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Beaumont-Adams Revolver

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 14:16 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:42

The Beaumont-Adams revolver was a .442 calibre British revolver of the 18th century. The revolver was designed by Robert Adams and Lt. Beaumont and accepted by the British Army in the year 1956. It continued in service until the year 1880 when it was replaced by .476 calibre Enfield Mk1 revolver.

The Beaumont-Adams revolver was loaded through the muzzle and used a percussion cap. The initial variants of the revolver were in the .442 calibre. However, many of these revolvers were later converted to fire rimfire cartridges.

The Beaumont-Adams revolver was an improvement over the Adams revolver. The Adams revolver was the first successful double-action revolver that was widely employed by the British Army in a number of conflicts such as the Indian Mutiny, Crimean War and the Anglo-Zulu War. The Adams revolver was double-action only which was the reason why the British Army was sceptical about its accuracy and reliability in the field.

Lt. Beaumont made several improvements to the Adams revolver and was granted a patent in Britain. The same year, Lt. Beaumont was granted a patent in the United States as well. The improvements allowed the gun to be fired both in single-action by cocking the hammer and also in double-action by just pulling the trigger. The Beaumont-Adams revolver was in fact the first true double-action revolver to be ever designed.

The new improvised revolver was manufactured in several calibres and variants by Deane, Adams & Deane. The variants ranged from small pocket pistols to larger versions meant for the military. Officially, the British Army accepted the Beaumont-Adams .442 calibre revolver in 1856. In the later years, other European powers such as Holland and Russia also adopted the revolver.

The subsequent years saw an increased demand for the weapon. In order to meet the increased demand, Deane, Adams & Deane—the company manufacturing the revolver, gave gun-manufacturing companies in Liege and Birmingham to manufacture the revolver for them. Because of the increasing popularity of the revolver, Samuel Colt had to shutdown his manufacturing unit in London due to drop in sales.

In the United States, the Beaumont-Adams revolver was manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company. Approximately, 19,000 .36 calibre revolvers were manufactured. At the beginning of the American Civil War, the Union Army purchased about 1,750 of these revolvers.

The Beaumont-Adams revolver was popular with officers of the British Army because of its reliability and high stopping power. It was used in many colonial conflicts and many officers considered it to be superior to Colt revolvers of that era.

In popular culture too, the Beaumont-Adams revolver has a unique place. It is widely believed that James B. “Wild Bill” Hickok—the legendary gunfighter of the American Old West owned a Beaumont-Adams revolver. How far this is true, no one knows for sure but it indicates the popularity this weapon enjoyed during that era.