Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 73 mm
- Weight, empty
- 280 g
- Introduced
- 1875
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 is an American single-action spur-trigger pocket revolver of the late 19th century, one of the many low-cost 'Suicide Special' trade-name revolvers produced in Norwich, Connecticut. A solid-frame, five-shot design chambered for the .32 rimfire cartridge, the 'No. 2' frame size denoted the .32 caliber within the maker's numbered range, while the 'Tiger' name was simply one of dozens of catchy trade brands under which these inexpensive concealable revolvers were marketed to working-class buyers.
So-called 'Suicide Specials' earned their grim nickname from collector Duncan McConnell in the 1940s, a label for the cheap, fancifully named single-action pocket revolvers that flooded the American market between the 1870s and 1900s; the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 was a typical example, affordable, concealable and sold under an evocative brand.
'Tiger' was a trade name rather than a distinct mechanism; Hopkins & Allen sold near-identical spur-trigger suicide specials under more than three dozen brands including Ranger, Dictator, Blue Jacket and Czar. No. 1 frames were .22 rimfire and No. 2 frames .32 rimfire.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Hopkins & Allen
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1875 to 1900
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 73 mm
- Overall length
- 171 mm
- Weight, empty
- 280 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Single action revolver
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Nickel plated
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 210 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 119 J
- Effective range
- 15 m
- Maximum range
- 75 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Spur trigger
Fixed sights
Fluted cylinder
Bird head grip
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 404 revolvers | 280 g | 1.05 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 415 revolvers | 171 mm | 260 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 431 revolvers | 73 mm | 127 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 revolvers | 5 | 6 | Holds fewer rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2
How much does the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 weigh?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 weighs 280 g (9.9 oz) empty.
What caliber is the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 is chambered in .32 Short Rimfire.
How many rounds does the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 hold?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 is 171 mm (6.73 in) long overall, with a 73 mm (2.87 in) barrel.
Who makes the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 is made by Hopkins & Allen (United States).
When was the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 introduced?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 was introduced in 1875 and discontinued in 1900.
How does the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 operate?
The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 uses a single action, and its firing mechanism is single action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- American civilian market
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/hopkins-and-allen-tiger-no-2' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "hopkins-and-allen-tiger-no-2", "name": "Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2", "manufacturer": { "id": "hopkins-allen", "name": "Hopkins & Allen", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1868, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": "American firearms manufacturer based in Norwich, Connecticut, founded in 1868. Produced revolvers, rifles, shotguns and derringers. Filed for bankruptcy in 1916; assets purchased by Marlin-Rockwell in 1917.", "status": "defunct", "defunctYear": 1916, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": true, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-09-15 07:19:19", "version": "5a86a8241e4f289db0b2739cdb5435347a6afff7c52bda23e6bea8c47757e49d" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1875, "barrel_length_mm": 73, "weight_empty_g": 280, "action_type": "single_action_revolver"}