Editing Revolver (section)

== Loading and unloading ==

=== Front-loading cylinder ===
The first revolvers were ''front loading'' (also referred to as [[Muzzleloader|muzzleloading]]), and were similar to [[musket]]s in that the powder and bullet were loaded separately. These were caplocks or "cap and ball" revolvers, because the caplock method of priming was the first to be compact enough to make a practical revolver feasible. When loading, each chamber in the cylinder was rotated out of line with the barrel, and charged from the front with loose powder and an oversized bullet. Next, the chamber was aligned using the ramming lever underneath the barrel. Pulling the lever would drive a [[rammer]] into the chamber, pushing the ball securely in place. Finally, the user would place percussion caps on the nipples on the rear face of the cylinder.<ref name="Fadala2003" />

After each shot, a user was advised to raise the revolver vertically while cocking back the hammer so as to allow the fragments of the spent percussion cap to fall out safely. Otherwise, the fragments could fall into the revolver's mechanism and jam it. Caplock revolvers were vulnerable to "chain fires", wherein hot gas from a shot ignited the powder in the other chambers. This could be prevented by sealing the chambers with cotton, wax, or grease. Chain fire led to the shots hitting the shooters hand, which is one of the main reasons why revolver rifles were uncommon. By the time metallic cartridges became common, more effective mechanisms for a repeating rifle, such as [[lever-action]], had been developed.<ref name="Chicoine2005">{{cite book|last=Chicoine|first=David|title=Guns of the New West: A Close Up Look at Modern Replica Firearms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNuEWcNOjjgC&pg=PA236|year=2005|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=0-87349-768-6|page=236}}</ref>

Loading a cylinder in this manner was a slow and awkward process and generally could not be done in the midst of battle.<ref name="Chun2013">{{cite book|last=Chun|first=Clayton|title=US Army in the Plains Indian Wars 1865-1891|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bD9r6PdqdMUC&pg=PA70|year=2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0036-7|page=70}}</ref> Some soldiers avoided this by carrying multiple revolvers in the field. Another solution was to use a revolver with a detachable cylinder design. These revolvers allowed the shooter to quickly remove a cylinder and replace it with a full one.<ref name="forensic" />
{{Gallery
| File:Coltnavy.jpg | Colt 1851 Navy with [[powder flask]]
| File:Loadseq.jpg | Front reloading a cap and ball pistol
| File:New model Army IMG 3544.jpg | [[Remington Model 1858]] 
}}

=== Fixed cylinder designs ===
[[File:Nagant-holstered.jpg|thumb|upright|A fixed-cylinder [[Nagant M1895]] with gate open for loading]]

In many of the first generation of cartridge revolvers (especially those that were converted after manufacture), the base pin on which the cylinder revolved was removed, and the cylinder taken out from the revolver for loading. Most revolvers using this method of loading are single-action revolvers, although Iver Johnson produced double-action models with removable cylinders. The removable-cylinder design is employed in some modern "micro-revolvers" (usually chambered in .22 rimfire and small enough to fit in the palm of the hand) to simplify their design.<ref name="Ahern2010" />

Later single-action revolver models with a fixed cylinder used a loading gate at the rear of the cylinder that allowed insertion of one cartridge at a time for loading, while a rod under the barrel could be pressed rearward to eject a fired case.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramage |first1=Ken |last2=Sigler |first2=Derrek |title=Guns Illustrated 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pSA2xVGZVYC&pg=PA133 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708224454/http://books.google.com/books?id=0pSA2xVGZVYC&pg=PA133 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |date=2008 |publisher=F+W Media |location=Iola, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-89689-673-4 |page=133 }}</ref>

The loading gate on the original Colt designs (and on nearly all single-action revolvers since, such as the famous Colt Single Action Army) is on the right side, which was done to facilitate loading while on horseback; with the revolver held in the left hand with the reins of the horse, the cartridges can be ejected and loaded with the right hand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gunweek.com/2000/lefties.html |title=Tips for Lefties Shooting in a Right-Handed World |access-date=2007-11-13 |first=R.K. |last=Campbell |website=GunWeek.com |archive-date=2007-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916000826/http://www.gunweek.com/2000/lefties.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because the cylinders in these types of revolvers are firmly attached at the front and rear of the frame, and the frame is typically full thickness all the way around, fixed cylinder revolvers are inherently strong designs. Accordingly, many modern large caliber hunting revolvers tend to be based on the fixed cylinder design. Fixed cylinder revolvers can fire the strongest and most powerful cartridges, but at the price of being the slowest to load or unload since they cannot use [[speedloader]]s or [[moon clip]]s to load multiple cartridges at once, as only one chamber is exposed at a time to the loading gate.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Radielovic|first1=Marko|last2=Prasac|first2=Max|title=Big-Bore Revolvers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V89WYyn1GeEC&pg=PA17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708223546/http://books.google.com/books?id=V89WYyn1GeEC&pg=PA17|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2014|year=2012|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-2856-8|page=17}}</ref>

=== Top-break cylinder ===
[[File:IOF-32-REV-4.JPG|upright|thumb|An [[IOF .32 Revolver|IOF .32]] top-break revolver]]

In a [[top-break]] revolver, the frame is hinged at the bottom front of the cylinder. Releasing the lock and pushing the barrel down exposes the rear face of the cylinder. In most top-break revolvers, this act also operates an [[Extractor (firearms)|extractor]] that pushes the cartridges in the chambers back far enough that they will fall free, or can be removed easily.  Fresh rounds are then inserted into the cylinder. The barrel and cylinder are then rotated back and locked in place, and the revolver is ready to fire.<ref name="forensic" />

