Menz Regnum
August Menz · Pistol · Discontinued · 1908
Also known as: Regnum
Overview
The Menz Regnum is a German four-barrel repeating pocket pistol chambered in .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning), designed and produced by August Menz of Suhl. Introduced around 1908, it uses a block of four superposed (stacked) barrels loaded into a tilting barrel assembly; successive pulls on the double-action trigger rotate a crankshaft-shaped hammer that is indexed by a pawl so the four barrels discharge in sequence. It was Menz's first handgun design and, competing against the modern self-loading pocket pistols of the era, proved commercially unsuccessful.
Specifications
| Action Type | Double Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 4 rounds |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .25 ACP · primary — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Features: Four Superposed Barrels, Tilting Barrel Block, Rotating Indexed Hammer, Double Action Trigger
Service history
Operators
- Civilian
Production
Production years: c. 1908-1914
Approximate; production dates and totals are not firmly documented. Manufactured before the First World War in Suhl, Germany.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Designer: August Menz
Notes
The Regnum belongs to the same family of superposed four-barrel repeaters as the contemporaneous August Schuler 'Reform' pistol, also made in Suhl. It has no magazine in the modern sense; the four cartridges are held one per barrel and fired in turn by the indexing double-action lockwork.
Background
Sequential fire in the Regnum was achieved by a rotating hammer shaped somewhat like an automotive engine crankshaft, indexed one step per trigger pull so each of the four stacked barrels went off in turn.