Smith & Wesson Model 320 inches. "The History of Smith & Wesson Firearms" By Dean K. Boorman Smith & Wesson Model 320 The Smith & Wesson Model 320 was a revolving rifle produced by Smith & Wesson in the late 19th century. The Smith & Wesson Model 320 is the rarest Smith & Wesson in existence and highly prized by collectors. The Smith & Wesson Model 320 revolving rifle was based heavily on the design of the Smith & Wesson Model 3 pistol. 977 revolving rifles were manufactured between 1879 and 1887. They were serial numbered 1 to 977, with 840 being sold in the
Smith & Wesson Model 3 Wesson–made revolvers (which Smith & Wesson had already produced), and delaying (or refusing) payment for the handguns that had already been delivered. The U.S. Army adopted the .44 S&W American caliber Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolver in 1870, making the Model 3 revolver the first standard-issue cartridge-firing revolver in US service. Most military pistols until that point were black powder cap and ball revolvers, which were (by comparison) slow, complicated, and susceptible to the effects of wet weather. In 1875, the US Ordnance Board granted Smith & Wesson a contract to outfit the military with Model 3 revolvers incorporating