[DL] Re: Speed Load Cylinders

[Michael Robert Blair <pellinoire@yahoo.com>]

Speed Loaders in the modern sense of things to put
cartridges into a revolvers cylinder are I believe a
20th century invention. They were first used with the
Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. It was a very
accurate revolver that self cocked by recoil - hence
the automatic revolver designation. Some were carried
in the Great War where they proved not to be very
reliable. They were made in .455 Webley and .38 (of
some sort).

You need a revolver that allows you access to the
cylinders - either a swing-out cylinder like most
modern guns or a breaking type like the S & W
Schofield or the Webleys.

With Cap & Ball revolvers reloading was slow so some
models allowed you to change cylinders easily. This
feature carried forwards into cartridge conversions of
these models.

I don't know if any fixed cartridge revolvers were
made with this feature.

Michael

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com