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Old 12-22-2018, 10:02 PM
Vespers War Vespers War is offline
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This time I'm bringing in a rather divisive firearm that did see military service with extremely mixed results during the US Civil War. Some units loved it, some hated it, and in the end the guns were sold for pennies on the dollar. I'm speaking, of course, of Colt's Model of 1855, the Root Revolving Rifle.

The gun had multiple calibers, but in military service was chambered in .56 with a 5-round cylinder, fired by percussion cap. The one held by Springfield Armory Museum has a 78.9 cm barrel and is 125 cm in total length.

Soldiers were afraid of the effects of chain fire. However, I'm aware of no reports of this happening with the rifle in service, and when Joseph Bilby tried to induce a chain fire, he was only able to do so by using poorly-fitted caps - even covering the face of the cylinder with powder would not cause chain fire because the bullets were slightly over-sized and swaged down to fit the chamber bore when rammed. They were used to fine effect by the 37th Illinois at Prairie Grove. They would spit lead fragments from the cylinder gap when fired, so it was recommended to place the off-hand under the trigger guard rather than on the forestock.

Colt M1855 Revolving Rifle
Wt 4.17 kg, SAR, Mag 5i, Dam 2, Pen Nil, Bulk 8, SS 2, Rng 83

Note that this is not a metallic cartridge revolver, and it should reload 1 round per action because it requires loading 45 grains of powder and the bullet, ramming, and capping. Thus, the Mag is 5i rather than 5R to reflect the slower loading.
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