Colt Survivor.
It was Colt's licensed version of the Phillips & Rodgers Medusa Model 47.
Colt made a few prototypes, then discontinued the entire project.


Phillips & Rodgers Medusa Model 47 on Gunbroker, buy it now for $10,000.00

 

[Snowdog]

I came so close to purchasing on of those revolvers too. I also kicked around the idea of sending in my 686 and having them install one of their multi-cartridge cylinders (another service they offered), but the alteration was permanent and I got cold feet.

I personally thought it was a great idea.

 

[Sam1911]

Why aren't there more? Well, honestly, because they really aren't very useful.

I know that sounds absurd, but the truth is the idea is FAR better than the utility. Hey, cool, you could fire .38 S&W out of this! Will you, ever, even once? Probably not. Will you ever NEED that capacity? No, not in your lifetime, or many lifetimes.

Truth is, any extra expense incurred making a gun able to fire multiple calibers is wasted money if (...well, because) such guns are already chambered in one (well, two) of the most common cartridges in the country -- .38Spc./.357Mag.

Even guns with only a 9mm conversion cylinder are very rare. 9mm is even more common, available, and cheap than .38 Spc., but any possible cost savings between the two will require tens of thousands of rounds to recoup the extra cost of the conversion parts.

Add to that whatever complexity is required to also handle .380 Auto, .38 S&W, and all those other "nearly 20 other rounds" (which I think might be hyperbole) -- NONE of which will even approach getting near to within sight of as common and inexpensive as .38 Special -- and the cost makes such a gun a self-indulgent novelty.

When folks cringe at paying more than $600-700 for a new S&W .357, why (except for the gun-geek novelty of it ) pay a lot more for a gun that can also fire a cartridge like .38 S&W that they've likely never ever even seen on a store shelf?

It's a bit like agreeing to pay $75,000 for a new Chevy pickup just because that one is designed to run on gasoline, diesel, kerosene, 104 octane race gas, and also coal oil, and spermaceti (whale oil). That's neat, but what good is it?

 

[CraigC]

Sam's post is spot-on.

Well, honestly, because they really aren't very useful.

Simply put, this pretty much sums it up. While it 'may' seem imminently useful, as posted, who really needs to be able to shoot all those cartridges in one gun? I've never shot one or seen a range report but I can practically guarantee that accuracy with at least some of those cartridges will be dismal.

Even guns with only a 9mm conversion cylinder are very rare.

And those that do exist, typically only get used with one cylinder and that is usually the .357.

 

[56hawk]

There is the S&W Governor. It will shoot 410, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 45 Schofield, 45 Short Colt, 45 Auto Rim and 45 GAP. The thing is what's the point? Like the Medusa, most of the ammo it can shoot you will never see anyway.

 

[CraigC]

It won't shoot .45AR. If a chamber will accept .45AR, it will not accept any other rimmed cartridge.

What's a .45 Short Colt???

 

[GEM]

Chiappa has a 357/9mm cylinder swap out revolver.

I would like a lightweight (Sc maybe) J frame in 9mm with the 547 extractor - if it costs $349. That's what 642 are here, NIB. If it's 900, pass on that.

 

[56hawk]

It won't shoot .45AR. If a chamber will accept .45AR, it will not accept any other rimmed cartridge.

Good point. I just copied that off another internet site.

What's a .45 Short Colt???

Basically a 45 Schofield with a 45 Colt rim. They were made so that the same ammo could be used in the Colts and S&Ws.

 

[CraigC]

That was the .45Government, long defunct and really not even relevant to the discussion.

 

[56hawk]

That was the .45Government, long defunct and really not even relevant to the discussion.

Well, it is because what do you think the other twenty rounds the Medusa can fire are? Basically it can fire 380, 9mm, 38/357 and a bunch of obsolete rounds you will never see.

 

[C0untZer0]

Does it shoot 9x25mm Dillon ??

 

[OregonJohnny]

One of the only uses I can think of for a revolver that can safely chamber and fire multiple (more than 3) cartridges is cartridge availability in times of ammo shortages or even fantasy SHTF scenarios.

I've thought about someday adding a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible in .357/.38/9mm to a bug-out/survival bag. But it would probably get shot 90% of the time with .357 or .38 Special, and only occasionally with the 9mm cylinder, as I think it's much more fun and practical to shoot 9mm from semi-autos.

Sure, if martial law enveloped the country, and everyone was looting sporting goods stores for all the supplies they could get before heading into the wild unknown, having 1 revolver that could fire .357 Magnum, .38 Special, or 9mm would be a handy thing to have. But other than that scenario, it would just be a novelty in my circumstances. Especially as a reloader.

I do think it would be cool to see more convertible double action revolvers. Just for the sake of having options.

 

[CraigC]

Well, it is because what do you think the other twenty rounds the Medusa can fire are? Basically it can fire 380, 9mm, 38/357 and a bunch of obsolete rounds you will never see.

Yes but it's not like other obsolete cartridges. The .45Gov't was never a commercial cartridge. No firearm was ever made to chamber it. It was simply a makeshift cartridge brought about by government arsenals to fill a government need. It was not, as you said in your first post, a Colt cartridge. There is only one .45Colt cartridge, no Long and Short.

