The Colt Detective Special is a double-action revolver that was designed to be used by plainclothes detectives. Introduced in the year 1927, it was the first concealable revolver capable of firing the high power .38 Special cartridges. It was very popular with law enforcement agencies during the 1930s and 40s.The design of the Detective Special was based on the earlier Colt Police Positive Special. Several versions of the Detective Special were designed. The first series of the revolver was manufactured from 1927 to 1946. The second series was introduced in 1847 and ran till 1972. The third series was introduced in 1973 and ran till 1986. Apart from minor variations, all these versions are nearly identical.

Colt’s Manufacturing Company filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and thus production was stopped for sometime. However, production was restarted in 1993 and this series is considered by many to be the fourth series. The new version had some differences such as a composite grip.The Colt Detective Special was discontinued in 1995 and a replacement—the stainless-steel SF-VI (also designated as DS-II) was introduced. Today, the first and second series Colt Detective Special revolvers are highly sought by gun-collectors and enthusiasts.

The Ruger Security Six is a double-action revolver designed in 1971 and manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company. The Security Six was designed for use by law enforcement agencies and military. It was also marketed as a civilian self-defence weapon.The Security Six was Sturm, Ruger & Company’s first double action revolver. Its earlier designs were all single action revolvers similar to the Colt Peacemaker. The Security Six was manufacturing by using the investment casting technique which made the gun relatively less expensive to manufacture.

The Security Six enjoyed considerable popularity because of its robust construction and competitive pricing. It was also used by various law enforcement agencies and was also the standard issue revolver of a number of police departments. A large number of these revolvers were also exported to other countries.

The Security Six was the basis of two other variants:>> Service Six: The Service Six was a variant of the Security Six that was intended for use by law enforcement agencies. It was chambered for .357 Magnum rounds. However, some versions were also designed to use .38 Special and 9mm Luger rounds.>> Speed Six: The Speed Six was a variant with more compact round-butt grip. It was chambered for the .38 Smith & Wesson and came in 2.75, 4 or 6 inch barrels. It was exported to many countries such as India.

The Colt Python is a premium American revolver that fires the .357 Magnum round. The revolver is manufactured by Colt’s Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. It is often considered as Colt’s finest designs along with the Colt Peacemaker. The Colt Python is chambered for the .357 Magnum round and uses the double action mechanism. It is very accurate and also has a smooth trigger-pull action.

The Python was introduced in 1955. Initially, it was intended to use the .38 Special cartridge. For this reason, it has a very robust design and extra metal. The Colt Python was the first mass-produced revolver to employ lasers during the manufacturing process.Though the Colt Python is very reliable, on the minus side, it has a tendency to go out of time after prolonged use. When this happens, the gun needs to be repaired and the lock retimed for normal functioning. The Python was discontinued in 1999 due to drop of sales and increasing manufacturing costs. However, limited numbers were produced on special order until 2005 after which production was completely stopped.

There were several models and variants of the Colt Python. The Python came in two colours: Bright Nickel and Royal Blue. Later a stainless steel version was also introduced. In addition, the gun was also available in several barrel lengths. Some of the variants of the Colt Python are:>> Python Silhouette: The Python Silhouette came with an 8 inch barrel and a Leupold scope. It was introduced in the year 1981 and came in two finishes: blue and Nickel.>> Colt Boa: This variant was introduced in 1985 and was manufactured by the Lew Horton Distributing Company. Only limited numbers of the Colt Boa were manufactured.>> Colt Grizzly: The Colt Grizzly was introduced in 1994 and had a sooth unfluted barrel. Only limited numbers of the Colt Grizzly were manufactured.

The Model 29 is a .44 double-action revolver designed and manufactured by Smith & Wesson. It is designed for the .44 Magnum round and is very powerful. It is also very famous in popular culture and is often portrayed in movies and television series.

The Model 29 was introduced for the first time in the year 1955. It was the most powerful handgun at the tome of its introduction—a fact made popular by the movies “Dirty Harry” and “Taxi Driver”. After the movies, public demand for the Model 29 increased manifold and Smith & Wesson couldn’t keep up with it.The Model 29’s tremendous power came from its .44 Magnum cartridge. This cartridge was based the .44 Special cartridge and for this reason, the Model 29 can also be loaded and used with the latter.

The Model 29 has been discontinued by Smith & Wesson in the late 1990s when many older models were also discontinued. However, some versions and variants of the Model 29 continue to be manufactured till date.

Several variants of the Model 29 have also been designed over the years. Some of these include:>> Model 629: The Model 629 is a stainless steel version of the Model 29. It was introduced in 1978. Its name is derived from Smith & Wesson’s convention to append ‘6’ to stainless steel versions of their other models. >> Quiet Special Purpose Revolver (QSPR): This variant was manufactured by AAI Corporation and featured a new shorter smoothbore barrel. The cylinders were modified to accept QSPR ammunition.>> Mountain Gun: The Mountain Gun was a lightweight version of the Model 29 that was introduced in 1989.

