Smith & Wesson M76 disappointing sales of the Omega ultimately drove the decision to cease production and the decision left a number of parts that were never assembled into guns. Smith & Wesson M76 The Smith & Wesson M76 submachine gun was produced by Smith & Wesson from 1967 to 1974. It is an adaptation of the Swedish Carl Gustav m/45 with an open bolt design and fires 9x19mm Parabellum ammunition. In 1966, the Swedish government blocked the sale of firearms to the United States because it opposed the Vietnam War. This created a problem for the Navy SEAL Teams which were using Swedish-made
Smith & Wesson returned to his native Springfield, Massachusetts, while Wesson stayed on as plant manager with Volcanic Repeating Arms. As Samuel Colt's patent on the revolver was set to expire in 1856, Wesson began developing a prototype for a cartridge revolver. His research pointed out that a former Colt employee named Rollin White held the patent for a "Bored-through" cylinder, a component he would need for his invention. Wesson reconnected with Smith and the two partners approached White to manufacture a newly designed revolver-and-cartridge combination. Rather than make White a partner in their company, Smith and Wesson paid him a royalty of