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Parts Used in a Sam Colt Revolver

Observing a ship's capstan--a rotating device found on sailing ships during the 19th century--inspired Samuel Colt to revolutionize the handgun. The former sailor received a patent in 1836 on the first handgun to fire more than one bullet before reloading was required. Colt's revolver also became one of the first "modern" weapons in the sense that it had standardized parts, meaning that parts were interchangeable between revolvers and--more importantly--defective parts could be replaced.

The Cylinder
- The most innovative part of Sam Colt's revolver was the cylinder. The cylinder held 5 to 6 cartridges and would rotate between shots to line up the next cartridge for firing. These particular types of handguns--including those produced today--are called "revolvers," because of the cylinders.
The Frame
- The frame of the revolver consisted of one barrel, a butt-stock, the trigger and a hammer all built around the revolver's cylinder. The Colt revolver was the first multishot weapon with a singular barrel. Until then, weapons featuring more than one shot--such as double-barreled pistols--required individual barrels for each bullet loaded in the weapon.
The Firing Mechanism
- The firing mechanism of the Colt revolver consisted of the hammer and the trigger. The hammer served two roles: rotating the cylinder when the hammer was manually pulled back to the cocked position and firing the bullet when the falling hammer struck the bullet's primer. The trigger served the purpose of releasing the hammer when pulled. Early Colt revolvers are considered "single-action" because pulling the trigger produces only one action, that of the hammer being released.
Loading Lever
- The first Colt pistols were similar to single shot percussion pistols in that the cartridge had to be "put together" inside the weapon. To aid in this process, the Colt revolver had a loading lever located just beneath the barrel. This lever was used to press in the components of the bullet--such as the powder and the lead ball ammunition--into the individual holes in the revolver's cylinder.

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