Volcanic pistol 

A Smith and Wesson Volcanic pistol, circa 1855, in .31 caliber

The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company was a company formed in 1852 by partners Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson to develop Walter Hunt's Rocket Ball ammunition and lever action mechanism. Volcanic made an improved version of the Rocket Ball ammunition, and a carbine and pistol version of the lever action gun to fire it. While the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company was short lived, its descendants, Smith & Wesson and Winchester Repeating Arms Company, became major firearms manufacturers.

History

The original 1848 "Volition Repeating Rifle" design by Hunt was revolutionary, introducing an early iteration of the lever action repeating mechanism and the tubular magazine still common today. However, Hunt's design was far from perfect, and only a couple of prototypes were developed. Lewis Jennings patented an improved version of Hunt's design in 1849, and versions of the Jenning's patent design were built by Robbins & Lawrence Co. (under the direction of shop foreman Benjamin Tyler Henry) and sold by C. P. Dixon until 1952, when financial troubles ceased production.12

The Jennings (top) and Volcanic (bottom) rifles

In 1854, partners Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson purchased the Jennings patent rights, and further improved on the operating mechanism, developing the Volcanic pistol, and a new Volcanic cartridge. Production resumed, still under the supervision of the Jenning's foreman, B. Tyler Henry. The new cartridge improved upon the Hunt Rocket Ball with the addition of a primer. Originally using the name "Smith & Wesson Company", the name was changed to "Volcanic Repeating Arms Company" in 1855, with the addition of new investors, the principle investor in the new company being Oliver Winchester. The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company purchased all rights for the Volcanic designs (both rifle and pistol versions were in production by this time) from Smith and Wesson, who left the company soon after, to found another "Smith & Wesson". The company was moved, and in 1860 was reorganized as the New Haven Arms Company--still under the supervision of foreman B. Tyler Henry. While continuing to make the Volcanic rifle and pistol, Henry began to experiment with the new rimfire ammunition, and modified the Volcanic lever action design to use it. The result was the Henry rifle. By 1866, the company once again reorganized, this time as the Winchester Repeating Arms company, and the name of Winchester became synonymous with lever action rifles.234

References

  1. ^ Jim Taylor. "Leverguns: A Short History".
  2. ^ a b Charles Winthrop Sawyer (1920). Firearms in American History. Charles Winthrop Sawyer. 
  3. ^ "A Guide to Ammunition Collecting". International Ammunition Association.
  4. ^ Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck, Frank Moore Colby (1904). The New International Encyclopædia. Dodd, Mead and Company. 

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