Revolving Carbine

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mortimormcsnerd

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Hello all. I have been reading on THR forums for a long time, but I am a new member. I was just wondering if anyone knew of a modern revolving carbine. I have seen muzzleloader revolving carbines and I've also seen the Uberti 1873, but I am more interested in a .22 LR caliber model. Does anyone know of any .22 LR caliber revolver that the barrel can be switched out on? What I was thinking of doing is getting a 6 or 7 shot .22 LR revolver and replacing the barrel with a 18" barrel that I would have custom made and then making a shoulder stock for it. I just think that would be a neat little toy. If I accomplished this, would there be any paperwork or problems with the BATFE? Would it be considered a short barrel rifle? Any ideas or criticisms are welcome. Thanks guys and gals and have a great day!
 
The reason revolving carbines are not popular is because they can be pretty dangerous, especially black-powder percussion ones. It is possible to get chain fire where the firing of the chamber aligned with the barrel can ignite another chamber in the cylinder. If this happens, your supporting hand is out in front and vulnerable to possibly being hit. That's why people put crisco over the ball, to protect the powder charge from ignition.

It's much, much, much less likely with actual brass cartridges, but supposedly it can happen as well. Also, even in normal circumstances, your arm takes a peppering from expelled powder coming from the cylinder gap.

Lastly, it's pretty uncommon to use heavily tapered or bottle-necked cartridges in a revolver because they stretch when fired and can tie up the cylinder. This sort of gave a natural nod to the lever action rifle.
 
Thanks for the info eldon. I have seen lots of .22 LR revolvers available in my area. Taking into consideration the peppering from the expansion of gas, I would probably hold such a gun just like I would hold a normal pistol (stabilization hand making a cup that the firing hand is resting in), but I would have the added stability of a stock against my shoulder. Would it not be practical to just take a common .22 LR revolver and "swap" an 18" barrel onto it and then change out the grip for a wooden stock?
 
Just so everyone knows what I am talking about, I made a picture in paint representing my idea. I know, I know it's horrible and I should be banned from picture editing for all eternity, but you get the general idea. Lemme know what you think.
 

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I was mainly pointing out why they didn't catch on and aren't popular. Honestly, I don't think you'd run into hardly any problems with a .22 given how little powder they use and the low pressure they operate at. I think I have seen them with small foregrips before, but based on your drawing, it doesn't look like it would matter either way since there isn't any reason to put your supporting hand forward of the grip.
 
Oh man, eldon! That's exactly my idea. That's awesome! I'll have to check those out. I don't think I would buy one because I'm learning gunsmithing myself and I think it would be a lot more fun to make one myself, but nevertheless that is a great find. My THR membership is off to a great start. Thanks!
 
There is some Russian company that is coming out with a revolving shotgun (full size shotgun). I'd really like to take a look at one.

2570118266_d5d0597816_o.jpg
 
Any time you get into short barrels and shoulder stocks, there are going to be legal questions. If you put a 16.1" barrel on the revolver (not counting the cylinder) and then put on the stock, you would be OK, but you could never legally reverse the process because that would be converting a rifle (the one you made) into a handgun, and that is illegal.

A revolving carbine made sense in percussion days, before fixed ammunition made magazines practical. Today, I don't see how a "revolving carbine" would have any real advantage over a coventional magazine gun (the reverse, I would think), but there is no accounting for dedication to an idea.

Jim
 
They're available. Uberti and Cimarron both had and might still offer one. Beretta had one for a bit too. I bought one of the Beretta ones in 45LC when it was still a distributor special model. They had stainless ones as well. Just so it's known, if you hold it correctly, you don't get a arm peppered by shooting it. Keep your non-trigger hand along your other hand and you're all set. It's how they're intended to be held. Hold it like a rifle and you'll learn the error of your ways at the first shot.

1873_revolver_carbine.jpg
 
These weapons were designed for the cavalry and are actually meant to be fired one-handed with the butt held tight to the shoulder while on horseback. Using the second hand is optional and it is placed under the primary hand with the index finger in the "spur" along the bottom of the trigger guard. The weapon is cocked by rolling the thumb along the hammer, not by pulling down on the hammer spur. (Bob Munden descibes this technique on his website better than I can here.) The quickest way to identify yourself as a "nimrod" is to be seen reaching out to support the weapon with your hand on the barrel.
Dismissing such weapons as "outdated" doesn't take into consideration firing a weapon while operating a vehicle; especially one like a Jeep or ATV. Unlike a semi-auto carbine, they can't be accidentally fired in rough terrain unless the hammer is cocked and don't require two-hands that a lever-action does. Even with the barrel gap, they still offer considerable velocity increase over a normal handgun barrel.
http://www.vtigunparts.com/ sells the Uberti parts necessary to convert almost any of the Colt clones into one of these weapons. Barrels are available in .357, .44 and .45 I believe. The barrel length cannot be shorter than 16" and still be legal. I would suggest an eight-round .22 Bounty Hunter as a starting point for a .22 revolver carbine. A custom barrel will be required.
 
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when the colt revolving rifle was used by the federal sharpshooters in the war, they had a unique way of using it. the sharpshooters used something called a long leather glove with gauntlet cuff that went up to near the shoulder, and they used a standard rifle grip with the off hand up on the front of the barrel.

They had no issues wiht injury from shooting that way, but they did switch to a better weapon in the war.
 
The reason revolving carbines are not popular is because they can be pretty dangerous, especially black-powder percussion ones. It is possible to get chain fire where the firing of the chamber aligned with the barrel can ignite another chamber in the cylinder. If this happens, your supporting hand is out in front and vulnerable to possibly being hit. That's why people put crisco over the ball, to protect the powder charge from ignition.
Click to expand...

Most so called chain fires are caused by loose or missing caps. The lead round ball normally seals the chamber when it's rammed, leaving a lead ring. The Crisco is for lube that keeps the fouling soft.
 
DWFan has a point about the possible use of such a gun, but in the real world, shoulder stock pistols were never common and were seldom used. The Model 1855 was rare, and the Colt 1860 Army was almost never used with a stock even though it was provided with the means of attaching one. The same was true of the Luger and BHP, although the Mauser C96 was often issued with a stock/holster.

Pistols with stocks were not usually issued to cavalry, but to dragoons, troops who rode horses into battle, but fought dismounted as light infantry. Even in that role, shoulder stocked pistols were considered inferior to the more common dragoon weapon, a musketoon or the equivalent.

Cavalry used the pistol as a pistol, not as a short rifle. In the U.S., no pistol after 1873 even had a means of attaching a stock, and a carbine was carried for dismounted fighting. Still, for mounted fighting, the primary weapon was considered the saber which, as one old cavalryman said, "didn't run dry."

Jim
 
I own this one and it is a blast to shoot, something different to play with.

3363314305_7a25f14b3f_o.jpg

It's an Uberti 1873 carbine in 45 long colt
 
Rossi has the Circuit Judge....the original Judge revolver with a shoulder stock and long bbl....but of course it is .45 colt/.410 chambring.....

Browning has the semi-auto version of its' BuckMark .22 pistol the same way, shoulder stock and long bbl.
 
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