colt cylinder rotation

[Revolver Ocelot]

I was just wondering why it rotates clockwise as apposed to counter clockwise?

I saw this on a colt lawman, I assume that its the case with all colt double actions but if I am wrong please correct me.

I was just curious what the reasoning is behind the difference in the design in comparison to other revolvers of different makes (if there is one)

 

[HammerBite]

A Colt DA has the sideplate on the left side, so when you put all the parts in the hand ends up on the left side of the trigger and rotates the cylinder clockwise.

S&W has the sideplate on the right, so the hand ends up on the right side of the trigger.

 

[TheVirginian]

It depends upon which end you are facing. The business end might make me crap my pants before noticing which way it was rotating.

I could have sworn that my Cobra had a counter-clockwise rotation... It's been a "safe queen" for quite a while now though. I just checked out of curiosity and it is indeed clockwise. You learn something new every day.
-Bill

 

[Jim K]

Not all Colt DAs rotate clockwise. The New Army and Navy (the military called it the Model 1892) cylinder rotates counter-clockwise, and most of the old S&W cylinders rotated clockwise.

Colt always claimed that having the hand on the left resulted in the hand pushing the cylinder "into" the frame for a more solid lockup, while S&W's hand pushed the cylinder outwards. Pure salesman's BS, of course.

The fact is that a designer works out the mechanism as he wants it, probably without giving a thought to the direction of cylinder rotation.

Jim

 

[9mmepiphany]

or...they do it just to be different from S&W

different rifling, different cylinder latching, different firing pin...you get the idea

 

[fws]

Colt always claimed that having the hand on the left resulted in the hand pushing the cylinder "into" the frame for a more solid lockup, while S&W's hand pushed the cylinder outwards. Pure salesman's BS, of course.

Not all salesman bs, actually. The Colt cylinder 'only' locks up in the rear while the S&W cylinder locks up both ends. A while ago I handled a completely shot loose Colt King Cobra. A slight push on the right side of the cylinder caused the extractor to move out of its seat quite a bit. This extreme case exemplifies the need to rotate the Colt cylinder to the right.

FWS

 

[Virginian]

A Ruger locks up at the front. I am afraid I don't consider the little spring loaded ball detents much of a "lock" up.
Probably the main reason most Colts rotated right, as opposed to wrong, is that that is how the Colt Paterson up thru the SAA rotated, and they basically put the word revolver in the language.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I remember the cylincer swung out on the right as it was designed by a left handed shooter and it just worked well for him with it operating that way (or so my understanding of it is) I thought it may have some root with that being it is also a colt but I'm am interested to find that they are designed in such a way, thanks for the info

 

[pmeisel]

a completely shot loose Colt King Cobra.

That must have taken some doing.

 

[dfariswheel]

or...they do it just to be different from S&W

Actually, it's the other way around.
Colt INVENTED the double action, swing-out cylinder revolver in 1889 with the Colt New Navy Model. S&W didn't introduce a swing-out cylinder model until 1896.
While the early Colt's had counterclockwise rotating cylinders, they changed to clockwise rotation in 1908.
At the time, many people thought that S&W did everything the reverse of Colt to avoid patents and a "me too" design.
Colt's cylinder release is pulled back, S&W's is pushed, etc.

 

[Stainz]

S&W invented the metallic centerfire cartridge, the .44 American, in 1869 - the first mass produced cartridge and gun - .44 Russian - in 1871. They would build more of those in the first ten years than Colt could muster of the Peacemaker until the twentieth century. The S&Ws unloaded/reloaded much faster, too, making initial demand for early DAs slow, to say the least. Their late 1890's intro of the .38 S&W Special - the original 'M&P' - and subsequent 'Hand Ejectors' - set the standard for the industry. To see their international competition 'of the day', pick up the best of the Belgian brothers Nagant - a Russian 1895 Nagant - and compare it with that M&P (Now the Model 10!).

Sam Colt was a leftie - may have been somewhay resposible for their backward rotation and odd gate loading of the Peacemaker. Skip to today... just who still makes DA revolvers?

Stainz

 

[JohnBT]

Quality costs a lot and isn't always profitable. Duesenberg and Packard are out of business, but I'd still rather have one of them than a Ford.

 

[Jim Watson]

Sam Colt died in 1862; I doubt he had much influence on the design of the 1873.

I think the question is, why did Colt reverse the cylinder rotation from their usual practice when they came out with the New Army?

 

[dagger dog]

Even in the late 1800's there were such things as number crunchers.

If you could go through the old records in the Colt factory, you would probably find a note that production cost coud be cut by have the cylinder rotate in that direction!

 

[Guillermo]

Because clockwise is the proper direction for a cylinder to rotate.

 

[Stainz]

I haven't seen an Edsel or Studebaker in a while...

For that matter, I haven't seen a Yugo, either

Colt died in 1862? I never knew Colt didn't get to see his 'Peacemaker' win the west! That makes that old saying; "God created man, Sam Colt made him equal." rather meaningless as a Peacemaker's slogan.

I'll stick with S&Ws.

Stainz

 

[GP100man]

Sam Colt was left handed & the plate being on the left side was a natural thing , being left handed & all .

-------- it sounds good anyways LOL!

GP100man

 

[9mmepiphany]

That makes that old saying; "God created man, Sam Colt made him equal." rather meaningless as a Peacemaker's slogan.

i believe it was Jeff Cooper who opined the the correct phrase should have been "SKS made him equal"...of course this was when you could get a SKS for about $100

 

[Jim K]

FWS, that gun must have really be "roont". I can't imagine a gun that loose and I don't think the cylinder rotation would have helped it much.

GP100, Sam was long gone when Colt first made a sideplate revolver, and the first Colt DA with a sideplate had it on the right!

Jim