History Primer 168: British Enfield MkI Documentary

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Ballistol's Nostalgic Flask
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Jonathan's video: Why was the Enfield Revolver such a huge flop?
• Why was the Enfield Re...
Additional reading:
Adams' Revolvers
WHJ Chamberlain & AWF Taylerson
amzn.to/4hgCxWO
International Arms and Militaria Collector No.21 Annual
Enfield's First Revolver: an ill-fated adventure
Ian Skennerton
Revolvers of the British Services 1854 - 1954
WHJ Chamberlain & AWF Taylerson
amzn.to/4hELgC6
Geschichte und Technik der europäischen Militärrevolver Band 1
Rolf H. Müller
Howdah to High Power
Robert J. Maze
amzn.to/4aMeaOf
Memorandum on Revolvers 1872 to 1887
H. J. Alderson
PAGCA Monthly Bugle October 1971
Owen Jones - Arms Inventor
Henry M. Stewart Jr.
PAGCA Monthly Bugle March 1983
Deringer and Owen Jones Continued....
Henry M. Stewart Jr.
The American Society of Arms Collectors in London, April-May 1984, Bulletin #50
The Presentation of the Owen Jones-Deringer Revolvers to the Sealed Pattern Room at Enfield Lock.
Henry M. Stewart Jr.
Ammunition data thanks to DrakeGmbH
/ drakegmbh
Animations by Bruno!
/ @baanimations3689
Special thanks to:
Jonathan Ferguson from Royal Armouries
/ @royalarmouriesmuseum
Colonel Keith Gibson from Virginia Military Institute
www.vmi.edu/
Mike Revesz from Pennsylvania Antique Gun Collectors Association
pagca.com/
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Snail Mail/Contact us at:
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[@alfheim7579]

It feels weird for an episode not to release in the middle of the night.

[@alcedob.5850]

It's middle of the night for me...

[@muleteam66]

☝️☝️ what they said.

[@tiberiussulla183]

It's depends where your living

[@silmarian]

Same tho. Usually this is my bedtime watching the day it comes out.

[@Moondog66602]

Usually comes out between midnight and 6am, Texas time

[@GliderBane]

I makes me sad that episodes on obscure firearms get fewer views. I learn more from these episodes and I enjoy them more. Keep up the fantastic work.

[@mikepette4422]

i know what you are saying. In fact I could care less about a 1911 episode and thats gonna be a huge one.

[@jezjukes]

From the sounds of it, people aren't too fond of these, but it's the reason I'm here. Embarrassingly I've lost touch with this channel, I'll try not to do so again.

[@tenofprime]

Same here, while I love the videos on stuff everyone knows (1903, SMLE & the 1911 in the works) the oddball or never heard of ones are the ones I enjoy more. I still hope they can one day find a St Etienne 1907 to play with as that is one clockwork of a machine gun.

[@tenofprime]

@@mikepette4422 what I an looking forward to on the 1911 is all the little crazy bits they will tell us about a gun we know already.

[@SonOfTheDawn515]

@@mikepette4422 couldn't care less*

[@charlesashworth6805]

The unnecessary amount of complication of this revolver would make John Pederson jealous Also keep going with unknown firearms I love these episodes

[@jonrolfson1686]

Pedersen would have tried to smooth out the awkward leverage and drag points with a few more carefully nested coil springs.

[@FailedRanger]

Now that is my favorite replt

[@tjfritts9013]

Feels like a bunch of machinists designed this at 9:30PM on a Thursday, just chilling in the workshop over some beers and then the "theoretical idea of how cutesy it could be designed" was interrupted by some dimwit starting to machine the parts to actually make it. They're trying to come up with ludicrous cutesy, but Mr. Nine Beers In started making it and nobody wanted to bump his buzz by telling him they were just screwing around.

[@reidhampton6799]

That’s crazy, I am a cadet at VMI and my dad and I have been our firearms museum here on campus numerous times. We have seen the tranters, RIC, and other arms from your videos in there. Also, in a past video you mentioned looking for a Colt produced potato digger, there is one on display here. Thank you for all of your work, I watch all of your videos.

