Would there be any merit to a striker fired revolver?

[Kookla]

Just wondering about it. Would it bring anything to the table?

 

[AZAndy]

Seems to me like it would be very oddly shaped.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I fail to see any merit in most modern striker fired autoloaders.

 

[Sam1911]

Aside from speeding up the lock time, perhaps, I don't really see any, and that's a pretty tiny benefit in service, hunting, or carry style handguns. There are snag free revolvers already, so no hammer isn't a benefit there. It's possible that some version of a DA style striker system could work well enough in a DA wheelgun, but I think the force needed to turn the cylinder would always still preclude having a very light and/or short DA pull much better than what's currently possible.

In SA it wouldn't make any sense at all, because anything else you had to toggle into the cocked position would undoubtedly be LESS convenient, sure, and ergonomic than the hammers revolvers already have which have been unimprovable for at least a century.

And, to tell the truth, people who want revolvers ... want REVOLVERS. The way they're "supposed to be." Very few people are buying revolvers these days because no equivalent or even more functional auto is available. (Large caliber hunting would be, more or less, the exception.) I imagine that without a real hook, they'd be about as popular as day-old sashimi.

 

[chicharrones]

My first thought was "Stop, just stop".

My second thought was, if a striker assembly was added it would bring the balance point of the gun back towards the shooter somewhat.

I can't think of anything else positive to say at this point.

 

[Twiki357]

I guess that it would be called a DAO revolver.

 

[Varminterror]

Aside from speeding up the lock time

It'd speed up lock time, but also increase trigger stroke length and weight compared to an SAO or DA/SA fired SA.

Personally, I don't see an advantage at all for a striker fired revolver. Not 100% sure how the geometry would work at all - since the chamber is withdrawn behind the trigger compared to a pistol design - so the trigger mechanism would be grossly convoluted, adding what I would expect to be even MORE stroke length and draw weight than even a standard pistol striker trigger.

 

[RPRNY]

None at all. But file the patent now because Chiappa will do it anyway.

 

[Pyro]

I immediately thought of this:

But seriously..the locking mechanism would need to travel a bit much if it was a DA revolver. Single action I can see it possible being a semi-auto revolver like a striker-fired Mateba revolver. Not sure if they have made one like that yet.

 

[zaitcev]

Would it bring anything to the table?

I imagine that it would be possible to create a hybrid of Chiappa Rhino, a bottom-fired revolver, and Webbley-Fosbery automatic revolver, and make it striker fired. The bottom location of the striker would be feasible, then. Such a gun would have to dispose with Rhino's fake hammer and become a DAO revolver. Note that since the sliding assembly of an automatic revolver reciprocates only a short distance, the striker assembly could be much shorter than that of a Glock.

What it would bring to the table is primarily a lighter, near-single-action trigger pull, with a shorter distance, thus enabling faster follow-up shots. A striker, then, would allow to dispose with explicit safety such as present on the Fosbery.

I am not sure it would be such a great advantage, because of the lower capacity of a revolver. A tactical shooter would not want to burn-up his 6 rounds doing double- and tripple-taps.

The downsides would include additional cost and complexity over traditional revolvers, which is guaranteed to be a consideration. One of the few police agencies using revolvers nowadays is MEK (Mobiles Einsatzkommando) of Germany, they still use 686s instead of R8 that S&W invented just for them. Why? Because 686s were bought a long time ago and R8 costs money.

Outside of a certain regulatory environments, honestly I don't see an advantage over either large capacity, striker-fired automatics, or a large caliber single-action revolver for .e.g. hunting. Although I suppose you might want to double-tap dangerous game like large bears or buffalo.

P.S. An additional advantage could be a reduced recoil, for people who want to go even beyond .500 S&W. But that's still an esoteric market, IMHO. That one is not related to striker operation though, only to an "automatic Rhino".

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

It would have to have a manual safety or some would have fits about how unsafe it was.

 

[Havok7416]

The Chiappa Rhino IS a striker fired gun

 

[zaitcev]

The Chiappa Rhino IS a striker fired gun

I'll leave this here just as a reference:

 

[kozak6]

Without a self cocking mechanism, there isn't much merit to a striker fired design.

The only real application I could think of would be in some kind of zig zag cylinder monstrosity like the Cobray Pocket Pal.

 

[antiquus]

Since the fastest recorded 5 shots out of any handgun was made with a revolver, I'm not too convinced the lock time is much of an issue.

 

[Middletown]

Where would the mechanical action required to pre-cock the hammer come from? I always thought the slide mostly cocked the hammer and the trigger only finished the action to fire the firearm. Am I wrong?

 

[BCRider]

Strikers are long and skinny. Much like the strikers with mainsprings around them as seen in the rear slides of semi autos and bolt action rifles. The whole concept would simply not fit in a revolver. And if you "fold" the striker then it needs a hinge to re-direct it and you suddenly turned your striker into a hammer.

 

[Sam1911]

Where would the mechanical action required to pre-cock the hammer come from? I always thought the slide mostly cocked the hammer and the trigger only finished the action to fire the firearm. Am I wrong?

Many striker fired autos are cocked by the slide reciprocating but it isn't required.

 

[Middletown]

Many striker fired autos are cocked by the slide reciprocating but it isn't required.

I guess I don't know the actual definition of striker fired. I was thinking of a Glock I used to own and a Shield my wife has. I have a Sig P200RS but it is DAO semi. I also used to have a S&W Bodyguard with internal hammer. No need to educate me here. If I find myself actually interested I can look it up.

 

[Crowman]

Here's one for you...Forget striker-fired, let's go all the way to an "automatic" revolver...for grins and giggles?

The old Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver, patented in 1896 and going into production in 1901, was the brainchild of British Col. George Vincent Fosbery, VC.









Fosbery's rationale for the self-cocking revolver was a search for a sidearm that would combine the rapid fire and crisp trigger of the automatic pistol with the heavy .455 cartridge of the British service revolver.

Mechanically, the Webley-Fosbery operates by virtue of the barrel and cylinder assembly being independent of the grip assembly, with the barrel/cylinder assembly riding in grooves machined into the grip assembly. Thus when fired, the grip stays in place and the barrel and cylinder assembly slides back, while a cam pin running in the conspicuous cylinder grooves rotates it to the next chamber and recocks the hammer. Really wild arraignment. It is also one of the very few revolver designs incorporating a manual safety. It was featured in "The Maltese Falcon". Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer, is shot and killed with a Webley–Fosbery Automatic Revolver in the movie.

 

[zaitcev]

Here's a vintage Ian McCollum with a Webbley-Fosbery:

 

[RPRNY]

Here's a vintage Ian McCollum with a Webbley-Fosbery:

So cool, guys! Never heard of the Webley-Fosbery. The Height of Steampunk !!!

 

[AJumbo]

So cool, guys! Never heard of the Webley-Fosbery. The Height of Steampunk !!!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

"Abomination" is the only word I can think of.

striker + revolver =

 

[barnbwt]

Soviet Space Gun break-top revolver in 5.45x39 and .410. Sure doesn't look like room for a hammer back there...I'm guessing it's a pivoting lever-striker like the Magnum Research Lone Eagle pistol (also a weird gun)