 

[rswartsell]

Exactly how did the Medusa pull this feat off? All the .357 in. diameter cartriges AND .38 S&W? (.361 diameter). Interchangable cylinders? Accomidating ALL of the differing cartridge specs? Then your barrel will at least with some be grossly off. What has not been touched on here is that there is a wide enough divergence that even if you CAN do all the above, you will do NONE of them well.

Jack of all trades =Master of NONE

 

[firesky101]

I don't know what the diameter of the bore was for that revolver, but .38s&w is pretty low pressure and lead is pretty soft. I would imagine the forcing cone would have no problem shaving .004 off of it.

 

[PaulKersey3]

Would you ever turn down a free gun? I think one of the reasons they dont make these types is the gun snobs who say "what's the point?" The point was made that a gun that can shoot 25 different calibers is PERFECT for a bug-out bag. And comparing the one-off 45s like Schofield and rimless to common .38s like super and S&W isn't fair. The S will HTF eventually, and people who turned their noses up at multi-caliber options will soon find they missed "the point" entirely.

 

[Sam1911]

Would you ever turn down a free gun? I think one of the reasons they dont make these types is the gun snobs who say "what's the point?" The point was made that a gun that can shoot 25 different calibers is PERFECT for a bug-out bag. And comparing the one-off 45s like Schofield and rimless to common .38s like super and S&W isn't fair. The S will HTF eventually, and people who turned their noses up at multi-caliber options will soon find they missed "the point" entirely.

At the risk of being rude. Oh ha ha. Becasue ANY of those other calibers (save, perhaps, maybe for 9mm) will be more commonly found than .38 Special?

Let's keep some reality involved here. The ability of your "bug out bag" gun to fire .38 S&W ammo or .380 Auto, or 9mm Steyr, or 9x21mm, or, or... is NEVER, ever, ever, ever going to be of any value to you whatsoever.

And we don't do SHTF threads, so let's avoid turning this into one.

 

[CraigC]

They failed on the market because nobody bought them.

..."what's the point?"...

I don't think that makes you a snob.

...comparing the one-off 45s like Schofield and rimless to common .38s like super and S&W isn't fair.

Not sure what the "one-off" statement even means and .45S&W is commercially readily available.

 

[56hawk]

Checking Midway USA, looking at the different ammo that would work in the Medusa, 80% of it could be shot in a Ruger Blackhawk Convertable (probably an even higher percentage if I could find their actual inventory). The one in a million chance that you would be in a situation where you would need to shoot any of the other cartridges doesn't make up for all the drawbacks of such a gun.

9x18mm Ultra (1)
380 ACP (63)
9mm Luger (186)
9x21mm (1)
9x23mm Winchester (5)
38 Super (24)
9mm Steyr (1)
38 Special (140)
38 Long Colt (5)
38 Short Colt (2)
357 Magnum (104)
38 S&W (6)

 

[BCRider]

Paul, you're obviously one of the very few that finds any worth in the idea. It clearly never caught on with the buying public. Hence it's low time in production and miserable sales record.

I'd be willing to bet a box of a dozen donuts that even the dual cylinder convertable Ruger revolvers seldom ever use the "other" cylinder once the owner settles in on the primary cartridge they like to shoot.

If you're worried about ammo availability I would also suggest that the ultimate "bug out" kit for long term TEOTWAWKI is as follows;

1. Brace of flintlock pistols
2. Round ball mold
3. Flint knapping hammer and chisel
4. Good bullet puller "hammer"

With such a kit you can salvage and melt down ANY ammo or other source of lead you find and mold your own ball rounds. It frees you from dependence on primers and smokeless powder. It is the ultimate long term low tech solution compared to finding a gun which "only" has a single bore size.

 

[PaulKersey3]

Fair enough, on all the points against such a gun. I'll make this point instead: They're cool.
There, I think, is one of the best reasons to buy a gun. I think a gun thought up but a NASA engineer, firing 25 different calibers from a barrel made from the same steel used in Gatling cannons on aircraft (The Medusa 47) is cool. Okay, so the scavenge and survive scenario is against most odds. I think if you think a gun is cool, you should buy it. I also think that folks hung up on their $1800 Kimber and their $3500 M4 should lighten up and buy something pointless every so often. Just my opinion.

 

[PaulKersey3]

Oh, and flintlocks would only be useful in a place where anything that goes bang makes you a commando against most of the population, like England or CANADA or anywhere else owned by a queen

Free people stick to center fire.

 

[CraigC]

Free people stick to center fire.

Free people do what they must. Eventually ammo, smokeless powder and primers run out. You can make your own blackpowder and feed your family with it if necessary.

 

[56hawk]

Fair enough, on all the points against such a gun. I'll make this point instead: They're cool.

Yes, they are cool. I would like to get one just because they are different. Curious what the chamber shape is, and what ammo you could shoot in it that wouldn't destroy the brass. I like to reload, and don't like the idea of a gun that is going to really bulge any brass fired in it.