The Webley Revolver was a standard issue revolver used by the British Army from 1887 to 1963. Different versions of the revolver were manufactured and were employed in numerous conflicts most notable of which include the First and Second World War, the Korean War and various British colonial wars. The revolver was also known by other names such as “Break-Top Revolver” and “Self-Extracting Revolver”.The Webley Revolver is a top-break revolver. When the revolver is opened to reload, the spent cartridges are automatically expelled from the cylinder by the extractor. The Webley revolver fired the .455 Webley cartridge and was very powerful in terms of stopping power.

The Webley revolver was manufactured by Webley & Scott. The company was known for its reliable revolver models and had produced many revolvers for military use. In 1887, the British Army decided to replace its Enfield Mk1 and Mk2 revolvers with a model that was more reliable. Subsequently, the Webley revolver was considered and after trials entered service in 1887. The initial contract was made for 10,000 revolvers with 2,000 units to be shipped in the first eight months.

Several variants of the Webley revolver were designed. These include:>> Mk I: This was the first version. It was adopted for service in 1887. >> Mk II: This version was adopted in 1895. It was very similar to Mk I but had a modified hammer and grip shape. It also had a blast-shield made of hardened steel.>> Mk III: The MK III had an improvised cylinder cam but was similar to Mk III. Though it was adopted in 1897, it was never issued to the army.>> Mk IV: The MK IV was made using hardened steel and featured several modifications. It also had a redesigned blast-shield. It was adopted in use in 1899. The Mk IV is often known as the “Boer War” Model.>> Mk V: This version was very much similar to the Mk IV, but had wider cylinders to accommodate nitrocellulose cartridges. It was adopted in 1913. Later models manufactured in 1915 had longer barrels.>> Mk VI: The Mk VI was very similar to the Mk VI but has a redesigned grip and a longer barrel. It was officially adopted in 1915.The Webley revolver was used very extensively until the recent years. A number of police departments such as the Royal Hong Kong Police and Royal Singaporean Police used Webley revolvers. However, they have large been replaced by newer models. The version of the Webley Mk IV revolver is still being manufactured in India by the Ordnance Factory Board of India. In popular culture, the Webley revolver is often seen as a weapon of the British colonial era. Many movies and television shows use the Webley when depicting British colonial forces.

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.

The LeMat Revolver was an American Civil War-era revolver that was designed by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat. It came in two calibre variants: .42 and .36 and saw service with the forces of the Confederate States during the Civil War. The LeMat revolver also featured a secondary barrel under the main barrel that could fire buckshot loaded using a single shotgun cartridge. Around 5000 LeMat Revolvers were manufactured in total.

The LeMat was a nine-shot revolver and was capable of firing nine rounds per minute. The revolver was manufacture in between the years 19856-65. Initially, it was manufactured by a firm in Philadelphia. However the later models were manufactured in France. Due to quality concerns, manufacturing at the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) were also considered. However, the idea was later dropped.The original design was not accurate enough in the field. However, when fired from close range, it was capable of punching very high power. Soldiers, especially in the Southern States, always carried more than one revolver as it is faster to draw a loaded weapon than to load it.

The LeMat was never a popular weapon though it was capable of providing extra firepower from its secondary barrel. The main reason behind this was that the revolver was on the overall a poor quality weapon. Today, several manufacturers make replicas of the LeMat. For instance, The Pietta Company, Italy has been making replicas of the LeMat since 1985. The LeMat is also a popular weapon in popular culture. It is featured in various television shows and movies.

The Remington Model 1858 was a .44 calibre revolver designed and manufactured by the Remington Arms Company. It was used during the American Civil War, mainly by the soldiers of the Union. Approximately 132,000 Model 1858 revolvers were manufactured from 1862 to 1875. Many soldiers would prefer the Model 1858 over the Colt Army Model 1860 because of its durability and faster loading.

The Remington Model 1858 was a single action, six-shot revolver. The design for the revolver is covered under Patent 21,748 which was issued on September 14, 1858 to Fordyce Beals. The revolver has a large frame and an 8-inch long barrel. Three different variants of the Model 1858 were manufactured, namely: Army & Navy, “Old Model” Army & Navy, and “New Model” Army & Navy. These three models are almost identical except for some subtle differences in hammers and loading levels.When the American Civil War began, most revolvers made use of paper cartridges. These cartridges were made from paper treated with oxidizers and contained both the bullet and the charge. When fired, the paper would get completely burnt. The main advantage with paper cartridges was that it made loading the revolver much faster and easier.

When optimally loaded, Remington revolvers were very accurate and packed considerable firepower. Paper cartridges produced muzzle velocities ranging from 700 to 900 feet per second and were accurate for 70 yards or more. The revolvers could also be fired for a long time before any maintenance and cleaning was needed.The Remington has an innovative feature: the strap over the cylinder. This strap added additional strength to the weapon and continues in the design of many of the modern heavy-frame revolvers.

Even today, variants and replicas of the Remington Model 1858 continue to be manufactured and used. Notable companies that manufacture replicas include Uberti, Euroarms and Pietta. Replicas manufactured by Uberti and Euroarms are almost identical to the original Remington Model 1858 with interchange of parts possible. More number of replicas have been produces than the original revolver—a fact which demonstrates the popularity of the weapon even in modern times.