Page 3 Advertisements Column 1

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 735, 30 April 1853, Page 3

Self-Loading Revolver, —The New York Courier describes a newly invented revolver and self-loading rifle made by Colonel P. W. Porter, of Tennessee, and said to be capable of discharging fifty loads in a minute and a half, 'ihe rifle is little over the ordinary weight, and, although a revolver, can be used as a single gun—the revolving agent being the guard of gun instead of the hammer, as in other revolvers. The guard, after revolving the cylinder, returns to its place, and firmly fastens by means of a spring in the stock. The cylinder, which is perforated with nine chambers on the exterior rim, turns in the breach, presenting in rapid succession each loaded chamber to the barrel for discharge. Ilia part that comes directly in contact with the barrels is protected, firstly by the cylinder pressing; firmly against it, and next by springing plates, which catch and turn of any fire "that might possibly escape through the junction. The ordinary trigger is used, and the rifle is discharged by percussion caps, and primes itself by an arrangement which presents itself to the hammer in succession. The caps are placed in a rim, and the hammer is on the side of the gun. The nine chambers mentioned above being discharged, another cylinder, which may be kept in the pocke’s of the person using the gnn, may be in-erted in the place of the one deprived of its contents, without a loss of more than three or four seconds, and nine additional charges made in succession. Then, by placing over the top of the cylinder a flask which contains both powder and ball (or shot if the chambers are loaded by every revolution of the cylinder, so that the supply is only exhausted when the flask is empty, and in this manner fifty discharges are made in the short space of a minute and a half. The flask or magazine over the cylinder is water-tight, and affords good protection to the works it covers. This gun will answer all the purposes of the fowling-pieoe. The charge used is very small, yet this rifle has been found to carry a great distance, and in all experiments made drove its bullets deeper into timber than any other tested against it. Colonel Porter is having a great many manufactured at Taunton, Massachusetts.