Hopkins & Allen Czar
Hopkins & Allen · Revolver · Discontinued · 1878
Also known as: H&A Czar, Czar Spur Trigger Revolver
Overview
The Hopkins & Allen Czar is an American solid-frame, spur-trigger single-action revolver of the late 19th century, one of the many inexpensive 'suicide special' pocket revolvers produced in Norwich, Connecticut. Marked CZAR on the frame, it was sold from 1878 at a price of roughly $1.75 with a 3-1/2 inch octagonal barrel, a fluted cylinder and checkered hard-rubber grips, chambered most often for low-power .22 and .32 rimfire cartridges as a concealable self-defense arm.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 270 g (9.5 oz) |
| Overall Length | 190 mm (7.48") |
| Barrel Length | 89 mm (3.50") |
| Action Type | Single Action Revolver |
| Firing Mechanism | Single Action |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 210 m/s (689 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 119 J (88 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 15 m (16 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 75 m (82 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Iron |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Hard Rubber |
| Finish | Nickel Plated |
Calibers
- .32 Short Rimfire · primary — also known as .32 Short, .32 RF Short, .32 RF
- .22 Short — also known as .22 Short, .22 RF Short
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
- Features: Spur Trigger, Octagonal Barrel, Fluted Cylinder, Solid Frame, Fixed Sights
Service history
Operators
- American civilian market
Production
Production years: 1878-1900
Sold as an inexpensive pocket revolver; total Czar production not separately recorded among Hopkins & Allen's many trade-name patterns.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Discontinued: 1900
Notes
Czar was one of many trade names Hopkins & Allen used on its spur-trigger pocket revolvers, alongside Blue Jacket, Ranger, Dictator, Defender and Captain Jack. Configurations varied in barrel length, finish and engraving; .32 rimfire examples are scarcer than the .22 versions. The model was first reported in the Norwich, Conn. Bulletin in 1878 and advertised under a purported contract for Czarist Russia; a May 1879 Harper's Weekly ad extravagantly equated it with a Smith & Wesson or Colt, while an 1880 Homer Fisher catalog more soberly priced it at $2.50. The 1895 Montgomery Ward and 1898 Hopkins & Allen catalogs listed the nickel-plated .22 rimfire 3-inch-barrel version at $1.75. Widely advertised but seldom encountered today.
Background
Priced at about a dollar seventy-five when it appeared in 1878, the Czar was Hopkins & Allen's bid for the bottom of the pocket-pistol market, a cheap concealable revolver bought as a last-ditch defensive arm rather than a serious sidearm.