S&W Model 1
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 83 mm
- Weight, empty
- 312 g
- Introduced
- 1857
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was the first firearm produced by Smith & Wesson and the first commercially successful revolver to use a self-contained metallic rimfire cartridge rather than loose powder, ball, and percussion caps. A single-action, seven-shot tip-up revolver chambered in .22 Short, it was loaded by unlatching and tipping the barrel up so the cylinder could be removed and recharged. Exploiting Rollin White's bored-through-cylinder patent, it launched in 1857 and proved enormously popular through the American Civil War, with production continuing until 1882.
Smith & Wesson built the Model 1 around Rollin White's patent for a bored-through cylinder, which they had secured exclusive rights to, blocking competitors from making cartridge revolvers in the United States until the patent expired in 1869.
Produced in three issues: 1st Issue (~12,000), 2nd Issue (~110,000), and 3rd Issue (~131,000). The .22 rimfire cartridge it introduced was the first American metallic cartridge.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Smith & Wesson
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1857 to 1882
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 83 mm
- Overall length
- 178 mm
- Weight, empty
- 312 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Single action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 7
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Brass
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 230 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 50 J
- Effective range
- 15 m
- Maximum range
- 50 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.
Tip up barrel
Removable cylinder
Spur trigger
Bored through cylinder
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 | 312 g | 1.05 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 415 revolvers | 178 mm | 260 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 431 revolvers | 83 mm | 127 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 revolvers | 7 | 6 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the S&W Model 1
How much does the S&W Model 1 weigh?
The S&W Model 1 weighs 312 g (11.0 oz) empty.
What caliber is the S&W Model 1?
The S&W Model 1 is chambered in .22 Short.
How many rounds does the S&W Model 1 hold?
The S&W Model 1 holds 7 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the S&W Model 1?
The S&W Model 1 is 178 mm (7.01 in) long overall, with a 83 mm (3.27 in) barrel.
Who makes the S&W Model 1?
The S&W Model 1 is made by Smith & Wesson (United States). It was designed by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson.
When was the S&W Model 1 introduced?
The S&W Model 1 was introduced in 1857 and discontinued in 1882.
How does the S&W Model 1 operate?
The S&W Model 1 uses a single action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
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 civilians (Civil War era)
- 1861
Provenance
Confidence in this record
85%
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/smith-wesson-model-1' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "smith-wesson-model-1", "name": "S&W Model 1", "manufacturer": { "id": "smith-wesson", "name": "Smith & Wesson", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1852, "website": "https://www.smith-wesson.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:48", "version": "6e259a578cb1b21d72610d761d652c983ff25806b9e736e2db8d2938596e9202" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1857, "barrel_length_mm": 83, "weight_empty_g": 312, "action_type": "single_action"}