Austro-Hungarian Gasser Revolvers



M1870 Gasser Army Revolver

Type: open-frame wrought iron revolver
Made by Leopold Gasser, Wien, Austria, 1870-1873
Caliber: 11.2x29.5mm ('Montenegrin')
Length overall: 375mm
Weight unloaded: 1300g [45.9oz]
Barrel: 235mm, rifled
Magazine: 5-chamber cylinder

Photos courtesy of CollectibleFirearms.com

A later revolver with slight changes

It was an open-frame model, with the barrel unit attached to the frame by a screw beneath the cylinder arbor. The arbor pin was screwed into the barrel unit and fitted into a recess in the standing breech. The cylinder was gate-loaded from the right side, and a rod ejector was carried beneath the barrel. A unique safety bar will usually be found on the right of the frame, below the cylinder. This carries pins which pass through holes in the frame to engage the lock mechanism. Slightly retracting the hammer allows one of these pins to move inward, preventing the hammer moving forward again when released. The pistol can thereafter be carried safely when loaded. Pressure on the trigger withdraws the pin from the path of the hammer before firing. The M1870 Gasser became the Austro-Hungarian cavalry revolver. It chambered an 11.2mm centerfire cartridge, later usually called the '11mm Montenegrin', a long cartridge which had earlier been used in Fruwirth carbines. The frame stamped: 'L. GASSER WIEN'.

A shorter barrel version of the revolver
Made by Leopold Gasser, Wien, Austria
Overall length: 325mm [12.6"]
Barrel: 185mm [7.28"] rifled
Magazine: 5-chamber cylinder

Acceptance date - Serial number correspondence:
LG70 - 13500
LG71 - 33668

Reproduction holster


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