Collier revolver question

[Larry Akers]

I have been researching flintlock repeaters for a project and have a question about the flintlock Collier action, specifically the mechanics. Descriptions of the firing sequence all state the cock is cocked (there is no half-cock), then the cylinder is manually pulled to the rear to disengage the rebate of the barrel with the counter-bore in the mouth of the chamber and rotated by hand to the next chamber. The cylinder is then pushed into barrel engagement by a spring. I think there must be some mechanical mechanism that locks the cylinder in battery during firing that engages as the hammer falls but I have found nothing that describes a cylinder lock mechanism. I don't think a spring that can be compressed by arm strength alone would be strong enough to counter the recoil and keep the cylinder in battery. Also the fact of cocking the cock before retracting the cylinder leads me to believe that cocking must be done first to unlock the cylinder. My question: Is my surmise correct and if so how does the mechanism work?

 

[Zonie]

I'm sure your guess about some sort of mechanical mechanism that locks the cylinder forward is correct.
The author of the article in the link below alludes to it when he says, "... There was an internal device that maintained that alignment. ..." when speaking of the cylinder after it had been pushed forward to engage the rear of the barrel. This engagement is similar to the Russian Nagant revolver which uses a similar arrangement to seal off the barrel gap between the barrel and the cylinder.


https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/9/26/collier-colt-the-origins-of-the-revolver/

 

[Larry Akers]

Thanks Zonie. I have doubts that the author of the article knows what he's talking about because he also states that the action of cocking the hammer primed the pan which isn't true. The Collier did have a self priming frizzen but it did not automatically close when the gun was cocked. It had to be manually closed after the cylinder was rotated into position.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Here is a static demonstration of a Collier rifle, smoothbore, AND a revolver.
Collier Revolving Flintlocks
I think you're absolutely correct as in the demo the mechanism is cocked and Then revolved...

LD

 

[LongWalker]

Larry, did you ever get this worked out?

I had the chance to shoot a Collier years ago, '87 maybe. My impression of the action was that it was very "breakdownable". I might have sketches somewhere if it would help.