Smith & Wesson Model 1 Smith & Wesson Model 1 The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was the first firearm manufactured by Smith & Wesson, with production spanning the years 1857 through 1882. It was the first commercially successful revolver to use rimfire cartridges instead of loose powder, musket ball, and percussion caps. It is a single-action, tip-up revolver holding seven .22 Short black powder cartridges. As Samuel Colt's patent on the night revolver was set to expire in 1856, Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson were researching a prototype for a metallic cartridge revolver. When they discovered that a former Colt employee named Rollin
Smith & Wesson Model 2 Smith & Wesson Model 2 The Smith & Wesson Model 2, also referred to as the Smith & Wesson .38 Single Action, was Smith & Wesson's first .38 caliber revolver. Chambered in .38 S&W, its cylinder held 5 shots. The single action version was produced in three varieties from 1876 through 1911, with total production exceeding 223,000. The Smith & Wesson Model 2 was a "top-break", with the barrel release catch located on the top of the frame, just in front of the hammer. It was a larger caliber version of the third model of the Smith & Wesson Model