"This requires a screwdriver..." "...but fortunately all of our Swiss soldiers are issued pocket knives that contain a screwdriver, among other things."
I'm a complicated man. I see 'Swiss Prototype', I design a magnificently machined and frighteningly expensive clockwork mechanism to click the like button.
Actually the safety on the third version is in keeping with military hand gun philosophy of use of the time. Hand guns were largely used by officers and cavalry at the time, The main weapon of officers was a saber which was used right handed for both signaling troops and combat. This means the only hand they had free was the left, hence they were trained to shoot pistols left handed.
@@Doctor.R_LP that's what I was thinking, why wasn't this pursued further? An auto-ejecting revolver would be sweet, especially if either it breaks open or the cylinder swings out for reloading.
I was thinking that of course a Swiss officer would be carrying a screwdriver because they'd also have a Swiss Army knife, but it turns out that they were first introduced in the 1890s, so too late for this gun.
Dirty Harry "I know what you're thinking: Did he fire five shots or only four?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a 10.4mm Steiger, the most complicated handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?...Punk "You shot five I can see all the empty brass" Dirty Harry "sh*t"
It would work. If he fired 4, there would be 3 empty cases on the ground, one empty still in the cylinder and one live ready to shoot. If he fired 5, there would be 4 empty cases on the ground and one empty in the cylinder.
I love the designs from the 1870s to the 1920s. The mechanical innovations, while not always perfect, are ingenious attempts to solve various problems. Many people saw the same problem, but went about solving it in different ways.
I'm not so sure that this wouldn't be successful in a quality reproduction, even at a $1500 price point. Manufacture it in a more conventional revolver caliber, and it might get some headway in cowboy action shooting. A lot of those guys drop similar money into custom tuned single actions anyway. Considering how popular European things were in the U.S. in the 19th century, I can't see why this wouldn't be allowed for match play.
The Stoned Videogame Nerd Say I've loaded all five Chambers and prepare to fire: either single or double action, the cylinder rotates as the hammer cocks, the extractor slips under the rim of what used to be my 12-o-clock chambered round, and firing pops it out. Live round ejected, and no demonstrated means to avoid it besides loading only four rounds.
Patreon money well spent Ian. I am so glad you are travelling to bring us this knowledge from Auction houses and museums. I can't do it anymore, so you are doing it for me. Great job.
.38 special is too long of cartridge for that cylinder. Either, the cylinder and frame would have to be lengthened, or, if you want to keep the original proportions, it would have to be chambered in a smaller revolver cartridge like .38 S&W. But with modern steal, you could probably work up some good smokeless hand loads for .38 S&W on par with a .38spl +P or 9mm. It would definitely be a fun project!
Too many fragile parts for a military weapon, but beautiful execution. Switzerland must be a treasure trove of military weapons! Keep these excellent videos coming.
I was so waiting to see demonstration of injecting empty cartridge thank you very much!! This is why I love your channel you always provide the answers that I have in my mind both thumbs up for the video and greetings from sLOVEnia
I have an odd question, Matej. Is saying "sLOVEnia" a very common thing/trope, or is it simply something several people have come up with on their own? I've seen it once or twice from other Slovenian people I've met online. Just piqued my curiosity, is all.
eni I don't know if it's that common but we use it because we have it in our name so to show the love we have. I LOVE to use it , I'm very patriotic about my country I love my country there is no place I would rather live so in that case I'm very blessed to be sLOVEnian
Matej Pecnik Cool! I like it. I've always had a soft spot for Slovenia, and I've been intending to visit Ljubljana for a while, I just haven't found the time. Thanks for the reply, mate. Have a good week.
eni I hope you do visit us in the future it's a beautiful country there's a lot to see in a very small place you can go from swimming in Adriatic Sea to skiing in Alps in just 2 hours or less. Thank you for your wishes and right back at you enjoy your life
That's interesting, a Mateba-LeMat would have to have an unusual hammer design, since the shotgun barrel would be above the normal barrel. The shotgun firing pin would have to extend upwards instead of folding down.
You can really tell that was a Swiss gun when you opened it up, by all the precise machining and everything it reminds me of Swiss watches.and that was especially cool that they included the screwdriver in the cleaning rod jag in the handle. Definitely a well thought out gun.
Reminded again why I support this on patrion such a interesting firearm. I also used you as a source for a project I did on the sturmgewehr. Worth every penny.
I am an absolute freak when it comes to revolvers. Powerful handguns that don't jam. Can blow off body parts in the right caliber and creates a boom that makes them almost terrifying to hold.
