Any love for the British Adams-Beaumont revolver?

[DG45]

In the discussions of various revolvers on this forum, I've seen little love ever exhibited for the Beaumont-Adams revolver, which was the first revolver that could be fired either single action or double action. The B-A was Colt's main competitor in the era it was being manufactured, and was preferred over Colt by many. It was also the standard British military revolver from about 1854 until sometime in the late 1880s. At the battle of Rourke's Drift (which was depicted in the movie Zulu) the officers would have really been carrying 54 bore (.442 cal.) Adams-Beaumont revolvers; not the Webleys they were shown carrying in the movie. Personally, I think the Adams-Beaumont was one of the most elegant handguns ever made. It was sold commercially in the states, and some were carried by Union and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. Early on, B-A's were cap and ball; later models were adapted to fire cartridges. I heard or read somewhere that the Adams-Beaumont 54 bore revolver was sort of THE southern gentleman planters handgun of choice before the Civil War. I don't have one and don't know anybody who does. Do you? I'd sure love to have one, but I'm sure it would be way out of my price range. Check out this hyperlink to see one of these elegant old revolvers: (I hope this comes through!)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Beaumont_Adams.JPG

 

[mega twin]

Nice

Nice looking gun.
The amount of fitting and machining required to build something like that has always impressed me.
In this day of cnc machines ,it may not seem like much,but for the time it was very impressive.
The first example of an object,to me, has a greater impact because the builder and designer had no one to copy from.

 

[DG45]

Well, this has been posted for two days and only one comment so I guess I've got my answer. THERE IS NO LOVE ON THE FLF FOR THE ADAMS-BEAUMONT REVOLVER, the first revolver in the world that could be fired in either single and double action. SHEESH! Signing off here. You may close the thread, Mr. Moderator.

 

[Charger Fan]

I'll admit that there's many manufacturers that I'm unfamiliar with, and this is one of them...this is the first time I've heard of the gun. It does sound appealing though, I hope you will be able to find one.

 

[Jim March]

Ummm...how about "there's not a lot of interest in front-stuffers that are antiques which can't be fired, and parts are hard to get and there's no modern replicas available"...

 

[Jim March]

Look, more seriously, everybody lays a dud thread now and again . No need to be insulted over it...

 

[DG45]

Hi Jim.

I can be insulted, but not over laying a dud thread. I was just surprised. Actually, I don't even know much about this revolver. I called it an Adams Beaumont in one place and a Beaumont Adams in another. Anyway, I recognize you as one of the real knowledgeable folks on the forum and respect your opinion on things. Thanks for your comments.

 

[FotoTomas]

If I recall correctly Dr. Watson, friend and confidant or Sherlock Holmes, had purchased an Adams service revolver during his active duty days as a medical officer in the Royal Army.

As for me...other than a casual interest in the speculations of the arms of Sherlock Holmes adventures I found the Adams revolver to be an interesting piece and I recently read an interesting story on the piece in a gun magazine. Seems that Colt and Adams had a bit of a competition going between them as well as some marketing HiJinks. When the Royal Govt. adopted the Adams the Colt factory ended up closing its doors in London.

The DA feature was interesting since it was a very early adaptation and not at all that "modern."

 

[trevor parker]

if anyone is still reading this article,i have a b/adams with the kerr rammer.it,s a lovely revolver to use and is very easy to load compared with the colt.
the revolver is generally ued with a tapered lubed bullet-the mould is included-which pushes in most of the way by thumb,
the cased pistol with most of the finish and flask e.t.c are bringing anywhere from £2.5k to £5k
trvor

 

[CraigC]

I'm a sixgun nut but obscure British revolvers just ain't my thang. Very few American gunwriters have devoted much time to them so it's no wonder. I'd love to have a Tranter but however would you feed the damn thing???

the cased pistol with most of the finish and flask e.t.c are bringing anywhere from £2.5k to £5k

There's one good reason why you don't see much about them.

 

[DG45]

Thats the whole point CraigC. It is obscure. And that's a strange fate to have befallen the first revolver that could be fired either single or double action. After all, that was probably the most important improvement that was ever made to a revolver (after the basic concept of a revolver was first patented). Well, I guess an argument could be made that boring a cylinder all the way through to accept cartridges was as a pretty important improvement too, but my point is that the Adams-Beaumont revolver was too important a gun in the history of firearms to deserve it's present obscurity. In it's day and time, it was actually preferred by many to either Colt or Remington revolvers, and it's absolutely the gun that ran Colt out of England. But today, Colt enthusiasts who can't afford the real thing, can find quality Colt replicas for a few hundred dollars. I've never seen a Beaumont-Adams replica. If I had, I'd own it. Might be carrying it right now. It just looks like a gentlemans firearm.

 

[Buzzcook]

Well there are lots of obscure handguns. The Adams sure has its place in history. One of the reasons it was developed was because the Brits didn't want to pay Sam Colt royalties for using his design.

The Beaumont Adams was an improved percussion version of the Adams. A later Adams without Beaumont replaced the Beaumont Adams, first as a percussion revolver then as a cartridge revolver.

No one knows for sure what Watson's service revolver was. British officers of the time supplied their own sidearms. But it's a reasonable guess that it was a later cartridge version Adams.


Cool gun but just a might older than I like. You might want to talk to the people in the black powder forum about this.

 

[Archie]

They're Classy guns, all right.

They're just not plentiful (or cheap) enough for most of us mortals to play with.

In addition to being Colt's prime competitor in the early portion of the 19th Century, they beat the Colts in a series of 'head to head' tests for accuracy and reliability. As I recall, after the American Civil War, the cartridge version beat out the Colt SAA in at least one trial.

Very advanced revolver at the time. And as you say, elegant.

 

[CraigC]

Elegant for sure and important design-wise but very, very limited accessibility. Not many were produced over a relatively short production span so few have been exposed to it. Those currently available falling into a very exclusive price range. Unlike the Colt design which saw continuous production up until WWII. Inspiring Bill Ruger to resurrect the single action in 1953 with the Single Six and again in 1955 with the Blackhawk, in turn pushing Colt to bring back the SAA in 1956. Not to mention the SAA being immortalized by our romanticized view of the American West, perpetuated by books and movies for over a hundred years. All adding up to a hell of a head start on any British design. Elmer Keith and John Taffin didn't write about the Adams and John Wayne didn't carry one. It's no wonder folks haven't heard of it.