Warner Pocket Revolver
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 76 mm
- Weight, empty
- 340 g
- Introduced
- 1857
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Warner Pocket Revolver is a six-shot, single-action .28 caliber percussion (cap-and-ball) revolver designed by James Warner and produced at Springfield, Massachusetts in the years surrounding the American Civil War. A compact pocket or vest-sized handgun, it featured safety notches machined into the rear edge of the cylinder so the hammer nose could rest safely between chambers, a feature carried across all of Warner's pocket models. Produced in relatively small numbers, it served the civilian self-defense market of the 1850s and 1860s.
James Warner received US Patent No. 17,904 on July 28, 1857 for his percussion revolver design. His pocket revolvers were marked 'JAMES WARNER SPRINGFIELD MASS. U.S.A.' on the cylinder frame and 'WARNER'S PATENT' on the cylinder.
Early examples chambered .28 caliber; later Warner pocket variants were produced in .31 caliber. Barrels were offered in both octagonal and round profiles in lengths from roughly 2.5 to 4 inches.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Springfield Arms Company
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1857 to 1865
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 76 mm
- Overall length
- 178 mm
- Weight, empty
- 340 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Rosewood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 180 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 47 J
- Effective range
- 15 m
- Maximum range
- 60 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.
Single action only
Cap and ball
Octagonal or round barrel
Six shot 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 | 340 g | 1.05 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 415 revolvers | 178 mm | 260 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 431 revolvers | 76 mm | 127 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 434 revolvers | 6 | 6 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Warner Pocket Revolver
How much does the Warner Pocket Revolver weigh?
The Warner Pocket Revolver weighs 340 g (12.0 oz) empty.
What caliber is the Warner Pocket Revolver?
The Warner Pocket Revolver is chambered in .28 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball).
How many rounds does the Warner Pocket Revolver hold?
The Warner Pocket Revolver holds 6 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Warner Pocket Revolver?
The Warner Pocket Revolver is 178 mm (7.01 in) long overall, with a 76 mm (2.99 in) barrel.
Who makes the Warner Pocket Revolver?
The Warner Pocket Revolver is made by Springfield Arms Company (United States). It was designed by James Warner.
When was the Warner Pocket Revolver introduced?
The Warner Pocket Revolver was introduced in 1857 and discontinued in 1865.
How does the Warner Pocket Revolver operate?
The Warner Pocket Revolver uses a revolving action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
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/warner-pocket-revolver' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "warner-pocket-revolver", "name": "Warner Pocket Revolver", "manufacturer": { "id": "springfield-arms", "name": "Springfield Arms Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1850, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-06 11:00:16", "updatedAt": "2026-07-06 11:00:16", "version": "2e358b59db3099d3d36b3d2f8bc789157d95007731f76b19a2f8025a6082623a" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1857, "barrel_length_mm": 76, "weight_empty_g": 340, "action_type": "revolving"}