In firearms terminology, the
Cylinder refers to the cylindrical, rotating part of a
revolverA revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
containing multiple cartridge chambers. The cylinder revolves around a central axis in the revolver to bring each individual chamber into alignment with the barrel for firing. Each time the gun is cocked, the cylinder
indexesIndexing in reference to motion is moving into a new position or location quickly and easily but also precisely. After a machine part has been indexed, its location is known to within a few hundredths of a millimeter , or often even to within a few thousandths of a millimeter , despite the fact...
by one chamber (in six-shooters, 60
°A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
).
Cylinders typically hold six cartridges (hence revolvers sometimes being referred to as "sixguns"), but some small frame revolvers only hold 5 cartridges, due to the smaller overall size of the gun and reduced space availability. The
Nagant M1895The Nagant M1895 Revolver is a seven-shot, gas-seal revolver designed and produced by Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant for the Russian Empire. The Nagant M1895 was chambered for a proprietary cartridge, 7.62x38R, and featured an unusual "gas-seal" system in which the cylinder moved forward when...
revolver has a 7 shot cylinder, the
Webley-Fosbery Automatic RevolverThe Webley-Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver was an unusual, recoil-operated, automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery, VC and produced by the Webley and Scott company from 1901 to 1915...
has an 8-shot cylinder in .38 caliber, and the
LeMat RevolverThe LeMat revolver was a .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball black powder revolver invented by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which featured a rather unusual secondary 16 gauge smoothbore barrel capable of firing buckshot, and saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of...
has a 9 shot cylinder. Several models of .22 rimfire caliber revolvers have cylinders holding 9 or 10 rounds.
As a general rule, cylinders are not designed to be detached from the firearm (except for cleaning). Rapid reloading is instead facilitated by the use of a
speedloaderA speedloader is a device used for loading a firearm or firearm magazine that will run out of ammunition very quickly. Generally, speedloaders are used for loading all chambers of a revolver simultaneously, although speedloaders are also used for the loading of fixed tubular magazines of shotguns...
or
moon clipA moon clip is a ring-shaped or star-shaped piece of metal designed to hold multiple cartridges together as a unit, for simultaneous insertion and extraction from a revolver cylinder...
, although these only work on break-top and swing-out cylinder revolvers, for obvious reasons.
Fixed cylinder designs
The first generation of cartridge revolvers were converted caplock designs. In many of these (especially those that were converted long after manufacture), the pin on which the cylinder revolved was removed, and the cylinder taken from the gun for loading. Later models used a loading gate at the rear of the cylinder that allowed one cartridge at a time to be accessed for loading, while a rod under the barrel could be pressed backwards to extract the fired case. Most revolvers using this method of loading are single action revolvers.
Oddly, the loading gate on the original Colt designs (and copied by nearly all single action revolvers since) is on the right side, which may favor left-handed users; with the revolver held in the proper grip for shooting in the left hand, the cartridges can easily be ejected and loaded with the right. This was done because these pistols were intended for use with cavalry, and it was intended that the revolver and the reins would be held in the left hand while the right hand was free to load the cartridges.
Since the cylinder in these revolvers is firmly attached at the front and rear of the frame, and since the frame is typically full thickness all the way around, fixed cylinder revolvers are inherently strong designs. Because of this, many modern large calibre hunting revolvers tend to be based on the fixed cylinder design.
Top break
The next method used for loading and unloading cartridge revolvers was the
top break design. In a top break revolver, the frame is hinged at the bottom front of the cylinder. Releasing the lock and pushing the barrel down brings the cylinder up - this exposes the rear of the cylinder for reloading. In most top break revolvers, the act of pivoting the barrel and cylinder operates an extractor that pushes the cartridges in the chambers back far enough that they will fall free, or can be removed easily. Fresh rounds are then placed into the cylinder, either one at a time or all at once with either a
speedloaderA speedloader is a device used for loading a firearm or firearm magazine that will run out of ammunition very quickly. Generally, speedloaders are used for loading all chambers of a revolver simultaneously, although speedloaders are also used for the loading of fixed tubular magazines of shotguns...
or a
moon clipA moon clip is a ring-shaped or star-shaped piece of metal designed to hold multiple cartridges together as a unit, for simultaneous insertion and extraction from a revolver cylinder...
. The barrel and cylinder are then rotated back and locked in place, and the revolver is ready to fire. Since the frame is in two parts, held together by a latch on the top rear of the cylinder, top break revolvers cannot handle high pressure or "magnum"-type rounds. Top break designs are largely extinct in the world of firearms, but are still commonly found in airguns.
One of the most famous "break top" revolvers is the
Webley service revolverThe Webley Revolver was, in various marks, the standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealths from 1887 until 1963.The Webley is a top-break revolver with automatic extraction...
(and the
Enfield revolverEnfield Revolver is the name applied to two totally separate models of self-extracting British handgun designed and manufactured at the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield; initially the .476 calibre Revolver Enfield Mk I/Mk II revolvers , and later the .38/200 calibre Enfield No...
, a nearly identical design), used by the British military from 1889-1963. The American outlaw Jesse James used the 19th century Schofield Model 3 break-top revolver, and Tsarist Russia issued the very similar .44 Russian calibre
Smith & Wesson No. 3 RevolverThe Smith & Wesson model 3 was a single-action, cartridge-firing, top-break revolver produced by Smith & Wesson from 1870 to 1915, and again recently as a reproduction by Smith & Wesson themselves, Armi San Marco, and Uberti.It was produced in several variations and sub-variations, including both...
from 1870 until 1895.
Swing out cylinder
The last and most common method of loading and unloading is the
swing out cylinder. The cylinder is mounted on a pivot that is coaxial with the chambers, and the cylinder swings out and down (to the left in most cases, due to right-handed shooters being in the majority). An extractor is fitted, operated by a rod projecting from the front of the cylinder assembly. When pressed, it will push all fired rounds free simultaneously (as in top break models, the travel is designed to not completely extract longer, unfired rounds). The cylinder may then be loaded, singly or again with a speedloader, and closed, where it latches in place. The pivoting part that supports the cylinder is called the crane; it is the weak point of swing-out cylinder designs. Using the method often portrayed in movies and television of flipping the cylinder open and closed with a flick of the wrist will in fact cause the crane to bend, throwing the cylinder out of alignment with the barrel. Lack of alignment between chamber and barrel is a dangerous condition- impeding the bullet's transition from chamber to barrel. This gives rise to higher pressures in the chamber, bullet damage, and the potential for an explosion if the bullet becomes stuck. The shock of firing can also put a great deal of stress on the crane, as in most designs the cylinder is only held closed at one point, the rear of the cylinder. Stronger designs, such as the Ruger
RedhawkThe Ruger Redhawk is a double/single action large frame revolver that was first introduced in 1979 by Sturm, Ruger & Company. Made from high grade steel, it is available with either a blued or stainless steel finish. The Redhawk is reinforced to handle extra stress, making it very popular for use...
and
Super RedhawkThe Super Redhawk is a line of double action magnum revolvers made by Sturm, Ruger beginning in 1987, when Ruger started making weapons using larger, more powerful cartridges such as .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, and .480 Ruger.-The introduction:...
, and the original
Smith & WessonSmith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...
Triple LockThe Triple lock, officially the Smith and Wesson .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model 'New Century', is a double action revolver. It was and is considered by many, including handgun enthusiast and expert Elmer Keith, to be the finest revolver ever made....
, use a lock in the crane as well as the lock at the rear of the cylinder. This latch provides a more secure bond between cylinder and frame, and allows the use of larger, more powerful cartridges.