Another awesome video! The whole time, I’m thinking, “I’d wish he would show the ammunition to these odd calibers,”, and then you produce the ammo and demonstrate the ejector! With the tools in the handle, it truly is the Swiss Army Knife of revolvers!
The 1878 revolver didn’t have an Abadie system, that came only with the 1882. The 1878 incorporated the Warnant rebounding hammer and has extra notches cut the cylinder to align the chambers with a loading/unloading furrow in the frame.
It’s nice to see that Ian has acknowledged Kessler, which is one of the premier gun auction house in Switzerland. I purchased three firearms from them, and they are fine individuals who truly love firearm history.
This is the video that would get me started with Ian's videos, I love his format, I love the weapons he shows off, I love Gun Jesus himself for probably being the most chill, dryly funny, and informative nerd on the internet. Never change, Ian!
Would love to see a side by side comparison and ideally side by side shoot with the various Auto-Ejector revolvers like the Silver and Fletcher, colt Gas-Eject etc.
@@dchevron77 I doubt it. Overall the guts didn't look too much more complicated than a 1911. I think it would be surprising how little it would cost by today's standards.
Probably a compromise so that cavalry could also use it, pistol in the right hand, reigns in the left. On the ground, a officer would probably only draw the pistol if his saber were damaged/lost.
@Laird Cummings - If it simply doesn't matter which side the ejector is on, I wonder why he moved the loading gate to the left side? The only reason would be if he specifically wanted the ejector on the right, surely.
A question that comes to mind is: can you load the full 5 shots without ejecting the first live round the first time you pull the trigger? =) ...if not then this is effectively a 4 round revolver.
this is vvhat I thought as vvell,, seems that you'd have to remove the cylider to fully load it & after load a round each time it vvas fired ( vvhile vvaiting forit to advance another 2 places ) ...apologies 4 broken"double you" key
I distinctly remember that one of the most important things back then was to NEVER carry a fully loaded revolver. They supposedly always loaded every round but one, and the empty chamber was always the one that was lined with the barrel, so there wouldn't be any misfires. PS: When at the half-cock position of the hammer, most revolvers will allow you to fully rotate the drum in one direction to allow quicker loading, this revolver likely isn't an exception, since it was always a common feature amongst revolvers.
@@KRIMZONMEKANISM yeah that's called a cowboy load, where the chamber facing the pin is left empty so as to take the risk of a misfire from the pin accidentally hitting the primer while in the locked position. This was common during the times where revolvers had fixed pins.
In a gunfight with two fast shots, before you have time to reload a chamber, you have an empty chamber in between. You always have to have your left hand full with some cartridges and reload after each shot to make this auto-eject mechanism a good idea.
The men behind the design of these firearms were real geniuses, armed with an extraordinary intelligence and patience. Imagine making complicated parts by hand only to find out that they don't work as desired so that they had to be made over and over again until the optimal functioning of the whole assembly was achieved. Nowadays CAD does most of the design work and CNC machinery does the rest.
One plausible answer: as has been pointed out already, the user would store hammer down on an empty chamber. This is likely why the chambers are numbered. My guess is that the user would load the cylinder after removing it from the gun, leaving the first chamber empty. Since the revolver is double action, the first trigger pull would index empty chamber "1" to the unloading mechanism, bringing loaded chamber "2" into position for firing. From there, each shot is fired until the user notices the empty chambers rotating towards the loading port, where they would then start manually loading individual shots to keep up firing. Interestingly, it's similar to the individual shell loading techniques on pump shotguns. I moved this answer from a lower reply so more people can see it. I hope it helps.
I must say watching your videos is like a college-level course on the mechanics of of gunsmithing you could package this and then sell it to universities you could say I'm impressed your knowledge is amazing thank you for increasing mine
I really have to appreciate the concept of these guns from what was available back then. The norm, in th 1870's, were revolvers with loading gates, yet you had to both extract the revolver and load through the same hole. But since the loading gate was (to my knowledge) 100% always to the right of the barrel and since most revolvers always rotated clockwise, it meant that if you had to reload "1" bullet in a "pinch", you were screwed and had to first manually remove one cartridge, and then you had to turn it 5 times, and only then could you fire. These engineers designed a gun that ejects those pesky cartridges when you shoot AND you can load a bullet on the left side of the gun instantly. One plus to this design, is that you can just turn your wrist clockwise to more easily load in the bullet, as it will stabilize it. It's a minor thing, but could help if you had to run as you reload it. :p NOW THAT is brilliant. :) PS: The "1882 swiss ordnance revolver" that Ian also reviewed (and shot), is probably another you might want to look at, in terms of reliability and machining, and especially because it is probably the one that von Steiger lost to, since it is a revolver that does use the Abadie system. Also it looks dang cool. :) I still think this Steiger prototype offers the best solution, even if it is more complex, and comes at a cost of both actual money and durability.
