Allen & Wheelock Pocket Revolver
Allen & Wheelock · Pistol · Discontinued · 1857
Also known as: Allen & Wheelock Sidehammer Pocket Revolver, Allen & Wheelock Bar Hammer Pocket Revolver
Overview
The Allen & Wheelock Pocket Revolver is a single-action .31 caliber percussion cap-and-ball revolver produced in Worcester, Massachusetts in the late 1850s. Built on the smallest of the firm's frame sizes, it carries a five-shot engraved cylinder and a single rifled barrel, and was derived directly from Ethan Allen's earlier pepperbox patents — effectively a pepperbox fitted with a single barrel. Compact and concealable, it served the civilian market in the years leading into the American Civil War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 273 g (9.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 150 mm (5.91") |
| Barrel Length | 76 mm (2.99") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Percussion |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Revolving Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 198 m/s (650 fps) |
| Effective Range | 18 m (20 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .31 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) · primary — also known as .31 cal, .31 percussion, 7.9mm
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Percussion Cylinder
- Features: Engraved Cylinder, Single Barrel, Fixed Sights, Octagonal Barrel
Service history
Operators
- Civilian Market
Conflicts
- American Civil War (1861-1865)
Production
Estimated total produced: 1,000 · Production years: 1857-1861
Estimated at fewer than one thousand examples for the small pocket frame size; total across all frame sizes was modest.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Ethan Allen
Discontinued: 1861
Notes
Cylinders were decorated with scroll-engraved hunting scenes depicting game animals in forest settings. Early examples required removal of the barrel to access the cylinder pin, a feature corrected in later production with a removable pin.
Background
Ethan Allen of Allen & Wheelock built his reputation on the pepperbox, and these single-barrel pocket revolvers reused the cylinder-locking mechanism from his pepperbox patents, bridging the transition from multi-barrel pepperboxes to true revolvers.