Savage Navy

[Fox Creek Kid]

I love this guy's blog:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUJEeVK9PSs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUefQw7bLRPKSG-qx9dJroew

[Pettifogger]

That was pretty neat.  I have handled a few, but never got to take one apart.

[Long Knife Rich]

 Interesting pistol. That guy did a nice job on his video too.

[Paladin UK]

Love the lockwork!! informative too 

Paladin (What luvs the HB) UK

[Blair]

Just my opinion... these things are as ugly as a "mud-puppy"!

But, I also got to say they hold and shoot rather well for their odd look, for what My opinion is worth,
Blair

[Seth Hawkins]

Kinda cool.  A little.  Maybe.

[Rye Miles]

I want one!!!

[Oregon Bill]

I want one too. But with all those parts, I can imagine that they would not be very affordable.

[Shawnee McGrutt]

I think it is a really cool gun.  He does a good job on his presentation of the subject matter.  I agree with Fox Creek Kid  I  like this guys blog.

[Trailrider]

Lt. Fred. H. Beecher apparently used one during the CW. Unfortunately, the gun's whereabouts is unknown, though the holster and a light-weight belt for it was passed down from his nephews to a dealer to a collector. The collector tried ever CW revolver in the holster, and the only one that fits like a glove is a Savage Navy of the type shown in the link! Beecher was NOT carrying the Savage when he was KIA at Beecher Island, as he had his issue Colt's M1860 Army. The Savage is an interesting piece, for sure!

[PJ Hardtack]

The .36 Savage Navy revolver is one of the historic revolvers tested and evaluated in Schiffers's newly released book on ACW revolvers.

For the most part, his findings parallel those of the shooter in the video, with one possible exception. I couldn't tell from the video, but it's likely that the projectile used was RB as opposed to the issue conical. The Europeans, like most of us, tend to shoot RB in these ACW percussion guns.

During Schiffers's shooting with the Savage Navy, it suffered a mechanical failure - "I dismantled the Savage action and discovered that the cylinder hand was broken. This part is made of a flat piece of metal and looks quite fragile. It was evident that because of the fouling of the arbor, resistance to the rotation of the cylinder had eventually forced it to fail."

Under "Strengths & Weaknesses" he wrote: "The Savage action is unusual, and it was necessary to pay close attention. If the ring trigger was not released after being pulled, the firing trigger jammed, and it was impossible to fire the gun. In an emergency situation, the necessary sequence of actions might easily have been overlooked."

His revolver (in fact all of the revolvers he tested) was in excellent mechanical condition. He liked the forward movement of the cylinder and made this comment: "This feature is commonly associated with the work of Leon Nagant in the late 19th century. We have no way of knowing if Nagant was aware of the Savage design, but given the European interest in American arms, it is likely that he was."

In order to remove the cylinder and loading lever, you need a screwdriver, not something every ACW soldier would have had handy.
Once removed, the screw could easily be dropped and lost.

Like the Starr revolvers, it had both some good and bad design features, ahead of their time in many respects.