Ian!!! Many people are asking this. Can you please answer. If you had it fully loaded, wouldn’t the first shot eject a live round???? Love your show to death. Forgotten Weapons is just ahead of the Great War for number one my favorite channel.
Indeed, very interesting as always Ian. Thank you. From my point of view, the biggest disadvantage of the Colt Peacemaker was the removal of each fired round one by one. So, the Schofield Revolver would have been my choice in those good old times.
Beautiful & nicely thought out. The problems I see vv/it are that to fully load it initially you'd need to remove the cylinder , then after fireing you'd need to reload each shot as its fired & still have to vvait until an empty cylinder came around . Still nice but the Smith & VVesson Schofeild vvould've reloaded faster , just my opinion & still an interesting video as you havnt made a video yet that I vvasnt interested in. Keep up the great vvork Ian.
If you fully loaded it, regardless of if you removed the cylinder or not, it would eject the first round, it ejects when the hammer falls not when it cocks. Plus you don't have to remove the cylinder anyway, you put the revolver in half cock so the cylinder is free spinning to load each chamber, that's standard gate loading revolver system. The only way to not eject a live round is to have the first chamber sitting inline with the barrel empty while carrying, which for single action revolvers with a fixed firing pin is already standard safety practice because otherwise the fixed firing pin would be resting on the primer of a round and an impact could fire it. However double action revolvers like this usually have a rebounding hammer (when at rest it sits slightly back instead of resting on a primer) so normally they would be fully loaded. But this one cannot be, not unless the ejector is under careful spring load to only have enough power to eject an empty case while a full cartridge would be too heavy, but it doesn't look like that is the case.
That would take some getting used to, when you fire a shot and have something come flying back at you ! Overall a very cool piece! Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
Yes, it must have been very expensive to produce and would take substantionally longer to produce BUT.....We just saw a revolver auto eject empty cartridges while firing the next round (Simulated) like a semi auto pistol. How COOL is THAT! I had never seen anything like this before this video
It kicks the empty out. Well...ain't that neat?!!! And it carries tools in the grip frame as well.Only a Swiss arms maker would come up with that. And I'd be willing to wager that they're accurate to boot!!! This weapon is truly old world craftsmanship at its finest.🙂 I'd love to fire it. I'm sure I'm not alone on that one.
Finally!!!!! I have always thought that a safety on a revolver was ludicrous! Especially on a s.a. revolver! It's nice to hear someone else agree. That safety is like the notches on a Remington cap and ball revolver's cylinder. It's between the firing positions and you lower the hammer and the fixed firing pin engages the detent. That way you can carry all cylinders loaded safely. Not really a "safety" safety,as it is a way to carry full up.
A Swiss gun which shoots both ways! Logical for the safety lever to be on the right hand side of the frame as officers used the sword in the right hand and the pistol with the left.
Nice! I'm from Switzerland, and i've actually been to Kessler's gun shop. It's really, really nice. Now i'm kinda that i didn't know Ian was here in Switzerland. :/
The probable reason for the "lefthanded" safeties on the early proto-types is because the officers or cavalryman that would issued a revolver would be expected to be carrying his sabre/sword in his right hand. Back in those days, you used your strong hand for your your sword and the pistol in your weak hand.
Leave it to watchmaker to produce a weapon so intricate hell of a thinker. Wonder why it wasn't continued it took s+w and Colts idea's to a whole new level!!!!!
Axel Pingol Yeah makes sense. But still why create a new calibre"? No need to answer that look at the Brit's and .380same as 38s+w short+ .455 webley.we even stooped to them in ww2 and made the 1911A1 in their cal. r
how about a video on the differences between yellow brass, red brass, bronze, and "gun metal". Maybe even a piece describing all the different metals used in firearm manufacture over the years, iron, tool steel, aluminum alloys, ammo cases, projectiles, cast, forged ect. It could be anything from a short explanation vid. to a series involving touring Ruger's factory, explaining how they can cast parts that other companies have to mill. Or anywhere in between.
It is fairly fascinating that all these complicated clockwork mechanisms were worked out before the much less complicated and more effective swing out cylinder.
