from an article i read in the Mail Uk

Could be some sort of belt clip. Holding the pistol at the ready on his belt.

That looks like a gallery photo. The gun may be a photo prop that is non-functional rather than the soldier's gun.

Why are they always holding guns in some of these really old old images?

Ive notice sometimes family photos they are all holding guns also.

Like this one, seems odd for this photo.

Looks to be a Colt 1849 Pocket with some imperfections in the film obscuring part of it.

As to the photos of arms, I've heard that a lot of the early studios would keep some around as props. The idea was to show you've made it, you're rich and here's proof. Mule, sod hut and a rifle! Later on you see men sort of pretending to be on safari or somesuch. But certainly sometimes it was the person's own firearm.

A lot of people heading out west had their photos taken with guns to show their family & friends back home they were well-prepared for danger.
In addition to what has been suggested by earlier posters.
Somewhere there is a picture of a young just-graduated-from-West Point George A. Custer holding a small .31 caliber Colt Roots revolver. I don't think Custer would ever have owned such a pea-shooter (and at that point couldn't have afforded one) and the gun is almost certainly a photographer's prop.
They added a little interest to the photo!
As to the barrel of the gun in the OP's photo I would guess it's a photographic imperfection or a piece of dust that got printed onto the photo and just coincidentally crosses the barrel to give that odd appearance.

I think its a bad studio prop.

The woman just wanted her son to sit still for the photo.

But get a load of THIS poser!!!

Teddy R. and an 1895?

He did not just pose with that rifle. He really liked it.

The Buffalo soldier might have had a revolver. Remember their issued arms were one shot and slow to reload. From a personal defense standpoint any revolver was a useful tool to have for backup. Hard to tell if functional from the quality of the photos.

In the Civil War there were a lot of rank and file soldiers that carried by the end. They would save up to get one or their folks back home would get one for them. Some picked them up here and there.

The revolver in the picture is a Colt 1849 Pocket Model. The barrel looks strange because of inperfections in the silver coating. Notice similar black spots in other parts of the tintype photograph.

Nice photos. With many old photos there is a problem with clarity. Processing methods were not what we expect today. Also, printing revealed a lack of knowledge, note the "left handed Colt revolver" in the women's hand. The printer did not reverse the image. A similar misprint of a photo caused Billy Bonney to seem left handed for years!

The photo of TR is a classic one of him and his 1876.

Right -- it's not an 1895 (not even his "big medicine") which I consider one of the most beautiful guns ever made.

Old Fuff said:

The revolver in the picture is a Colt 1849 Pocket Model. The barrel looks strange because of inperfections in the silver coating. Notice similar black spots in other parts of the tintype photograph.

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I couldn't disagree more -- that area of the photo is quite clear and distinct. The resolution is fine and there is clearly some odd stuff going on there. I suspect someone cobbled together a wood front end for the prop from a previously damaged parts gun...

What it looks like if the picture is clear is a 1851 Navy with a Colt's Dragoon barrel stuck on it. Or a 1849 Pocket with a 1851 Navy barrel stuck on it. Either way probably only a studio prop, "here, hold this, yea, just like that."

The position of the visible nipple recess tells me that it is a 5-shot revolver, meaning it is most likely a Model 1849 pocket revolver.

I couldn't disagree more -- that area of the photo is quite clear and distinct. The resolution is fine and there is clearly some odd stuff going on there. I suspect someone cobbled together a wood front end for the prop from a previously damaged parts gun...

Click to expand...

Trust me. I blew up that section to x400. the resolution was still good, and could see the problem was image damage and not the revolver itself.

And think about it for a second. This would have been mid 19th century, so there really weren't "prop guns" as we know the concept. Even on stage I'm pretty sure they just used real firearms with no bullets (or sometimes with bullets!).

It's actually something I've never seen a formal history of though. I wonder if someone out there has a collection of early prop guns. I know Hollywood tended to use surplus trapdoors to stand in for flintlocks. I suspect the concept of a prop gun only emerged once the insurance companies started cracking down on dead actors.

I enlarged the photo slightly and added some crude arrows pointing to the wedge (red arrow) and the rammer pivot (blue arrow). They are in the same places as the ones in the photo ivankerley posted. No doubt it is a '49 Pocket. Just the shadows playing tricks.

(Click to enlarge)

ive read that most of the westerns used originals, cheap and plentiful

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Yup, lots of priceless Colts went the way of all flesh in Monument Valley, that's for sure!

teddy"s rifle is an 1876 winchester