Warnant Revolver
J. Warnant Frères · Revolver · Discontinued · 1874
Also known as: Warnant Top Break Revolver, Warnant Mle 1883
Overview
The Warnant Revolver is a Belgian top-break, double-action revolver designed by the Liege gunsmith Jean Warnant in the mid-1870s. Built around Warnant's patented double-action lockwork and a Smith & Wesson-style hinged frame with an automatic star ejector, the six-shot revolver was produced in a wide range of pocket and service calibers. The small-frame variants were typically chambered for the .320 Revolver cartridge and sold widely across Europe as inexpensive self-defence sidearms.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 450 g (15.9 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 500 g (17.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 185 mm (7.28") |
| Barrel Length | 76 mm (2.99") |
| Height | 110 mm (4.33") |
| Width | 35 mm (1.38") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Cylinder |
| Muzzle Velocity | 168 m/s (551 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 76 J (56 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 20 m (22 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .320 Revolver · primary — also known as .320 British, .320 Bulldog, .320 Short, 7.65mm
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Revolver Cylinder
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock
- Features: Top Break Action, Automatic Star Ejector, Double Action Trigger, Fixed Sights
Service history
Operators
- Imperial Russia
Production
Production years: 1874-1900
Produced in large but unrecorded quantities by Warnant and licensees in Liege
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Jean Warnant
Discontinued: 1900
Notes
Warnant's double-action lock design was so successful that it was licensed and copied by numerous other manufacturers, including the British Thornton's Patent lockwork. The revolver was produced in many sizes and calibers, from pocket .320 models up to large .45 service-pattern guns; some featured a spurred 'Russian' trigger guard for the export market.
Background
Jean Warnant of Liege patented his double-action revolver lockwork in Belgium in 1874-1875; the same mechanism underpinned the British Thornton's Patent and was widely imitated. In 1884 Warnant assigned a hinged-frame revolver patent to the Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company of Hartford.