[@akatripclaymore.9679]

@ reid hampton' Is it chambered for .303 or 30/06 Sir? I didn't know Colt produced any early Machine gun's for Britain. I Do Own a .303 Pattern 14 made by Winchester for 🇬🇧 America adopted the design in our 1917 enfield, 30/06 they are both VERY accurate Rifle's and a few were scoped Sniper Rifle's. One drawback was they only held 5 round's unlike the SMLE' also Britain didn't like the fact ( it is a True Mauser action) Therefore they never referred to it as an Enfield. Lol🤔

[@Candrsenal]

send along our thanks

[@oleukeman]

Another example of “design by committee”, rarely a good idea. Thanks for another interesting, informative video.

[@theogeitondasamphilochos5630]

41:34 - me: disgusted 41:38 - me: suffered in clonic pain 41:57 - me: suffered in absolute acute pain in which poor cartridges, which were jammed into cylinder with brute force and probably deformed into some bad shapes as a result, poor gun and its user was suffered I now learned that SA80 is definitely not the first disaster Enfield caused...

[@aker1993]

The problem with Enfield is that their engineers are just engineers unlike some gun companies in America or even in continental Europe that are engineers that also are gunsmiths and avid shooters.

[@illegalclown]

I thought maybe I had my days mixed up when I didn't wake up to a new episode this morning.

[@richhardie6897]

Just bought two cans of Ballistol from Green Top in Richmond VA that I didn’t really need (yet) in honor of the fact they are supporting my favorite KZbin channel. (You edged Ian out only because he, as far as I am aware, has never used penguins or Guinea Pigs in his videos)

[@tomhenry897]

Gunshops here don’t carry it Going have to mail order

[@Candrsenal]

God I love the Green Top

[@SlavicCelery]

I've understood for a long time that, top break revolvers were more susceptible to timing issues and breakages. Never before, have I seen such a good explanation for why that could be the case. I see why making one strong is quite a challenge.

[@tenofprime]

Yep, top break revolvers are cool and fast but it is easy to see why they fell out of favor. I would still love to have one dispite the impractical stuff

[@anti5091]

Always a great day whenever a new C&Rsenal video pops up in my feed. Great work as always!

[@Primarch359]

HMS Excellent still exists and Tom Scott did a cool video on their ship damage control simulator.

[@danielr.8044]

I am very here for new info and well researched information. Keep up the great work!

[@damonharrison2614]

Thanks!

[@spokanesurvivaltrainingand5797]

I love that ballistol is such a quiet and reliable company

[@michaelrieber4858]

I like how you dive into the rare and/or obscure guns. Keep up the good work

[@tombogan03884]

I'm fascinated by your dive into the REVOLVER history.

[@HereticalKitsune]

So hyped for the full story after watching the Royal Armories video!

[@SlavicCelery]

Huzzah new episode... Guess I'll have to watch it a second time tonight. So that way I can fall asleep midway through; as is tradition.

[@rmod42]

This series on revolvers (and particularly this episode) has been fascinating. Its been wonderful to see in depth material on the guns that, to me, have always been footnotes on the way to the Webly in British service

[@Voelund]

I use Ballistol to coat the blades ov my knife collection and to polish the blades from time to time. No complaint.

[@JosipRadnik1]

Would be interesting to compare this system to the Melvin Hulbert Revolver. This had an extraction system that was quite similar in many ways. Also the Thomas Revolver comes to mind, but that's a rare bird.

[@Joe5561000]

I don't remember if you guys have covered it, but the Merwin Hulbert loads from the gate and ejects in a similar way as this. I was actually surprised you didn't mention it.

[@nothim7321]

Was not expecting this. Merry Tuesday day release everyone!!!

[@robertsantamaria6857]

The first 10 minutes is an amazing journey into the wonderful world military procurement. And then it gets weirder. How has this not been made as a British comedy sketch.

[@ronjohnson6406]

Awesome that Ballistol sponsored the show. I have considered Ballistol for quite sometime, but thanks to Othais's "Paul Harvey" level of pluggery. I have to try it now.

[@r2crowseye]

How far we've come from fresh faced Mae 'I'm a revolver girl' to now 'Another wheel gun?' 🤣🤣

[@davidkohler7454]

It doesn't matter what I'm doing, whenever I hear those first few string notes at the beginning of this show, my demeanor changes to a very pleasant anticipation. And I'm ready to watch and learn. Thank you guys for the quality content.