Might be an interesting option for a much larger caliber that needs a rigid frame. Probably faster if it were a combination of this ejection system and a swing out cylinder. To load an already empty cylinder. Revolvers are still the option for long case high power pistol cartridges.
In addition to the problem of maybe ejecting a live round as others have pointed out, it doesn't seem to have any safety feature preventing an accidental discharge if you drop or bump it. The striker looks like it rests directly against a live round.
"This requires a screwdriver..." "...but fortunately all of our Swiss soldiers are issued pocket knives that contain a screwdriver, among other things."
They probably would've slip a gun in the pocket knife if they could.
If you think about it, a screwdriver is a knife with the blade at the tip and a knife is a screwdriver with the blade on the side
Never thought about how that's probably partly due to their complex field strip guns
@@NineteenInFrenchthere are small 22 revolvers that fold like that, so you could slip a single shot like that into the corkscrew spot I bet.
I'm a complicated man. I see 'Swiss Prototype', I design a magnificently machined and frighteningly expensive clockwork mechanism to click the like button.
Of course someone would find a way to pump as much time, skill, and money into something that would literally explode.
Mr Rube Goldberg
Gay meme fam
Are you german?
@@IIIVI Nein.
Actually the safety on the third version is in keeping with military hand gun philosophy of use of the time. Hand guns were largely used by officers and cavalry at the time, The main weapon of officers was a saber which was used right handed for both signaling troops and combat. This means the only hand they had free was the left, hence they were trained to shoot pistols left handed.
As a lefty thats great for me
It was a police concept in the ‘50s to use the club in your right hand and the pistol was to be used in an emergency in your left hand.
For a country that never goes to war, the Swiss make great guns. Bless them.
Never seak war out but always be prepared for one.
The land of the banks surely is interested to stay neutral at all costs.
Gihaal and pen knives
ua-cam.com/video/Fx8yCd4mDBY/v-deo.html
Break action is better!
Double action AND auto ejecting ??
One of coolest I've seen. Great video.
Break action is better!
Why not all 3? When all the cartridges are gone, you top break it and load them back in
@@Doctor.R_LP that's what I was thinking, why wasn't this pursued further? An auto-ejecting revolver would be sweet, especially if either it breaks open or the cylinder swings out for reloading.
@@jacqirius and is more expensive or complicated than an auto ejecter?
The screwdriver/sideplate/widge/ lanyard ring is what I espect from the Swiss
I'm only wondering where are the toothpick and the corkscrew.
The cleaning rod could be made into a cork screw
I was thinking that of course a Swiss officer would be carrying a screwdriver because they'd also have a Swiss Army knife, but it turns out that they were first introduced in the 1890s, so too late for this gun.
I am sure there was something like that before Victorianox got the contract
+vsGoliath Of course. We like to overthing everything. It makes us so great in... well... making chocolate, cheese and watches? ;)
Dirty Harry "I know what you're thinking: Did he fire five shots or only four?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a 10.4mm Steiger, the most complicated handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?...Punk "You shot five I can see all the empty brass" Dirty Harry "sh*t"
fastmongrel Wouldn’t you have to dryfire after the last shot to eject them all?
Good point
It would work. If he fired 4, there would be 3 empty cases on the ground, one empty still in the cylinder and one live ready to shoot. If he fired 5, there would be 4 empty cases on the ground and one empty in the cylinder.
fastmongrel , just gonna beat ya with it now
😂
I love the designs from the 1870s to the 1920s. The mechanical innovations, while not always perfect, are ingenious attempts to solve various problems. Many people saw the same problem, but went about solving it in different ways.
I'm always excited to see if he will say "I'm Ian" or "I'm Ian McCullom"
They're actually two different people.
depends how ethnic hes feeling iv seen a vid he drunk whiskey in lol he has a funny accent for a celt lol
Exactly! You made my day!
Literally what I thought when clicked on this video!! :)
It's the little things like that which make life worth living.
I wish someone would make a modern take of this design. I'd buy one for sure
You say that, but when someone brings one to market for $1,500+ will you still buy one for sure?
I'm not so sure that this wouldn't be successful in a quality reproduction, even at a $1500 price point. Manufacture it in a more conventional revolver caliber, and it might get some headway in cowboy action shooting. A lot of those guys drop similar money into custom tuned single actions anyway. Considering how popular European things were in the U.S. in the 19th century, I can't see why this wouldn't be allowed for match play.
