Slocum Pocket Revolver
Brooklyn Arms Company · Pistol · Discontinued · 1863
Also known as: Brooklyn Arms Slocum, Slocum Side-Loading Revolver, Slocum's Patent Sliding Sleeve Pocket Revolver
Overview
The Slocum Pocket Revolver is a five-shot single-action revolver manufactured by the Brooklyn Arms Company of Brooklyn, New York, in 1863 and 1864. Chambered in .32 rimfire, it used an unusual side-loading mechanism patented by Frank P. Slocum in which individual sliding sleeves forming the sides of each chamber were drawn forward to load metallic cartridges, an arrangement devised to circumvent Rollin White's bored-through cylinder patent then held exclusively by Smith & Wesson. The standard pistol featured a scroll-engraved, silver-plated brass frame, blued barrel and cylinder, casehardened spur-trigger hammer, and two-piece bag-shaped rosewood grips.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 280 g (9.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 165 mm (6.50") |
| Barrel Length | 76 mm (2.99") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Revolving Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 210 m/s (689 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 119 J (88 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 14 m (15 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Brass |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Silver Plated |
Calibers
- .32 Short Rimfire · primary — also known as .32 Short, .32 RF Short, .32 RF
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Spur Trigger, Side Loading Chambers, Sliding Chamber Sleeves, Scroll Engraving, Bag Shaped Rosewood Grips
Service history
Operators
- Union Army personnel (private purchase) · adopted 1863
Conflicts
- American Civil War (1861-1865)
Production
Estimated total produced: 10,000 · Production years: 1863-1864
Approximately 10,000 produced before the design was discontinued; the side-loading patent workaround was rendered moot once the Rollin White patent expired.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Frank P. Slocum
Discontinued: 1864
Notes
To load, the revolver was placed at half-cock, the cylinder turned to align each chamber with a frame plunger, and a small lever at the rear slid the separate chamber covers forward over the cartridges. Sighting was rudimentary, with a bead front sight and a topstrap groove at the rear.
Background
Frank P. Slocum's side-loading cylinder was one of several ingenious Civil War-era attempts to skirt the Rollin White bored-through cylinder patent, which gave Smith & Wesson a near-monopoly on practical metallic-cartridge revolvers until it lapsed in 1869.