Six Guns

OK I’m a 1911 guy specifically, and a semi-auto guy in general, but I’m hardly anti-revolver. As a matter of fact I’m packing my S&W642 today, and I think ANYBODY who’s serious about carrying should have a small-frame lightweight revolver in their collection. They’re no fun to shoot, and they don’t hold a lot of rounds, or are particularly easy to reload given they’re revolvers, and given the short ejector under that short barrel. But you can load and unload them all day, and they’re light enough to drop in a purse, bag, or pocket at a moment’s notice in case one has to run some unexpected errands.

Still we got talking here about revolvers holding numbers other than 6 shots. I got thinking of various revolvers that hold more or less than six rounds. Obviously I lead with the J-frame, and many small-frame .38/.357 revolvers carry only 5 shots. There are a TON of modern revolvers that carry more than 6 shots like the S&W686+ that is optioned to hold 7, there’s the S&W627 that rocks an impressive 8, and countless 8,9,and 10 shot .22 Revolvers. But that’s modern day.

We all know the SAA and Colt Navy percussion revolver that are best known among several others in the early days of repeating handguns often held an even 6 shots. But even back then 6 wasn’t the standard. Take the LeMat Revolver this Percussion revolver had a 9-shot cylinder, plus a central shotgun barrel. In the metallic cartridge world there was the very first Smith and Wesson revolver made in 1857 held 7 shots. Even into the fledgling days of smokeless powder the Russian Nagant Revolver was a 7 shooter. The famous Webley Revolver was a 6-gun in .455, the updated auto-cocking Webley-Frosbery came with either a 6-shot .455 Cylinder, OR a .38 ACP 8-shot Wheel.

And of course guns in a smaller size would have that 6th Charge hole deleted to further shrink the gun like the S&W Safety Hammerless which gave way to their J-Frame and its imitators.

Of course there are guns that use cartridges so massive they also need to make do with 5 like the S&W X-frame revolvers, or the .480 Ruger Alaskan.

So in the end, while many popular revolvers came standard with 6 charge holes, the revolver was never cemented in that number.