Quote:
Originally Posted by Gun 4 Fun
The model P was influenced by Colt's earlier designs, even though he was gone when it came into production. The gun was definately a left handed design. The guns were designed to be used by horse mounted soldiers, and if a soldier was bouncing along on his horse, he certainly didn't want to have to switch the gun from his strong hand to his weak to unload, then reload, then switch back.
Since most people are right handed, a right handed gun would have had the loading gate on the left, which would keep the gun in the strong hand while loading with the weak, or off hand.  |
The 1860 Army revolver had a cut on the right side to accommodate recapping the revolver. Since most shooters are right-handed, the cut on the right side of the frame was made so the right hand could load the cap onto the nipple. The revolver would be held in the left hand, and the stronger right hand would be used to load the cylinder and charge the nipple. The cylinder rotated clockwise, and a spent cap would more likely fall off and away after the discharge. There was less likelihood of a spent cap jamming the cylinder.
Since the cut for the nipple was on the right side, it was a much smaller design and engineering design task, to put a loading gate there. Manipulating the loading gate and ejector rod is a function for the right hander, holding the revolver in the left hand to complete the task.