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

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Jumping on the Breaktop bandwagon :p

I'd like an eight-shot, break-top revolver with blued finish, black rubber grips and a four and half inch barrel, chambered in .38/.357.
 
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.

most likely because they've all been built on existing .38 Special/ ,357 Magnum platforms.

The one exception to this that I can think of is the Taurus .380 revolver which used a short cylinder and short frame.


I don't see a big difference in OAL between the 9mm and the old S&W that used a shorter cylinder than a modern .38 Special.

9mm being 1.169" OAL and the old 38 S&W being 1.24" OAL.

Are people losing their fingers with the Taurus .380? Haven't heard any reports of that.
 
A 44 Spl Colt Python.
A J frame with a trigger pull like an L frame.
Any DA revolver without a lawyer DA trigger pull.
 
Have you seen this year's version of the Wiley Clapp GP? if you can do without the 7th shot...

I have and it's one duuurn sexy gun for sure. The GP100 is a little bit "chunky monkey" for a 6 shot midframe wheelgun, which is why I mentioned the Speed Six, but yes, it's a really nice wheelgun.
 
Another vote for something sized between a NAA Mini Magnum and the S&W 351PD. The Mini Magnum is 5 rounds, the 351 is 7 rounds, so maybe a very narrow 6 round cylinder on a slightly smaller and shorter frame than Smith's J frame.

Chambered in .22 WMR, double action, internal hammer, nice smooth trigger, 2" barrel, dovetailed front and rear low-profile sights with a tritium front. Use titanium and scandium, or maybe even polymer, to keep the weight under 9 or 10 oz. Add a version with an external hammer, additional .22LR cylinder, and 3" barrel as a "kit gun".
 
A revolver with no plastic, zinc, aluminum, or rubber, no MIM, and no investment castings.
I do have some wiggle room on the investment castings, but I'd prefer forged steel.

And no 30 page legal contract stamped on the barrel.
 
Howdy

Interesting how so many are interested in Top Breaks.

I have a few.

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Let me just say that contrary to popular belief, it is just as fast to empty and reload a modern swing out cylinder revolver as it is a Top Break. Yes, ejection is automatic with the Top Break, but with practice, one can develop the technique to pop the cylinder out and depress the ejector rod of a modern cylinder just as fast as the Top Breaks do it. It just takes a little bit of practice. There is no significant difference to how fast I can empty my New Model Number Three or my Russian than how fast I can empty and reload any Hand Ejector.

Second, none of the old Top Breaks are as strong as a modern side swing revolver. The only exception is the Webley, and that is because the Webley has a really massive latch and a very strong spring. The old S&W Top Breaks are not that strong. That's why they were never chambered for any high powered cartridges such as 357 Mag or 44 Mag. The modern replicas made by Uberti are only chambered for 45 Colt, 44-40, 44 Russian and 38 Special. No magnums. There is a reason for that, they are not strong enough. I have seen high speed film of an old ASM Schofield being shot, and it is scary. You can actually see the frame flexing with the shot.

So if somebody is going to make you guys your dream Top Break, there is going to have to be some serious work done redesigning the latch.
 
A 44 Spl SP101 5 shot 3" barrel I have a Charter Arms bulldog but it's one to carry a lot and shoot little and I would like to shoot mine a lot.
 
Crazy, but interesting idea:

A sealed barrel to cylinder gap mechanism to allow for the attachment of sound suppressors. The down side to this idea would be the complexity of the mechanism.

Imagine a suppressed .44 Magnum :)
 
A top break design is interesting, but I would have to be convinced that there is a large enough market for a new top break design to risk investing the capital in R&D.
 
Wesson-Hawk

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.
There is a fellow in Alaska with a WessonHawk (Redhawk/Dan Wesson hybrid) with both 45 Colt and 44 Magnum cylinders (better not get the wrong barrel with that combination!).

Lost Sheep

p.s. http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...-Caliber-Wesson-Hawk?highlight=Wesson+Redhawk
 
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Additional ideas for my lower receiver/monolithic upper receiver design:

For the lower receiver, copy the Smith & Wesson L-Frame round butt grip to take advantage of the large aftermarket of grips.

For the monolithic upper receiver, provide options for Novak-cut rear sight, Novak-cut front sight, Smith & Wesson adjustable rear sight, and Smith & Wesson DX interchangeable front sight.
 
Custom-shaped grips (owner-modifiable)

The post-style frame inside the grip allows great freedom for custom-shaping the grip to one's hand. For those of us without woodworking skills, how about a small blank inletted for the post of the Ruger GP/SRH and SP models with a moldable outer shell.

It could be a clay-like resin/hardener material or a heat-workable material.

Lost Sheep
 
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Perfection was acheived in 1935 by Smith & Wesson with the Registered Magnum, now known as the Model 27. No further efforts necessary :).

To be serious I would like to see a S&W 617 with a half lug barrel.
 
How about an "upper" and "lower." The catch is strength of frame, but top break where the cylinder, hinge, and barrel come off and are replaced by a new cylinder, barrel and top strap, which then snaps into place. Furthermore, do the Dan Wesson thing where the barrels also pop off: perhaps something like a Hornady Lock n Load die bushing for the barrel?
 
Jaymo said:
A revolver with no plastic, zinc, aluminum, or rubber, no MIM, and no investment castings.
I do have some wiggle room on the investment castings, but I'd prefer forged steel.

That would be nice. But the reality is that with revolvers playing second fiddle to semis in terms of numbers sold in the market we'd also be looking at lofty prices for all this forging stull given the production numbers. Are we willing to pay the Freedom Arms like prices that such quality would cost these days?

For my own part having worked with a top break I find that it takes two hands used on the gun for a greater degree of time than with the currently popular side opening setup. So really as an aid to faster loading I'd suggest that the side opening style is going to win during a reloading race. Maybe not by a lot but it's still a factor to consider.

Me? I'd like to see a further development on the low chamber firing as seen in the Chiappa Rhino. But this time with a less complicated action design and MUCH nicer feel to the trigger. The current Rhino design has a lot going for it. But the trigger feels simply terrible in too many ways to list.
 
The Chiappa Rhino is interesting. The cosmetic appearance might be "too different" for a lot of people. Personally, while an interesting design, I think it looks ugly.
 
If this already exists, I apologize for not knowing: how about a 6 or 7-shot .223 Remington revolver, where the rounds headspace on the shoulder so there's no need for any sort of moonclip. It would have to be heavy to aid in controlling recoil and handle the pressure, theoretically, but handloaders could soft load rounds (taking advantage of the short barrel) and still avoid squibs. That would be a marvelous HD gun and a huge amount of range fun.
 
If this already exists, I apologize for not knowing: how about a 6 or 7-shot .223 Remington revolver, where the rounds headspace on the shoulder so there's no need for any sort of moonclip. It would have to be heavy to aid in controlling recoil and handle the pressure, theoretically, but handloaders could soft load rounds (taking advantage of the short barrel) and still avoid squibs. That would be a marvelous HD gun and a huge amount of range fun.
There have been revolvers chambered in bottleneck rifle rounds before. They seem to have extraction problems for whatever reason. I think I remember RCmodel explaining it very well one time. I'm just too much of a dunce to remember.
 
Interesting interest in top breaks. So here is an idea..what about a modernized Webly-Fosbery..stainless and/or titanium. 9mm, 357 Sig..on up..maybe even a .22 rimfire for grins!
 
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