Colt revolving rifle The Colt revolving rifles were early repeating rifle s produced by the Colt ' s Manufacturing Company . They were mainly based upon the patent and mechanism of already existing Colt revolvers like the Colt Sidehammer or the Colt Dragoon . History . Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combining them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier for revolving pistols . Colt began experimenting with revolving rifles in the early 19th century , making them in a variety of calibers and barrel lengths . Colt revolving rifles were the first repeating rifles adopted by the U . S . Government , but they had their problems . They were officially given to soldiers because of their rate of fire . But after firing six shots , the shooter had to take an excessive amount of time to reload . Also , on occasion Colt rifles discharged all their rounds at once , endangering the shooter . Even so , an early model was used in the Seminole Wars in 1838 . Various models were made : the Colt Paterson in the 1830s . Total quantity produced c . 1838 – 41 was approximately 950 . In March , 1836 , Colt formed the Patent Arms Company and began operation in an unused silk mill along the banks of the Passaic River in Paterson , New Jersey . His first product was a ring - lever revolving rifle , available in . 34 , . 36 , . 38 , . 40 , and . 44 caliber , in which a ring located forward of the trigger served to cock the hammer and advance the cylinder for each shot . This was soon followed with a revolving pistol . These five - shot " Paterson " revolvers featured folding triggers , and were available both with and without loading levers in . 28 , . 31 , and . 36 caliber . Patent Arms also produced smoothbore revolving carbines and shotguns . The outbreak of war between the U . S . government and the Seminole tribe provided Colt with his first break . Seminole warriors had learned that soldiers were vulnerable while reloading their single - shot firearms , and they developed a tactic of drawing fire , then rushing the temporarily defenseless soldiers and wiping them out before they could fire a second volley . Colt ' s revolving rifles were quite effective against this , and the army purchased his products for use by troops in the Florida campaign . In 1855 , with his Model 1855 patent , Colt introduced a spur - trigger revolver that featured a fully enclosed cylinder . These handguns were officially named Sidehammer revolvers , but they also were known as " Root " revolvers after Elisha K . Root , who at that time was employed as Colt ' s factory superintendent and Chief Engineer . Based on the Sidehammer design , Colt produced the Sidehammer Model 1855 rifles and carbines for military and sporting use , as well as a revolving shotgun . In failing health , Colt expanded his factory on the eve of the Civil War , and began production of a new , lightweight . 44 caliber Army revolver , followed a year later by a . 36 caliber Navy version . Dragoon carbines – other than the Belgian copies and experimental carbines , there are not many known examples ; most likely they were only available as a special order . The most widely produced revolving rifle was the Model 1855 . An estimated total of only 4 , 435 were manufactured in the Hartford factory c . 1856 – 1864 . This was produced in a rifle version as well as a shortened carbine . In 1855 it became the first repeating rifle to be adopted for service by the U . S . Military , but problems with the design prevented its use until 1857 . The principal problem was that gunpowder would sometimes leak from the paper cartridge s in field conditions , lodging in various recesses around the firing cylinder . Hot gas leaking from the gap between the firing cylinder and the barrel would ignite this powder , which would in turn , ignite all of the powder in the chambers waiting to be fired . This is known as a " chain fire " and was a relatively common failure with early percussion revolving firearms . When this happened with the Colt Revolving Rifle , a spray of metal would be sent forward into the left arm and hand of the user . This fault resulted in an understandable distrust in the weapon . Commanders attempted to get around the problem in a number of ways . The rifle had to be properly and thoroughly cleaned , since sloppy cleaning would leave residue behind that would increase the risk of a chain fire . Some commanders instructed their men to fire the weapon only while supporting it directly in front of the trigger guard or by holding the lowered loading lever , which moved their left hand out of the path of danger during a chain fire . Other commanders instructed their men to load only a single chamber , preventing any chain fires from occurring . Loading a single chamber at a time also reduced the weapon to a single shot weapon , and effectively defeated the entire purpose of having a repeating rifle . Brevete Colt Dragoon revolving rifles were made in Belgium under licence from Colt during the 1850s to 1860s The 1873 Buntline was a special order ; they were among the first effective repeating rifles . Many manufacturers offered special - order carbine versions of their popular single action revolvers , despite the popularity of the new lever - action rifles . The Colt Buntline 1873 single action target revolver has become one of the icons of the Old West . Tradition has it that dime novelist Ned Buntline presented special - order 1873 Colt revolvers with extra - long barrels , target sights , and detachable wire shoulder stocks to a select group of Old West celebrities including Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson . Based on this story , the long - barreled Peacemakers came to be called Buntline Specials . Only 31 of the originals were ever produced , and only 18 of those are around today . Design and Features . The design of the Colt revolving rifle was essentially similar to revolver type pistols , with a rotating cylinder that held five or six rounds in a variety of calibers from . 36 to . 64 inches . The Model 1855 , which was the most widely produced revolving rifle , was available in . 36 , . 44 and . 56 caliber . Four barrel lengths were available : 15 , 18 , 21 and 24 inches . A six shot cylinder was used if the caliber was . 36 or the . 44 . If the caliber was . 56 , a five - shot cylinder was used . The revolving rifle used percussion caps , like revolving pistols of the time . A cartridge consisting of powder and a lead ball were loaded into the front of the chamber , and were then compressed with a plunger that was located beneath the barrel . Once the cylinder ' s chambers were loaded , percussion caps were placed over the vent nipples at the rear of the cylinder . The weapon was now ready to fire . In addition to being susceptible to chain fire problems , the revolving cylinder design also tended to spray lead splinters into the wrist and hand of the user . Revolving pistols did not suffer from this problem since the user kept both hands behind the cylinder while firing a pistol . Some models could be fitted with sword style bayonets . In these rifles , the front sight would double as the bayonet lug . Use . A combination of Colt revolving pistols and revolving rifles were used on the Pony Express by the eight men who guarded the dangerous run between Independence , Missouri , and Santa Fe . When doubts were expressed about the ability of these eight men to deliver the letters on this run reliably , the Missouri government declared that " these eight men are ready in case of attack to discharge 136 shots without having to reload . We have no fears for the safety of the mail . " All mail deliveries on this route were completed safely . The U . S . government had purchased 765 Colt revolving carbines and rifles prior to the Civil War . Many of these were shipped to southern locations and ended up being used by the Confederacy . After the war began , the Union purchased many more rifles and carbines . Sources disagree over the exact number purchased , but approximately 4 , 400 to 4 , 800 were purchased in total over the length of the war . The weapon performed superbly in combat , seeing action with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Union forces at Snodgrass Hill during the Battle of Chickamauga during the American Civil War . The volume of fire from this weapon proved to be so useful that the Confederate forces were convinced that they were attacking an entire division , not just a single regiment . Despite these victories , the rifle ' s faults would prove fatal for the weapon . A board of officers evaluated the evidence and decided to discontinue its use . The rifles were sold for 42 cents each , a fraction of the original purchase cost of 44 dollars . Use in film . In 3 : 10 to Yuma ( 2007 ) the Mexican sharpshooter Campos ( Rio Alexander ) carries a Colt Model 1855 fitted with a full length telescopic sight and converted to fire metallic cartridges . In the John Wayne movie " El Dorado " , actor Arthur Hunnicut ' s character , Bull Harris , carries a Model 1855 revolving carbine as his main weapon . In the movie the Legend of Zorro the cavalry captain character carries an early revolving rifle