$1,500 for a gun is not that bad of a price I probably have 20 guns that are a thousand or more. My carry gun was 1600
Break action is better!
$1500 wouldn't be an unjust price and yes, alot of us enthusiasts have no problem saving for unique or historic firearms.
Genius! What craftsmanship for the time!
But if you load it fully, the first shot will eject a live round.
Angry Yogbuscus Yup! Load one..skip..maybe..
Actually, the "finger" enters on the cartridge that has been just fired when it rotates towards it.
The Stoned Videogame Nerd Say I've loaded all five Chambers and prepare to fire: either single or double action, the cylinder rotates as the hammer cocks, the extractor slips under the rim of what used to be my 12-o-clock chambered round, and firing pops it out. Live round ejected, and no demonstrated means to avoid it besides loading only four rounds.
We are even better then the germans.....and we are swiss and not germans. Keep that in your minds.
The americans are all europeaniens?
The machining on the back of the cylinder is just gorgious!
Absolutely. I was immediately thinking about the rotary table work. In 1872!
Very fascinating revolver and very Swiss.
Thank you for this Ian
Patreon money well spent Ian. I am so glad you are travelling to bring us this knowledge from Auction houses and museums. I can't do it anymore, so you are doing it for me. Great job.
I would drop a lot of money on a modern version of this in .38 special.
Anthony I'd like so think like 8+ shot .22
.38 special is too long of cartridge for that cylinder. Either, the cylinder and frame would have to be lengthened, or, if you want to keep the original proportions, it would have to be chambered in a smaller revolver cartridge like .38 S&W. But with modern steal, you could probably work up some good smokeless hand loads for .38 S&W on par with a .38spl +P or 9mm. It would definitely be a fun project!
.455 Webly maybe. I know .45acp would be cheaper and more available, but I'm weird about automatic cartridges in revolvers...feels like sacrilege.
Mine is chambered in 9mm + p +. Google Maurice the frankenruger.
Too many fragile parts for a military weapon, but beautiful execution. Switzerland must be a treasure trove of military weapons! Keep these excellent videos coming.
Yeah, it was kind of doomed by the very role it was designed to fill. More's the pity.
I was so waiting to see demonstration of injecting empty cartridge thank you very much!! This is why I love your channel you always provide the answers that I have in my mind both thumbs up for the video and greetings from sLOVEnia
I have an odd question, Matej. Is saying "sLOVEnia" a very common thing/trope, or is it simply something several people have come up with on their own? I've seen it once or twice from other Slovenian people I've met online. Just piqued my curiosity, is all.
eni I don't know if it's that common but we use it because we have it in our name so to show the love we have. I LOVE to use it , I'm very patriotic about my country I love my country there is no place I would rather live so in that case I'm very blessed to be sLOVEnian
Matej Pecnik Cool! I like it. I've always had a soft spot for Slovenia, and I've been intending to visit Ljubljana for a while, I just haven't found the time.
Thanks for the reply, mate. Have a good week.
eni I hope you do visit us in the future it's a beautiful country there's a lot to see in a very small place you can go from swimming in Adriatic Sea to skiing in Alps in just 2 hours or less. Thank you for your wishes and right back at you enjoy your life
This is the greatest prototype revolver collection of all time.
You think? Let's see Dardick Model 1500 revolver ;)
Laird Cummings it's the ugly duckling we love for it's personality
Maybe , but I personaly like the clever idea behind this gun :)
My mind is now filled with dreams of auto ejecting Fosbery revolvers, thx
Laird Cummings thinking about it you could add a barrel setup like on the Mateba autorevolver and yes, my nose is starting to bleed
That's interesting, a Mateba-LeMat would have to have an unusual hammer design, since the shotgun barrel would be above the normal barrel. The shotgun firing pin would have to extend upwards instead of folding down.
I don't know, top breaks are pretty awesome already.
Have you seen the new video on the Silver and Fletcher revolvers
You can really tell that was a Swiss gun when you opened it up, by all the precise machining and everything it reminds me of Swiss watches.and that was especially cool that they included the screwdriver in the cleaning rod jag in the handle. Definitely a well thought out gun.
As Stealth the unknown once put it when he explained the mechanism of the SIG 552, this is one swiss watch of a gun!
it's the first time I see a revolver with automatic cartridge removal. Awesome!
At 11:41 I kind of expected you to say "This is definitely a Swiss revolver"
That revolver system is seriously badass
Reminded again why I support this on patrion such a interesting firearm. I also used you as a source for a project I did on the sturmgewehr. Worth every penny.