Top-break revolvers are able to be loaded more rapidly than fixed frame revolvers, especially with the aid of a speedloader or moon clip. However, this design is much weaker and cannot handle high pressure rounds. While this design has become mostly obsolete, supplanted by the stronger yet equally convenient swing-out cylinder design, manufacturers  still make reproductions of late 19th century designs for use in [[cowboy action shooting]].<ref name="forensic" />

The first top-break revolver was patented in France and Britain at the end of December in 1858 by Devisme.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw85Thx5dEkC&q=Brooman+1858+2990+Devisme&pg=RA20-PP3|title=English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1858, 2958 - 3007|year=1859|access-date=2020-10-17|archive-date=2023-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422232157/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw85Thx5dEkC&q=Brooman+1858+2990+Devisme&pg=RA20-PP3|url-status=live}}</ref> The most commonly found top-break revolvers were manufactured by Smith & Wesson, Webley & Scott, Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Manhattan Fire Arms, [[Meriden Arms]], and [[Forehand & Wadsworth]].<ref name="Taffin2005">{{cite book|last=Taffin|first=John|author-link=John Taffin|editor=Kevin Michalowski|title=The Gun Digest Book of Cowboy Action Shooting: Guns Gear Tactics|url=https://archive.org/details/Cowboy_Action_Shooting_The_Gun_Digest_Book_of|year=2005|publisher=Gun Digest Books|isbn=0-89689-140-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Cowboy_Action_Shooting_The_Gun_Digest_Book_of/page/n178 173]–175}}</ref>

=== Tip-up cylinder ===
[[File:Mod1open.jpg|thumb|Smith & Wesson Model 1 Third Issue open]]

The tip-up revolver was the first design to be used with metallic cartridges in the [[Smith & Wesson Model 1]], on which the barrel pivoted upwards, hinged on the forward end of the topstrap. On the S&W tip-up revolvers, the barrel release catch is located on both sides of the frame in front of the trigger. Smith & Wesson discontinued it in the third series of the [[Smith & Wesson Model 1 1/2]] but it was fairly widely used in Europe in the 19th century after a patent by Spirlet in 1870, which also included an ejector star.<ref name="Hogg1978">{{cite book|author=Ian V. Hogg|title=The complete illustrated encyclopedia of the world's firearms|year=1978|publisher=A & W Publishers|isbn=978-0-89479-031-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/completeillustra00ianv/page/287 287]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/completeillustra00ianv/page/287}}</ref>

=== Swing-out cylinder ===
[[File:Taurus 627-KLM 357MAG 009.jpg|right|thumb|A swing-out cylinder revolver]]

The most modern method of loading and unloading a revolver is by means of the ''swing-out cylinder''.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.havegunwilltraincolorado.com/revolver-loading-unloading/|title = Revolver Loading and Unloading|last = Rick|first = Sindeband|date = 2014-11-30|access-date = 2014-11-30|archive-date = 2014-12-05|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141205003928/http://www.havegunwilltraincolorado.com/revolver-loading-unloading/|url-status = live}}</ref> The first swing-out cylinder revolver was patented in France and Britain at the end of December in 1858 by Devisme.<ref name="auto" /> The cylinder is mounted on a pivot that is parallel to the chambers, and the cylinder swings out and down (to the left in most cases). An extractor is fitted, operated by a rod projecting from the front of the cylinder assembly. When pressed, it will push all fired rounds free simultaneously (as in top-break models, the travel is designed to not completely extract longer, unfired rounds). The cylinder may then be loaded (individually or with the use of a speedloader), closed, and latched in place.<ref name="forensic" />

The pivoting part that supports the cylinder is called the crane; it is the weak point of swing-out cylinder designs. Using the method often portrayed in movies and television of flipping the cylinder open and closed with a flick of the wrist can actually cause the crane to bend over time, throwing the cylinder out of alignment with the barrel. Lack of alignment between chamber and barrel is dangerous, as it can impede the bullet's transition from chamber to barrel. This causes higher pressures in the chamber, bullet damage, and the potential for an explosion if the bullet becomes stuck.<ref name="Sweeney2009">{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Patrick|author-link=Patrick Sweeney (gunsmith)|title=Gunsmithing - Pistols and Revolvers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDAwpKEietkC&pg=PA49|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708220621/http://books.google.com/books?id=MDAwpKEietkC&pg=PA49|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2014|year=2009|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-0389-3|pages=49–50}}</ref>

The shock of firing can exert a great deal of stress on the crane, as in most designs the cylinder is only held closed at one point, the rear of the cylinder. Stronger designs, such as the [[Ruger Super Redhawk]], use a lock in the crane as well as the lock at the rear of the cylinder. This latch provides a more secure bond between cylinder and frame, and allows the use of larger, more powerful cartridges. Swing-out cylinders are not as strong as fixed cylinders, and great care must be taken with the cylinder when loading, so as not to damage the crane.<ref name="Sweeney2009" />

=== Other designs ===
[[File:MH Open Action - Copy.jpg|thumb|left|Merwin Hulbert revolvers with their barrels and cylinders pulled out and rotated open]]

One unique design was designed by [[Merwin Hulbert]] in which the barrel and cylinder assembly were rotated 90° and pulled forward to eject shells from the cylinder.