Automatic revolver
An automatic revolver, also called a semi-automatic revolver, is a revolver that uses the recoil from firing to automatically cock the hammer and rotate the cylinder, instead of relying on manual actions. As with other semi-automatics, the shooter still pulls the trigger for each shot.
True semi-automatic revolvers are very uncommon, and the term is sometimes used for break-open revolvers with a mechanical ejector that automatically dumps spent (and even unspent) cartridges from the cylinder when the breech is opened.
The idea was described to Moses Poole, a patent agent, in 1841. The exact inventor is unknown, but it was likely Philippe Mathieu, who had a nearly identical design two years earlier. Another automatic revolver was described to British patent agent William Edward Newton by the Americans Mershon and Hollingsworth in 1854. Both designs used clockwork to power the automatic action. In 1863 a gas-piston revolver was designed by a Spanish gunsmith named Orbea. The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver, designed in 1895, became the first commercial semi-automatic revolver and the best-known example.
A standard revolver is manually operated, either by cocking the hammer to advance the cylinder (single-action) or by pulling the trigger to advance the cylinder and cock the hammer (double-action). The idea behind an automatic revolver is to automate both actions, so you don’t have to manually cock the hammer between shots while still enjoying a light trigger pull. This is done with a reciprocating slide on the top of the frame, whose motion rotates the cylinder and cocks the hammer, similar to most semi-automatic pistols.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:14 (CET).