The Company That Won the West: Smith & Wesson
In 1852 they created the first firearm to fire a fully self-contained cartridge. By 1854 this pistol was known as “The Volcanic”.
Smith & Wesson is a firearms manufacturer that has been around for over 150 years and is the world's largest manufacturer of handguns and the second largest manufacturer of firearms among US-based companies.The company was founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson, two Americans who wanted to make a revolver that was more reliable than the ones currently on the market at the time. They patented their first revolver model in 1854 Fast forward several years, then they started selling them to law enforcement agencies across America as well as militaries from all over the world - this led to an international success which continues today!
Smith & Wesson started off in Norwich, Connecticut in 1852 and in 1856 they moved their headquarters to Springfield where they currently still craft guns. In the 150 years that Smith & Wesson has been around, there have been over 27 million firearms made - this makes it one of the most successful firearm manufacturers on earth!
First Production Firearms
Many people think the first revolver they made was the Model 1 in 1857. However, in 1852 they created the first firearm to fire a fully self-contained cartridge. By 1854 this pistol and rilfe were known as “The Volcanics”.
The Volcanic design was an imporvement on an already known lever action design. The biggest difference could be seen in the Volcanic ammo that included a primer and was a fully self-contained cartride. The company "Smith and Wesson Company" changed names to "Volcanic Repeating Arms" in 1855 . The name change came when it was bought by a man with the last name of Winchester, i bet you can guess what that company would later become known as.
Over the next year the company went through a lot of changes and in 1856 "Smith & Wesson" found themselves no longer tied to “Volcanic Repeating Arms co”. They reuinted, and this time under their own names as the "Smith and Wesson Revolver Company" once again.
It was then in 1857 that Smith & Wesson wanted to develop a self-cocking revolver that could be fired more rapidly than the Colt revolvers of the time. by more of a plan than conveniece, colt’s original patten on his revolver design was set to expire in 1857. Colt’s original patent expiration date was 1854 but was extended by three years. Some say colt bribed off government officials to get the extension but there is no clear evidence to show it actually occured. Smith & wesson were eager to introduce their revolvers to the world. After all, they were awaiting the patent expiration in 1854 which never came. So, now they were more than ready to introduce their revolver to the world.
The company's first commercially available product, introduced in 1857, was the .22 caliber Model 1. The Model 1, was a seven-shot model that became famous for its double action and loading lever right on the frame of the gun. This new design allowed shooters to fire more shots before stopping to reload! because of their developement of volcanic ammunition and design and planning work awaiting the expiration of the colt patent, the Model 1 put Smith & Wesson on the map! This gun was said to be the gun that got rid of percussion caps once and for all.
Often referred to as "The Gun That Won The West" and introduced in 1870, the Model 3 American was one of the first large caliber cartridge revolvers made in America. In 1875 an updated version with modifications made by Major George W. Schofield allowed it to win a government contract over their competitor Colt. However, Smith & Wesson made a fatal flaw by designing their own ammo the .45 S&W versus using the already available .45 Colt. The Colt revolvers could fire both S&W and Colt ammo, while the S&W Schofields could only fire the S&W ammo. This later led to the military to drop S&W and go with the Colt instead. It is said that the Smith & Wesson Model 3 was the gun used by Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Wyatt Earp.
The boom of the 1900s
1899 was the birth of the most successful firearm created by the company, the .38 Military & Police, also known as the Model 10. During World War I, their .38 Military & Police revolver was adopted by the United States military as "the standard sidearm." This adoption during the first World War led returning soldiers to purchase their own .38 when they came back home. Over time it developed into one of the most popular and widely used revolvers ever made with over six million units sold worldwide in 150 years.
After years of development and testing, Smith & Wesson produced its first automatic pistol in 1913. The .35 Automatic featured two safety devices and was available in two different finishes for a whopping $16.50. Due to the odd caliber and World War stoppages the .35 auto never gained much traction, but its development led to other future innovative designs in automatic pistols.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Smith & Wesson was one of two major firearm manufacturers in the United States. They were known for their .32 Hand Ejector revolver, a small-frame pistol that came to be known as "The Saturday Night Special", which retailed at $25 during Prohibition from 1922–1927.
Smith & Wesson continued innovating in the design of revolvers and over the decades became known as the leader in revolvers. Their firearms were some of the first to feature swing-out cylinders, fully contained catriges, and double action operation. This led to them being one of the most popular manufacturers for police and military of all time. However, they were not as well known for their semi-automatic weapons until the creation of their M&P line of products.
Image from https://www.smith-wesson.com/
The 2000s and Beyond
In 2005, Smith & Wesson introduced the M&P line of handguns with a polymer frame and interchangeable grips to add personal style for customers. The M&P line could be seen as an ode to the original .38 Military and Police Model 10. The Model 10 forever changed the trajectory of Smith & Wesson. Upon its release, the new M&P firearm design was highly praised by gun experts on "The Shooting Channel" and others as one of the most innovative designs in years! This new line would forever change the trajectory of Smith & Wesson bringing them out of the revolver game into one of the top producers of modern day military, police, and hobbiest firearms.
In 2006, The M&P line continued to expand, moving into ar platform rifles. they are now known as one of the top producers of ar Platform rifles.
In 2015 Smith & Wesson produced firearms with the following numbers: 368,000 Revolvers; 99,200 Semi-Automatics; 4533 Single Shot Trap and had a net income of $103 million on sales of nearly $700 million from their facilities in New England: Houlton, Maine; Springfield, Massachusetts; Lewiston, Maine.
Their top selling and most popular firearms are: 38 Special Revolver (produced since 1899), 327 Federal Magnum Semi-Auto, Model 29, the M&P lineup of semi-automatic pistols that is known for its ergonomic design and safety features, the Model 66, a revolver that was designed to be more powerful than any other Smith & Wesson revolver in production at the time; and the Sigma series of pistols.
Image from https://www.smith-wesson.com/
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Smith & Wesson also owns several brands including Thompson/Center Arms, a company that manufactures firearm parts and accessories; Smith & Wesson Arms International (SWAI), an international subsidiary of the US-based manufacturer.
Smith & Wesson are headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts with manufacturing facilities located in Arizona, Texas and Maine. Smith&Wesson has a long history of innovation as they produce over ten million firearms per year to be sold around the world.
Smith & Wesson has been making firearms since 1852, and continues to lead the industry with innovations into the 21st century. Their accomplishments are numerous and its contributions to the history of firearms are vast. Smith & Wesson is truly a part of the American Story. If you’re in need of a quality firearm that will last for generations, you can't go wrong with a Smith & Wesson.