I am an absolute freak when it comes to revolvers. Powerful handguns that don't jam. Can blow off body parts in the right caliber and creates a boom that makes them almost terrifying to hold.
Love auto-ejecting/quick reload revolvers. Always ridiculously overbuilt when one remembers the Webley guns.
I love Swiss small arms they always put so much time and effort into them same with Ian's Videos
Another awesome video! The whole time, I’m thinking, “I’d wish he would show the ammunition to these odd calibers,”, and then you produce the ammo and demonstrate the ejector! With the tools in the handle, it truly is the Swiss Army Knife of revolvers!
Never ceases to amaze me the ingenuity in the designs, borderline art, just lovely!
Love the use of brass
The 1878 revolver didn’t have an Abadie system, that came only with the 1882. The 1878 incorporated the Warnant rebounding hammer and has extra notches cut the cylinder to align the chambers with a loading/unloading furrow in the frame.
It’s nice to see that Ian has acknowledged Kessler, which is one of the premier gun auction house in Switzerland. I purchased three firearms from them, and they are fine individuals who truly love firearm history.
Laird Cummings Yes, this is his first time at Kessler Auktion AG.
This is the video that would get me started with Ian's videos, I love his format, I love the weapons he shows off, I love Gun Jesus himself for probably being the most chill, dryly funny, and informative nerd on the internet. Never change, Ian!
I'm happy to hear these are going to a museum instead of becoming "safe queens".
Auto ejecting revolver? How Swiss of an idea.
The REALLY Swiss thing is that UNGODLY amalgamation of a trigger group.
@DOUG HEINS designed by Furrer, (toggle lock nut)
Nice system, thanks 4 showing it Ian.
@10:57: This is how the development of the Swiss army knife started
They are gorgeous! The finish and machining.
Would love to see a side by side comparison and ideally side by side shoot with the various Auto-Ejector revolvers like the Silver and Fletcher, colt Gas-Eject etc.
Swiss engineering you gotta love it. and I wouldn't mind a modern reproduction in .38 or maybe .22
Gun Toting Nerd the manufacturing would be super expensive
@@dchevron77 I doubt it. Overall the guts didn't look too much more complicated than a 1911. I think it would be surprising how little it would cost by today's standards.
That was so fulfilling to watch that. Awesome video Ian! That's a neat system!
What a beautiful revolver.Thanks for the video.
I became a patron because of this video! I love Ian's work!
I believe that the doctrine at the time was to carry the handgun in the left hand, with the sabre in the right
In that case, I wonder why they didn't design the gun to eject to the right, away from the shooter...
Probably a compromise so that cavalry could also use it, pistol in the right hand, reigns in the left. On the ground, a officer would probably only draw the pistol if his saber were damaged/lost.
@Laird Cummings - If it simply doesn't matter which side the ejector is on, I wonder why he moved the loading gate to the left side? The only reason would be if he specifically wanted the ejector on the right, surely.
A question that comes to mind is: can you load the full 5 shots without ejecting the first live round the first time you pull the trigger? =)
...if not then this is effectively a 4 round revolver.
Alex Naanou I was wondering the same thing. The first shot would eject a live round right? @forgottenweapons
maybe you need to fire the first shot in single action in order to keep the live round in the chamber
this is vvhat I thought as vvell,, seems that you'd have to remove the cylider to fully load it & after load a round each time it vvas fired ( vvhile vvaiting forit to advance another 2 places ) ...apologies 4 broken"double you" key
I distinctly remember that one of the most important things back then was to NEVER carry a fully loaded revolver.
They supposedly always loaded every round but one, and the empty chamber was always the one that was lined with the barrel, so there wouldn't be any misfires.
PS: When at the half-cock position of the hammer, most revolvers will allow you to fully rotate the drum in one direction to allow quicker loading, this revolver likely isn't an exception, since it was always a common feature amongst revolvers.
@@KRIMZONMEKANISM yeah that's called a cowboy load, where the chamber facing the pin is left empty so as to take the risk of a misfire from the pin accidentally hitting the primer while in the locked position.
This was common during the times where revolvers had fixed pins.
This was by far the most interesting video you made. Thanks Ian, keep the good work up! Also greetings from sweden.
Thanks for showing us these beautiful pieces of art 👍
In a gunfight with two fast shots, before you have time to reload a chamber, you have an empty chamber in between. You always have to have your left hand full with some cartridges and reload after each shot to make this auto-eject mechanism a good idea.
