Guns of the Week: German Firearms

Guns of the Week: November 10 – 14, 2014
German Firearms

Unloading the Myth – The Designer Bag of 19th Century Military

By the late nineteenth century, America and England had begun to adopt revolvers as a staple to the military, but some European Armies followed a little slower. They retained the philosophy that personal side arms were more a symbol of rank for the military, so they were not quick to adopt a standard pistol. In horribly simpler terms, the pistol was to the military in the nineteenth century as a designer bag is to a female celebrity today. It denoted status.

But as popularity grows, it becomes engrained into the status quo. The German Model 1879 Revolver was just that. In 10.6mm scharfe Revolver-Patrone caliber, this revolver was the first standard, cartridge-firing handgun adopted by the German military. It was a single action, six-shot revolver that had a separate rod for ejecting spent cartridges.

Unloading the Myth – Cross Pollination

The Cody Firearms Museum is a fantastic repository for American firearms, but we also have an international collection. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to identify firearms with limited markings and in different languages. This gun is a German Revolving Rifle in .58 caliber made between 1850 and 1860.

It is an interesting firearm since it is similar in appearance, but not exactly, to a Colt Revolving Rifle first patented in 1836. European manufacturers were on the forefront of other types of firearms invention, but it is interesting to see how different countries are influenced by one another.

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