Patent ID: 7194834

Claim:
An operating mechanism for a firearm, the firearm having a receiver, a cartridge-containing cylinder disposed at least partially within the receiver so as to be rotatable about an axis, and a hammer movably connected with the receiver so as to be displaceable between a cocked position and a firing pin strike position, the operating mechanism comprising: a slide movably coupled with the firearm so as to be disposed entirely externally of the cylinder and linearly displaceable between a front position and a rear position, the slide being configured to displace the hammer to the cocked position; and a rotator movably coupled with the slide and configured to releasably engage with and rotatably displace the cylinder about the axis when the slide displaces toward the front position and to alternatively disengage from the cylinder when the slide displaces toward the rear position, the rotator being spaced from the cylinder when the slide is disposed at the rear position.