Tramp's Terror
Hood Firearms Company · Revolver · Discontinued · 1875
Also known as: Tramps Terror
Overview
The Tramp's Terror is a single-action, spur-trigger pocket revolver produced by the Hood Firearms Company of Norwich, Connecticut during the 1870s and 1880s. Chambered for the .22 Short rimfire cartridge, it carries a seven-shot cylinder in a compact frame with a roughly 2 to 2.5 inch barrel, nickel finish, and walnut grips, using a small brass bead front sight and no rear sight. 'Tramp's Terror' was one of roughly twenty inexpensive trade names Hood used to market these cheap pocket revolvers, a class of late-19th-century American arms later nicknamed 'Suicide Specials'.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 180 g (6.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 152 mm (5.98") |
| Barrel Length | 57 mm (2.24") |
| Height | 68 mm (2.68") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 7 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Revolving Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 240 m/s (787 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 54 J (40 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 10 m (11 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Brass |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Nickel |
Calibers
- .22 Short · primary — also known as .22 Short, .22 Rimfire, .22 RF
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
- Features: Spur Trigger, Bird Head Grip, Brass Bead Front Sight, Fixed Sights
Service history
Operators
- American civilian market · adopted 1875
Production
Production years: 1875-1885
One of about twenty Hood Firearms trade names; individual output for the Tramp's Terror name is not separately recorded.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Freeman W. Hood
Discontinued: 1885
Notes
The frame top is stamped 'TRAMPS TERROR'. The model was distributed by hardware and mail-order dealers such as Western Gun Works of Chicago. Surviving examples are commonly found with 2 or 2-1/4 inch barrels.
Background
'Tramp's Terror' was pure marketing menace: a cheap .22 pocket revolver sold under a tough-sounding name to appeal to city dwellers who feared vagrants during the post-Civil War handgun boom. Guns like it were sold so cheaply through hardware stores and catalogs that collectors later dubbed the whole class 'Suicide Specials' for their dubious reliability.