A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held in a notch underneath the barrel. [1]
Bullets that did not fit snugly in the barrel were often secured in place by a wad of paper or cloth, but either way, ramming was necessary to place the bullet securely at the rear of the barrel. Ramming was also needed to tamp the powder so that it would explode properly instead of fizzle (this was a leading cause of misfires). [1]
In some pistols from the 17th century, the ramrod is folded up in a small compartment at the end of the pommel. [2]
The ramrod could also be fitted with tools for various tasks such as cleaning the weapon, or retrieving a stuck bullet.[ citation needed ]
Cap and ball revolvers were loaded a bit like muzzleloaders—powder was poured into each chamber of the cylinder from the muzzle end, and a bullet was then squeezed in. Such handguns usually had a ramming mechanism built into the frame. The user pulled a lever underneath the barrel of the pistol, which pushed a rammer into the aligned chamber.[ citation needed ]
Caplock revolvers mostly had mechanical devices with ramrods mounted on the frame of the revolver, which rammed the ball into the chamber of the cylinder by pulling a lever that was connected to the ramrod in various ways (by hinge, screw or lever). These mechanisms are called rammers or loading-levers. The most popular rammers used in caplock revolvers were the Colt, Adams and Kerr systems.
Colt's rammer, patented by Samuel Colt about 1839, is a straight lever hinged under the barrel, with a triangular plate on its back end. The back corner of the triangle is hinged under the barrel, while the bottom corner is hinged to a short ramrod below and behind it. Pulling the lever down pushes the rod into the lowest chamber of the cylinder. This system was used on Colt revolvers from 1839 until 1873, when the Colt Peacemaker with metallic cartridges was introduced, as well as on Remington and Webley revolvers. [3] [4]
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Adams rammer, patented by Robert Adams in 1853, a straight or slightly downward-curving lever mounted on the left or right side of the frame with a screw at the front end and resting under the cylinder on the side of the stock when not in use. The lever pivots around a pin at the front end (on the frame of the revolver in front of and below the cylinder), and has a short ramrod in the middle, facing down in a fixed position. To use, the lever must be manually rotated down and forward for 270°, until the lever is in front of the cylinder and the rod enters one of the chambers, pressing the ball in. This mechanism was used on older Adams revolvers (on the left side of the revolver) and Webley Longspur revolvers (on the right side of the revolver). [5] [6]
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Kerr rammer, patented by James Kerr [7] in 1855, [5] a bent lever (bent downwards at a right or obtuse angle, with a short ramrod on the lower arm) which pivots about a pin on the front of the revolver frame in front of the cylinder and rests on the left side of the barrel when not in use. The lever must be turned up 90° to push the rod into the chamber. This mechanism was used in the Beaumont-Adams and Tranter revolvers, as well as the newer Adams and Webley Longspur revolvers. [8]
Naval artillery began as muzzle-loading cannon and these too required ramming. Large muzzle loading guns continued into the 1880s, using wooden staffs worked by several sailors as ramrods. [9] Manual ramming was replaced with hydraulic powered ramming with trials on HMS Thunderer from 1874. [10]
The dictionary definition of Ramrod at Wiktionary indicates the term is also a used to describe a trail or ranch foreman, particularly one on cattle drives. It is also used as a verb to describe spurring or forcing a thing, such as a piece of legislation, forward. Similar to v. “spearhead”.
A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters or sixguns. Due to their rotating cylinder mechanism, they may also be called wheel guns.
The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels in a revolving mechanism. Each barrel holds a single shot, and the shooter can manually rotate the whole barrel assembly to sequentially index each barrel into alignment with the lock or hammer, similar to rotation of a revolver's cylinder.
The Webley Revolver was, in various designations, a standard issue service revolver for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, from 1887 to 1970.
Webley & Scott is an arms manufacturer founded in Birmingham, England. Webley produced handguns and long guns from 1834 to 1979, when the company ceased to manufacture firearms and instead turned its attention to producing air pistols and air rifles. In 2010 Webley & Scott restarted the production of shotguns for commercial sale.
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), often called the .45 Long Colt, is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 19 years, before being replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892. Although there has never been a ".45 Short Colt" cartridge, the .45 Colt is frequently called the ".45 Long Colt" to better distinguish it from the shorter .45 Schofield cartridge, which was also in use around the time the .45 Colt was introduced.
The LeMat revolver was a .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball black powder revolver invented by Jean Alexandre LeMat of France, which featured an unusual secondary 16 to 20 gauge smooth-bore barrel capable of firing buckshot. It saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War of 1861–1865 and the Army of the Government of National Defense during the Franco-Prussian War.
The Type 26 or Model 26 "hammerless" revolver was the first modern revolver adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was developed at the Koishikawa Arsenal and is named for its year of adoption in the Japanese dating system. The revolver saw action in conflicts including the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and World War II.
The Enfield Revolver was a self-extracting British handgun designed and manufactured at the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, initially in the .476 calibre.
Charles-François Galand (1832–1900) was a French gunsmith who worked in Liège, Belgium, and Paris, France. He manufactured many revolvers for civilian and military use, including the Galand Revolver, the Tue Tue, and the tiny Le Novo. The Velo-dog, developed from the Tue Tue and the Novo, was designed by Charles-François' son René in 1904.
The Webley–Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver is a recoil-operated automatic revolver designed by Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC and produced by the Webley & Scott company from 1901 to 1924. The revolver is easily recognisable by the zig-zag grooves on the cylinder.
The Colt Army Model 1860 is a cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver used during the American Civil War made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces.
The Beaumont–Adams revolver is a black powder, double-action, percussion revolver. Originally adopted by the British Army in .442 calibre in 1856, it was replaced in British service in 1880 by the .476 calibre Enfield Mk I revolver.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
In firearms, the cylinder is the cylindrical, rotating part of a revolver containing multiple chambers, each of which is capable of holding a single cartridge. The cylinder rotates (revolves) around a central axis in the revolver's action to sequentially align each individual chamber with the barrel bore for repeated firing. Each time the gun is cocked, the cylinder indexes by one chamber. Serving the same function as a rotary magazine, the cylinder stores ammunitions within the revolver and allows it to fire multiple times before needing to reload.
The British Bull Dog was a popular type of solid-frame pocket revolver introduced by Philip Webley & Son of Birmingham, England, in 1872, and subsequently copied by gunmakers in continental Europe and the United States. It featured a 2.5-inch (64 mm) barrel and was chambered for .442 Webley or .450 Adams cartridges, with a five-round cylinder. Webley produced smaller scaled .320 Revolver and .380 calibre versions later, but did not mark them with the British Bull Dog name.
A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman.
The Model 1892 revolver is a French service revolver produced by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne as a replacement for the MAS 1873 revolver. It was the standard issue sidearm for officers in the French military during the First World War.
Adams revolver, also known as Deane-Adams revolver, is a black powder, double-action, percussion revolver. Introduced in 1851, it was the first revolver designed and produced in United Kingdom. It was heavily used by British officers during Crimean War (1853–1856) and Indian Mutiny of 1857. It was the precursor of more advanced Beaumont-Adams revolver, designed in 1856.
Webley Longspur is an early British percussion revolver, patented in 1853. The first revolver of the later famous British factory Webley&Son, it was an open frame, 5-shot, single action revolver. It was a solid and popular weapon at the time, although it faced heavy competition from already established, popular Colt's and Adams revolvers.
Remington-Beals Pocket Revolver was the first percussion revolver produced by Remington&Sons in 1857. Three successive models were produced in 1857–1860.
The dictionary definition of ramrod at Wiktionary