Colt M1878 operated while wearing gloves, so "Alaskan Model" is a misnomer. Colt M1878 The Colt M1878 is a double-action revolver that was manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1878 to 1907. It is often referred to as the "Frontier" or the "Double Action Army" revolver. A total of 51,210 Model 1878 revolvers were manufactured from 1878 to 1907, including 4,600 for the US Ordnance Department. These are known as the "Philippine" or "Alaskan" models. Samuel Colt experimented with double-action revolver systems, but he considered them to be unreliable. After Colt's patent expired in 1857, other manufacturers began producing double-action revolvers, but
Revolver powerful revolvers, utilizing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge. Because the rounds in a revolver are headspaced on the rim, some revolvers are capable of chambering more than one type of ammunition. The .44 Magnum round will chamber the shorter .44 Special and shorter .44 Colt, likewise the .357 Magnum will safely chamber .38 Special and .38 Short Colt. In 1996 a revolver known as the Medusa M47 was made that could chamber 25 different cartridges with bullet diameters between .355" and .357". Revolver technology lives on in other weapons used by the military. Some autocannons and grenade launchers use mechanisms