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44 magnum – the handgun made famous by Clint Eastwood in the movie “Dirty Harry” – was unveiled in 1956. In 1955 the first American made double action auto-loading pistol, the Model 39, was introduced. 357 Magnum, was introduced by the company in 1935. Smith & Wesson’s contribution to the history of handgun and cartridge development continued through the 20th Century. This revolver has been in continual production since that year and has been used by virtually every police agency and military force around the world. 38 Military & Police or, as it is called today, the Model 10. Smith & Wesson next introduced what is probably the most famous revolver in the world, the. These are still represented in today’s handgun line. In the late 1800’s the company introduced its line of hammerless revolvers. Wesson, making him the sole owner of the firm. The two most important customers for the new revolver were the United States Cavalry, which purchased 1,000 units for use on the Western Frontier, and the Russian Imperial Government.Īt the age of 65, Horace Smith retired from the company and sold his share of the business to D. The Model 3 American, as it became known in the United States, was the first large caliber cartridge revolver and established Smith & Wesson as a world leader in handgun manufacturing. The new design was completed in 1869 and the company began marketing it in 1870. The partners realized that when their patents expired they would need a new design to maintain their market superiority. Smith & Wesson secured patents for the revolver to prevent other manufacturers from producing a cartridge revolver – giving the young company a very lucrative business.
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This revolver was the first successful fully self-contained cartridge revolver available in the world. In 1856 Smith & Wesson formed their second partnership to produce a small revolver designed to fire the Rimfire cartridge they patented in August of 1854. In 1866, using the original lever action design created by Smith & Wesson, Winchester’s company emerged as the famous Winchester Repeating Arms Co. This first pistol venture was not a financial success, and by 1854 the company was having financial difficulties.įaced with their financial difficulties, they were forced to sell their company to a shirt manufacturer by the name of Oliver Winchester. The two men formed their first partnership in 1852 in Norwich, Connecticut, with the aim of marketing a lever action repeating pistol that could use a fully self-contained cartridge. Daniel’s experience came from apprenticing with his brother Edwin Wesson, the leading maker of target rifles and pistols in the 1840s. Horace learned the firearms trade while working at the National Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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Wesson came from old New England families.