What works of art these pistols are! The engineering is wonderful.
The men behind the design of these firearms were real geniuses, armed with an extraordinary intelligence and patience. Imagine making complicated parts by hand only to find out that they don't work as desired so that they had to be made over and over again until the optimal functioning of the whole assembly was achieved. Nowadays CAD does most of the design work and CNC machinery does the rest.
One plausible answer: as has been pointed out already, the user would store hammer down on an empty chamber. This is likely why the chambers are numbered. My guess is that the user would load the cylinder after removing it from the gun, leaving the first chamber empty. Since the revolver is double action, the first trigger pull would index empty chamber "1" to the unloading mechanism, bringing loaded chamber "2" into position for firing. From there, each shot is fired until the user notices the empty chambers rotating towards the loading port, where they would then start manually loading individual shots to keep up firing. Interestingly, it's similar to the individual shell loading techniques on pump shotguns. I moved this answer from a lower reply so more people can see it. I hope it helps.
Man those tools in the grip are super cool alongside the mechanics of course
Just too cool! If there were ever a reproduction made it would be in my collection.
I must say watching your videos is like a college-level course on the mechanics of of gunsmithing you could package this and then sell it to universities you could say I'm impressed your knowledge is amazing thank you for increasing mine
Outstanding video. Ian, l would have never known about these pistols but for your video, great job!
That video just shows how cool this channel is. 👍
Really impressive engineering in those revolvers indeed. ☺
I really have to appreciate the concept of these guns from what was available back then.
The norm, in th 1870's, were revolvers with loading gates, yet you had to both extract the revolver and load through the same hole. But since the loading gate was (to my knowledge) 100% always to the right of the barrel and since most revolvers always rotated clockwise, it meant that if you had to reload "1" bullet in a "pinch", you were screwed and had to first manually remove one cartridge, and then you had to turn it 5 times, and only then could you fire.
These engineers designed a gun that ejects those pesky cartridges when you shoot AND you can load a bullet on the left side of the gun instantly.
One plus to this design, is that you can just turn your wrist clockwise to more easily load in the bullet, as it will stabilize it. It's a minor thing, but could help if you had to run as you reload it. :p
NOW THAT is brilliant. :)
PS: The "1882 swiss ordnance revolver" that Ian also reviewed (and shot), is probably another you might want to look at, in terms of reliability and machining, and especially because it is probably the one that von Steiger lost to, since it is a revolver that does use the Abadie system.
Also it looks dang cool. :)
I still think this Steiger prototype offers the best solution, even if it is more complex, and comes at a cost of both actual money and durability.
Thats is pretty cool!! Love how the empty cases fly out!!
Von Steiger is a badass name.
I thought it was weird to hear you say "for better or worse" that they were going into a museum over a private collection.
Ian!!! Many people are asking this. Can you please answer. If you had it fully loaded, wouldn’t the first shot eject a live round???? Love your show to death. Forgotten Weapons is just ahead of the Great War for number one my favorite channel.
Indeed, very interesting as always Ian. Thank you.
From my point of view, the biggest disadvantage of the Colt Peacemaker was the removal of each fired round one by one. So, the Schofield Revolver would have been my choice in those good old times.
Beautiful & nicely thought out. The problems I see vv/it are that to fully load it initially you'd need to remove the cylinder , then after fireing you'd need to reload each shot as its fired & still have to vvait until an empty cylinder came around . Still nice but the Smith & VVesson Schofeild vvould've reloaded faster , just my opinion & still an interesting video as you havnt made a video yet that I vvasnt interested in. Keep up the great vvork Ian.
If you fully loaded it, regardless of if you removed the cylinder or not, it would eject the first round, it ejects when the hammer falls not when it cocks. Plus you don't have to remove the cylinder anyway, you put the revolver in half cock so the cylinder is free spinning to load each chamber, that's standard gate loading revolver system.
The only way to not eject a live round is to have the first chamber sitting inline with the barrel empty while carrying, which for single action revolvers with a fixed firing pin is already standard safety practice because otherwise the fixed firing pin would be resting on the primer of a round and an impact could fire it. However double action revolvers like this usually have a rebounding hammer (when at rest it sits slightly back instead of resting on a primer) so normally they would be fully loaded. But this one cannot be, not unless the ejector is under careful spring load to only have enough power to eject an empty case while a full cartridge would be too heavy, but it doesn't look like that is the case.
It's a bummer they never made any civilian versions of these things. Sure it's a bit of a novelty, but it's very nice and I'd love to have one.
