During the years the author has been interested in studying fire-arms, and endeavoring to learn the greatest amount of accuracy it was possible to secure from them, his attention has frequently been attracted to the statements of individuals in relation to pistols and revolvers, which were mostly in the form of contributions to sportsmen’s journals, or in books chronicling the adventures of living heroes of the plains and backwoods,—many of the latter passing through the author’s hands for review and criticism. It was noticeable that brief matter in relation to pistols and revolvers, which was found in print, came from two classes,—one making the most absurd statements in relation to feats performed with these arms, which were entirely beyond the possibilities of both arms and ammunition, and which were immediately recognized as coming from parties who knew little or nothing about the subject. The statements which came from the other class—the contributors to sportsmen’s journals—were evidently from parties who had expected to perform the impossible feats, and, failing to do so, poured out their wrath in print, condemning the makers of the arms, and making libellous statements in reference to the arms, which at once indicated that it was lack of skill, rather than imperfections in the tools.

All skilled marksmen who have handled the modern American pistol and revolver must be aware that those of standard make are strong, well-made, safe, and accurate. It is believed that no attempt has ever been made to learn the possibilities of the various weapons, the greatest accuracy, range, and power, and record them for comparison in a single volume. Government tests have been made by the Ordnance Department, but its work has been almost wholly with revolvers suitable for military purposes. As there are a number of weapons which possess power, accuracy, and are in every way equal in effectiveness to those accepted by military authorities, it is apparent that the reports of government tests do not fully represent all of the weapons which would properly be classed as weapons of defence or suitable for military purposes.

Any attempt to record an historical account of the inventions and improvement in the American pistol and revolver would, doubtless, prove uninteresting to a majority of the readers of this work, and have but little practical value; we therefore refrain from any mention of priority of invention or description of the arms of early manufacture, and confine our descriptions of the pistol and revolver of to-day. Those in use at the present time, for extensive and elaborate experiments and investigations, have impressed the author with the fact that improvements have constantly been going on, and that the pistol and revolver of the present time are as much superior to those produced a quarter of a century ago as the modern rifle is superior to the ancient flint-lock musket. The world moves, mechanical skill improves, artistic knowledge of form and symmetry is each year combined with mechanical ingenuity, and at the present time the American pistol and revolver has reached a degree of perfection previously unknown; and it is our purpose to describe in this volume the modern pistol and revolver of American make, those manufactured in quantity known in trade, and procurable by any one desiring to secure a safe and reliable weapon. There are a few pistols made in this country by hand, but the number is so small that they are unknown to the trade; and, although great stories have occasionally reached us of the accuracy of these arms, we have never yet found one which would begin to compare with the accuracy of those constructed by manufacturers who have made the perfection of the arm a study of years. The standard single-shot pistols of American make at the present time are the Stevens, Remington, and Wesson. The revolvers, the Smith & Wesson, Colt’s, Merwin & Hulbert, and Remington. The country is flooded with revolvers of other make, some of them good enough for the purpose intended, for a very short-range weapon of defence, among them the products of the Marlin Arms Co., the American Arms Co., and Harrington & Richardson; but a majority of the revolvers to be found throughout the country are cheaply made, unreliable, inaccurate, and, above all, unsafe, and endanger the lives of those who attempt to use them, though they bear names high-sounding enough to captivate rustics and juvenile purchasers; and this has always seemed to the author to be the chief cause of so many condemning the modern revolver. All of the pistols and revolvers described in the following chapters have been carefully and thoroughly tested by expert marksmen, a careful comparison made, and the results given, unless specified, are not the finest results obtainable by the best experts; but the average results secured, and those it is believed to be within the reach of ordinary marksmen possessing an average amount of health and strength.