Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army The Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army a.k.a. "Model No. 2 Old Model Smith & Wesson Revolver" was Smith & Wesson's first .32 caliber revolver, intended to combine the small size and convenience of the Smith & Wesson Model 1 .22 rimfire with a larger caliber. Chambered in the .32 rimfire long caliber, its cylinder held 6 shots. It was manufactured 1861 - 1874, with a total production of 77,020. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson founded the Smith & Wesson Company in Norwich, Connecticut, to develop Volcanic Firearms, in 1855 the
Smith & Wesson these profitable moves made Smith and Wesson "the envy of the industry" according to Business Week. Despite all of these advantages, however, Smith & Wesson's market share began to decline in the 1980s. As the war on drugs intensified in the United States, police departments all across the country replaced their Smith and Wesson revolvers with European semiautomatics (such as Glock, Sig Sauer and Beretta). From 1982 to 1986 profits at the company declined by 41 percent Company ownership changed twice during the decade. In June 1987 Tomkins plc paid $112.5 million to purchase Smith & Wesson. Tomkins modernized the