That would take some getting used to, when you fire a shot and have something come flying back at you !
Overall a very cool piece!
Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍
This is a very Swiss gun. Fine & complex machining galore.
I wish I was a machinist, so I could recreate some of these neat firearms in my free time for fun.
amazing series of revolvers
Yes, it must have been very expensive to produce and would take substantionally longer to produce BUT.....We just saw a revolver auto eject empty cartridges while firing the next round (Simulated) like a semi auto pistol. How COOL is THAT! I had never seen anything like this before this video
What a clever system. Fascinating as alway thanks Ian
This is exactly the sort of coolness for which I subscribed to ForgottenWeapons.com!!
It kicks the empty out. Well...ain't that neat?!!! And it carries tools in the grip frame as well.Only a Swiss arms maker would come up with that. And I'd be willing to wager that they're accurate to boot!!! This weapon is truly old world craftsmanship at its finest.🙂 I'd love to fire it. I'm sure I'm not alone on that one.
Finally!!!!! I have always thought that a safety on a revolver was ludicrous! Especially on a s.a. revolver! It's nice to hear someone else agree. That safety is like the notches on a Remington cap and ball revolver's cylinder. It's between the firing positions and you lower the hammer and the fixed firing pin engages the detent. That way you can carry all cylinders loaded safely. Not really a "safety" safety,as it is a way to carry full up.
While not exactly a Forgotten Weapon the Swiss Army bike is cool and might be worthy of a video
These guns are beauties. Pity it was never further developed, I'd love to own a revolver with this system.
This pegged my personal uber cool meter.
When I saw that ejecting system i was like - GENIUS - very thoughtful.
A Swiss gun which shoots both ways! Logical for the safety lever to be on the right hand side of the frame as officers used the sword in the right hand and the pistol with the left.
Nice!
I'm from Switzerland, and i've actually been to Kessler's gun shop. It's really, really nice.
Now i'm kinda that i didn't know Ian was here in Switzerland. :/
The probable reason for the "lefthanded" safeties on the early proto-types is because the officers or cavalryman that would issued a revolver would be expected to be carrying his sabre/sword in his right hand.
Back in those days, you used your strong hand for your your sword and the pistol in your weak hand.
I keep wondering how firing the first round doesn't eject an unfired cartridge
Those are very aesthetically pleasing revolvers.
Leave it to watchmaker to produce a weapon so intricate hell of a thinker. Wonder why it wasn't continued it took s+w and Colts idea's to a whole new level!!!!!
Axel Pingol Yeah makes sense. But still why create a new calibre"? No need to answer that look at the Brit's and .380same as 38s+w short+ .455 webley.we even stooped to them in ww2 and made the 1911A1 in their cal.
r
Seems like if they sloped the loading gate spring a little more it'd let you push the cartridge straight in without having to depress the spring.
Thanks for another great video, Karl!
When you opened that side plate and exposed all that engineering, my first thought was "Yep, that's Swiss!"
how about a video on the differences between yellow brass, red brass, bronze, and "gun metal". Maybe even a piece describing all the different metals used in firearm manufacture over the years, iron, tool steel, aluminum alloys, ammo cases, projectiles, cast, forged ect. It could be anything from a short explanation vid. to a series involving touring Ruger's factory, explaining how they can cast parts that other companies have to mill. Or anywhere in between.
Finally, the semi automatic revolver with a safety, the stuff of mystery writers dreams
I like this gun. Very clever and exactly what I’d expect from the Swiss
This is so cool and I'd love to see a modern version of it.
These are beautifully designed revolvers.
It is fairly fascinating that all these complicated clockwork mechanisms were worked out before the much less complicated and more effective swing out cylinder.
Might be an interesting option for a much larger caliber that needs a rigid frame. Probably faster if it were a combination of this ejection system and a swing out cylinder. To load an already empty cylinder. Revolvers are still the option for long case high power pistol cartridges.
that is really impressive. Thank you so much for sharing
I so want a modern version of this!
Glad you were here in Switzerland...hope you had a good Röstli( shredded potatoes). Or a nice foundeu??? In all...
In addition to the problem of maybe ejecting a live round as others have pointed out, it doesn't seem to have any safety feature preventing an accidental discharge if you drop or bump it. The striker looks like it rests directly against a live round.
That is a very slick revolver! Thanks for sharing it with us :)
These days, a laser cnc and cnc mill can probably cut all that mechanical parts like butter.
And usually more durable/reliable
@@avp5964 but not as nice looking