Remington is known for three things: the Model 700 rifle, the 870 shotgun, and repeated bankruptcies. What they aren’t known for are their handguns, but they do have a fairly interesting history with handguns. Today we are going to dive into the old era of Remington handguns, and in part 2 we’ll cover the modern era.
Going Old School with Remington Handguns
Remington-Beals Pocket Revolver
Remington’s first handgun was a percussion revolver produced in 1857. Remington had to wait until Colt’s patents expired to get into the revolver business. It was called the Remington-Beals Pocket Revolver.
The Remington Beals Pocket Revolver was designed by Fordyce Beals. It was a single-action, five-shot, .31 caliber revolver with a solid frame and 3-inch octagonal barrel. Throughout the years, three models would be produced.
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The solid frame made it a little more rugged than the Colt models, but sales were disappointing. The first model had a traditional trigger and trigger guard and lacked a loading lever. The 2nd model changed to a spur trigger. The third model extended the barrel to 4 inches, and they finally added a loading lever to the gun.
Overall, these ugly little Remington handguns were never all that popular or successful. Roughly 7,500 were produced.
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Remington Model 1858
The Remington Model 1858 proved to be a little more successful than the original Pocket Revolvers. Like the pocket guns, these were designed by Fordyce Beals. Remington produced both Army models in .44 caliber and Navy models in .36 caliber. Their success was largely based on use in the Civil War.
When Colt’s factory caught fire and their production halted, Remington was able to step in with their Model 1858. Over the years, there would be ten variations of the Remington 1858, and they would go from percussion to cartridge conversions in a variety of calibers.
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These were six-shot revolvers with large frames. The Army used an 8-inch barrel, and the Navy used a 7.5-inch barrel. The guns were well reputed for accuracy and durability. Later variations would feature a safety slot for the hammer to rest, allowing the user to have all six cylinders loaded safely.
They also offered the ability to quickly swap cylinders, almost like reloading a magazine. However, it doesn’t seem like this was a common practice, or something anyone ever did. Carrying an extra loaded cylinder posed its own risks.
Notably, Buffalo Bill Cody carried an 1858 Army revolver, which later sold for over $200,000 in 2012.
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Remington Rider
The Remington Rider is a cool little gun and is one of Remington’s rarest pistols. The guns were made between 1860 and 1863. Roughly 200 were produced, so finding one these days means separating yourself from some dinero. The Rider pistols were single-shot, percussion-cap, breech-loading derringers.
They fired a super small 4.3mm ball, which is .17 caliber. The guns had a three-inch barrel, and used brass extensively in their construction. The Rider did not use any gunpowder; it relied on the percussion cap only to propel the little 4.3mm ball.
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The Rider was designed to be a parlor pistol. When we were a proper country, people built ranges in their living rooms. These types of guns would be used to plink and shoot small targets, likely with a dose of Brandy and a cigar.
Remington ZigZag
The Remington ZigZag derringer, originally called Elliot’s Pocket Revolver, is one of Remington’s more interesting designs. This was Remington’s first metallic cartridge firearm. The metallic cartridge changed the game, but for handguns it was locked by several patents.
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Remington got into the metallic cartridge market with a double-action, hammer-fired, six-barreled derringer. The gun used a concealed hammer and fired the .22-short rimfire cartridge. The trigger was a ring trigger, and the user had to press it forward to align a barrel and cartridge with the hammer. Then, when pulled rearward, the hammer would cock and fire the gun.
The ZigZag moniker came about due to the zigzag grooves at the rear of the barrels. This was part of the revolving mechanism. The mechanism as a whole is quite delicate, likely leading to the small numbers made. The approximate production numbers were around 1,000 guns total.
Naval Model 1865 Pistol
Remington became well known for their rolling block rifles, but they also produced rolling block pistols. The Navy gave Remington a contract to produce approximately 6,500 rolling block pistols between 1866 and 1870.
The Naval Model 1865 chambered the .50 Rimfire cartridge, but the round proved to be a bit too powerful for the brass and would tear into the chamber. This made extraction difficult. Later on, Remington would get a contract to modify the pistols with a shorter barrel, a brass trigger guard, and updating the breechblock for centerfire ammo.
The gun ultimately lacked much of a purpose. Why use a single shot when there were a wide variety of revolvers available?
Remington Model 95
When you hear the word derringer, what you likely picture isn’t an original Philadelphia derringer, but the Remington Model 95. The over/under double-barrel derringer design became the stereotypical derringer, likely propelled by western films and the fact that the Model 95 derringer was produced in large numbers.
The Remington Model 95 was produced from 1866 to 1935. The gun chambered the .41 Short. It’s a cartridge that’s quite small, and fires a 130-grain round at 425 feet per second. Not exactly fast or heavy, but in such a small gun it was something.
These break-open guns had barrels that rotated upward to load or eject spent cartridges. The hammer needed to be manually cocked, and the single-action spur trigger was small, but easy enough to press.
Remington-Smoot
Keeping in the realm of pocket pistols, the Remington-Smoot revolvers were fascinating, micro-sized five-shot, single-action revolvers. There are three models of the Remington-Smoot Revolvers. The Smoot name comes from the designer William Sydney Smoot.
The No.1 revolver was produced from 1875 to 1877 and fired a .30 Rimfire cartridge that’s long out of production. The No.1 Revolver was produced from 1877 to 1895, and chambered either .30 rimfire or .32 rimfire. The final model, the No. 3, was produced from 1878 to 1888 in .38 rimfire.
The Smoot revolvers were unique in that the frame, barrel, and ejector housing were all one piece. This made them quite rugged, something Remington revolvers were known for. The guns were popular enough, but weren’t a runaway success.
Remington Model 1875 (and 1888 and 1890)
Remington often played second fiddle to Colt in terms of revolvers. When the Army went looking for a new Army revolver, Remington wanted a stake in the contract. They produced the Remington 1875 Single Action Army to compete for the contract. The problem was Colt was two years ahead of them.
The 1875 was a six-shot, single-action revolver with a distinctive bladed profile on the front. It was known to be a stout, capable revolver. Barrel lengths varied between 5.5 inches, 7 inches, and 8 inches.
By the time it was introduced, the Colt Peacemaker had the contract. Remington was stuck shopping their revolver to other markets. A few were purchased for Indian police and for the Mexican army, but most sales were in the smaller markets of American law enforcement and civilian sales.
The guns were produced in .44-40, .45 Colt, and .44 Remington Centerfire.
The Remington Models 1888 and 1890 were based on the 1875. These were attempts to create a gun that was a bit more similar to the Colt revolver. They ditched the bladed front design, and from a distance these guns look nearly identical to a Colt.
The Model 1888 was seen as a transitional model between the 1875 and 1890 guns. The 1888 was called the New Model Pocket Army due to its 5.75-inch barrel. Less than 1,000 were produced total. They are largely identical to the 1890 outside of barrel length. The 1888 came in .44-40 and .44 Remington. The 1890 featured a 7.5-inch barrel and came in .44-40 only.
Into The Modern Era
Remington’s original purpose was rifles, and they tended to be more successful when selling rifles, even into the modern era. Handguns were never their forte, so to speak, although they did have some innovative designs. Things like a top strap would be influential for revolver tech. Join us in Part 2 as we discuss the modern era of Remington handguns.
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