Gasser Model 1870 Army Service

History

The Gasser Model 1870 Army Service Pistol became the standard weapon of the Austro-Hungarian cavalry units. Although the design began sometime in 1869, its year of use is noted in its model number (1870). The revolver became the first real financial success for the firearms manufacturer Leopold Gasser.

Gasser owns several factories dedicated to making pistols and has thousands of examples in circulation for military and civilian operators. Most of these guns were from Otaklin, Austria, and turned out to be rare collectibles.

After Leopold's death, the company was run by his brother and later renamed "Rast & Gasser".

Model 1870 has a simple design. Most notable in relation to its appearance is its use of an "open frame", describing how there are no structural "bridges" spanning the cylinder. The cylinder is smooth and sits in the frame above the trigger group and pistol grip.

The trigger itself is housed in an elongated ring, while the handle is an elongated checkerboard-shaped grip protrusion that fits comfortably in the hand. The hammer sits above the pistol grip, while the barrel is rounded and mounted on the front sight. The rotary cylinder contains six 11mm caliber cartridges and the firing is doubled.

The double action method is credited to British gunsmith Robert Adams and simply implies that pulling the trigger performs two functions: 1) cocks the hammer and 2) releases it to hit the bottom of a chambered cartridge. On a revolver, this action also involves rotating the cylinder bore to feed a fresh cartridge base into the hammer.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes