|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
September 9, 2012, 04:48 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 3, 2012
Location: 40 miles North of Wellington, NZ
Posts: 196
|
Cylinder Rotation Colt vs everything else.
Hi,
Probably a bit of a noob question, which I apologize for in advance. Are Colt revolvers the only ones that the cylinder rotates CW (from the shooters point of view)? Any advantages or disadvantages of either? Just curious. Cheers G |
September 9, 2012, 06:00 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,433
|
Actually, there are several revolvers which have cylinders that rotate clockwise. Both my Webley Mk. IV and H&R Model 999 Sportsman have cylinders that rotate clockwise. Also, most single action revolvers' cylinders rotate clockwise (including Rugers although their DA revolvers rotate counterclockwise) as does the new S&W Bodyguard .38.
|
September 9, 2012, 06:05 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 3, 2011
Location: Poteet, Texas
Posts: 959
|
I guess technically because Colt was first and rotates to the right, everyone else rotates wrong.
|
September 9, 2012, 06:10 PM | #4 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 12, 2006
Location: NKY
Posts: 12,463
|
Quote:
Clockwise for south of the equator and anti-clockwise for north of the equator. This is due to the Coriolis Effect... Ok, just kidding, there is no advantage or disadvantage to the direction of the cylinder rotation.
__________________
"He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson |
|
September 9, 2012, 06:21 PM | #5 |
Member In Memoriam
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
|
It is basically a designer's choice. When designing a revolver, there is little leeway about what parts are needed - a hand, a cylinder stop, a hammer, etc. When the designer figures out how to get all those in the way he wants, the direction the cylinder turns may well be dictated by how the other parts fit together. For example, if the only place he can put the hand is on the right, the cylinder will turn counter-clockwise, and vice versa.
Jim |
September 9, 2012, 06:21 PM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 3, 2012
Location: 40 miles North of Wellington, NZ
Posts: 196
|
Thanks guys,
I was under the misapprehension that it was probably just Colts. Many thanks Cheers G |
September 9, 2012, 06:27 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 4, 2001
Posts: 7,476
|
One advantage to Colt's clockwise rotation was always said that the rotating cylinder rotated into the frame and not outward from the frame.
This supposedly prevents more wear on the cylinder latching system and why Colt's could use only a rear latching design. |
September 9, 2012, 08:28 PM | #8 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 10, 2012
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Posts: 2,985
|
Quote:
Bob Wright |
|
September 9, 2012, 08:36 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 31, 2002
Location: Deep in the Heart of the Lone Star State (TX)
Posts: 2,169
|
IIRC, Charter Arms revolvers also rotate clockwise....but don't use a rear-latch design....
__________________
Proud member of Gun Culture 2.0...... |
September 9, 2012, 09:23 PM | #10 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,433
|
Originally posted by Bob Wright
Quote:
Originally posted by seeker_two Quote:
|
||
September 9, 2012, 09:37 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 7, 2009
Posts: 995
|
Everyone knows that the bullets go faster in revolvers with CW spinning cylinders. Who needs the facts when you have an opinion.
|
September 10, 2012, 04:33 PM | #12 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 10, 2012
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Posts: 2,985
|
Quote:
Bob Wright Last edited by Bob Wright; September 10, 2012 at 04:47 PM. |
|
September 10, 2012, 05:37 PM | #13 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,433
|
Quote:
Theoretically, the clockwise rotation of the Colt makes it less likely for the cylinder to come open unintentionally under recoil or fast double action shooting and thus it only needs one locking point while counterclockwise guns need two. However, early S&W hand ejectors lacked the forward locking point and I've never heard of their cylinders flopping open when they weren't supposed to, so it may be a non-issue in the real world. |
|
September 10, 2012, 06:25 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 10, 2012
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Posts: 2,985
|
With the Colt, the hand, or rotating pawl, sort of acts like a second lock.
But, again, cylinder rotation has nothing to do with the design of the cylinder latching mechanism. None, of course, have the security of the single action's base pin, or cylinder pin. Bob Wright |
September 11, 2012, 06:44 PM | #15 |
Member In Memoriam
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
|
I remember that the "cylinder pushed into the frame" story was a big point with Colt salesmen, but in fact that story was invented long after the guns were on the market, and AFAIK was never an intentional "feature", nor do I recall it being mentioned in the design patent. They also claimed that left hand rifling was superior because it was more accurate. And the Colt lockup was superior, of course. Never mentioned was that the Colt system could force the cylinder OUT of alignment!
The clockwise cylinder rotation was simply a carryover from the older Colt revolvers. The New Army and Navy was the exception for several reasons, so Colt did not always use a clockwise rotation. Jim |
September 11, 2012, 07:15 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 9, 2004
Posts: 5,172
|
Fascinating and thought-provoking discussion.
As an S&W guy, I have always accepted that revolvers turn "the right way"...because that is all I have ever known. As I learn more, I can now see that Colt built SA revolvers that turned "the other way" and when they started building DA revolvers, it was natural that they turned "the same way". I had never stopped to consider the implications of the direction of cylinder rotation as an advantage/disadvantage (when Colt used that direction in the SA revolver, the whole "turning in to" was a non-issue) ...Colt's later use of the "same direction" rotation was the natural way to go. Anyone remember how Chrysler/Mopar cars of the 60's used to use LH threads on the wheel lugs of the two LH wheels? It was supposed to prevent those wheel lugs from loosening...makes sense in theory, but in practice, it ended up with a bunch of frustrated customers (who could not remove a flat tire) and a number of broken studs (by people who persisted in trying to loosen the lug nuts by turning them the "wrong way" until they snapped off.) Similarly, the whole "rotating into the frame" sounds good, and may bear some additional thought, although 100+ years later, I cannot see that any advantage has been proven one way or another. |
September 11, 2012, 07:36 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 10, 2012
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Posts: 2,985
|
The whole issue of lockup in a revovler was overstated. The important thing is that the cylinder be as rigidly locked in position as possible at the time of firing, This means the hand (or pawl) locks the cylinder in conjunction with the cylinder locking bolt and holds the cylinder in perfect alignment with the barrel at the time of ignition.
Smith & Wesson placed a third lock in the crane area on their New Century .44 Special revolver. The British tested this prior to purchasing S&W revovlers during WW I and found it unnecessary in practical use and eliminated on their purchase contract. Subsequent S&W revolvers eliminated this as well. The lock at the yoke is beginning to pop up again, however. Bob Wright |
September 11, 2012, 09:13 PM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 3, 2012
Location: 40 miles North of Wellington, NZ
Posts: 196
|
Thanks for all the replies, appreciated.
Cheers G |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|