Remington New Army.
After the success of the Colt revolvers, and, inter alia, commissioned in the army of the Union in 1851 Cultured Navy, Remington decided to borrow and further develop the concept of Samuel Colt.
In year 1858 was developed by the company E. Remington & Sons prototype of the New Model Army revolver. (Just to be exact, the name New Army began to be used after the model was put into mass production - read. next) It was the first revolver in the world to have a closed frame, which turned out to be a good and more reliable idea than the Colt's open skeleton.
At New Army, it was also easier to remove the drum, which allowed e.g.. quick replacement of the empty drum with a new charged one. It was enough to unfasten the lever from the cone / press to press the balls, pull the axis of the drum towards the mouth of the barrel, manipulate the tap and gently pull the drum out. The safety pins also speak in favor of Remington (cut-outs for leaving the hammer down - in the Colt, one chamber was left empty for safety) placed between fireplaces, and "permanent" rear sight, which appears in the Colt only after pulling the hammer. As for accuracy, it was with it differently and it is still different. It mainly depends on the performance and professional tuning (if you need one) specific art, the closed skeleton is not an interpretation of accuracy, although in my opinion it is actually a good solution.
The charging process is of course similar to that of the Colts. Due to the easy removal of the bobbin case, an external loading press can also be used, then reinsert the drum.
In the separate loading version, this revolver is capable of firing a lead over-caliber bullet 0,454 cala, and several types of missiles, such as the popular REAL. It is loaded with granulated black powder, measured evenly, the same for each chamber in the drum, for reproducible results on the dial. Often, the gunpowder is separated from the projectile with a felt pad, or fine semolina, which is also a filler - thanks to this, you do not need to sprinkle the powder completely, and the ball is just outside the mouth of the drum chamber. For safety reasons, after loading the chambers, they are lubricated with grease, which prevents the phenomenon of firing several charges at the same time. Finally - at the shooting stand, caps no. 11 (depending on fireplaces, sometimes no. 10) using a device called a capper, or simply - by hand.
In the version with conversion to merged ammunition (bullets), you are using ammunition .45 Long Colt, which, unlike the percussion capsule version, requires a permit.
This revolver is a single action weapon, so the hammer must be pulled before each shot.
Hammer in first position - weapon secured, possible rotation of the drum - e.g.. for charging, cock in the second position - the chamber in the drum axially aligned with the barrel line, the drum is blocked, weapon ready to fire. The lever cone is, of course, a loading device integrated with the revolver (like in the Colts, of course not all of them), However, its shape was refreshed in relation to the Navy 1851, adding typical Remington
"Fin", which I would classify as aesthetic rather than functional, although it gives the weapon a more streamlined shape and thus, at least in part, the hooking of the buttocks on the edges of the holster has been eliminated.
Mass production of this revolver began in 1862 year, and ended in 1875. At that time, "Rummi" was highly praised for its reliability, safety pins and tactical drum replacement, which on the battlefield was a great help for the shooter. With a little practice, having a few spares, preloaded drums can achieve a rate of fire comparable to combined ammunition revolvers.
Below we present a few photos of a modern Remington '58 replica made of stainless steel.