[@junglesairsoftblog6311]

Love these primers almost as much as the podcasts!

[@johnfisk811]

Regarding the grip, one must remember that this was for personal defence but principally for the cavalry. Firstly it would be drawn from the service holster which is designed around security and protection rather than a fast draw. Secondly the cavalry would be wearing gloves. The first will put the hand pulling the revolver’s grip upwards and not pushing it into the web. Thus the hand will end up lower on the grip as when May adjusted her grip to reach the trigger. In the second the gloved hand will fill the grip more fully and partially explain the knuckle choice. In no way was it expected to be used in a quick snatch from the holster. Troops operate as a group and engage as a group so the revolver will be expected to be drawn as a preparation to engage. The French army doctrine had no need for safety catches as rifles were carried unloaded and would be loaded only upon the officer’s command for the same reason. A quick snatch draw from an open holster is an American aberration whereas the period service holster around the world incorporated a covering flap. Lovely work Othias. Thank you so much for the hard research work you must have put into this.

[@compwiz101]

"Gun youtube" is often a phrase that brings a very different sort of picture to mind than what we get from the thoughtful documentation (and occasionally, experimental archeology!) that we gain from channels like C&Rsenal and Forgotten weapons - like the "Project Lightning" series to add context and modern documentation to the questions of "How *DID* these work in practice, anyways?" It's one thing to read in a memo somewhere "The ejector was replaced with a conventional break-open action for ease of use" but to *see* a Mk1 crack open, followed by the shaking, wiggling, and possibly cursing really tells you a lot more about what engineers (and soldiers) were facing back then!

[@Reepicheep-1]

And this cursing is in near-perfect conditions. Things were likely more complicated with mud, explosions, and darkness.

[@henryroberts7098]

Thank you. I have seen these advertised here but never knew why they had the triangular cut out in the front of the frame. I just assumed they opened like a normal top break. Now it all makes sense.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

Such a cool, complex and bizarre looking revolver But that's what I love about it! Such a fascinating design from another time. I really like how the hinge/pivot point is at the front of the frame forward of the cylinder and thus creating that "triangle" of space as Othias referred to it as. So cool and I can't believe how much behind the scenes research that you have to do. Amazing, great episode, thank you guys!

[@c4feg4r44]

i have no special interest in guns, but you made it interesting. I love it when pasionate people go all in. its a joy to watch no matter if you are in that field or not.

[@billshepherd4331]

The Merwin & Hulbert did it so much better! But I would still love to own one. You two & your crew do great work, please keep it up!

[@desert_jin6281]

This episode is on par with all the others - excellent ! Thank you !

[@b1laxson]

Now that's a proper product placement. We are using it cause its good and this how you should use it.

[@jpkalishek4586]

Yeah, they had product placement before backing by the product. Always a good sign it isn't BS

[@Odin029]

Wait a minute... what sort of bizarro world am I in. I see a C&Rsenal primer video post and the sun's still shining! Should I watch it now, or wait until tonight?

[@coldandaloof7166]

Hey Othias, with all the research on this gun you should do a short book and submit it to Headstamp on just this gun. If only you knew someone over there to help you out with it.

[@michaelmorley7719]

I have very little interest in revolvers, and if it weren't for C&Rsenal I wouldn't know an Abadie from Abbot & Costello, but you do such a good job telling the story of these old wheelguns that I watch every episode and thoroughly enjoy it.

[@tenofprime]

That is the sign of a truly skilled telling of history. Othias and the team could make a video about paint drying fun to watch with all the historical details they would discuss during it.

[@chrisohnemus7979]

Outstanding information thank you. I shoot my mk1 and mk2 frequently. Its not overly painful and the novelty outweighs the weirdness. The Wilkinson Howdah pistols are relatively common. Mine has full 2 inch Snider chambers. Now that is fun

[@somefool4625]

New info on old stuff is awesome.

[@mikepette4422]

Caught the Royal Armouries episode on this gun. Jonathon did a good set up for us all.

[@PajamaPantsStudios]

Good lord I love the dedication to lesser known revolvers in this show. I’ve gained such an appreciation for the different lockwork of revolvers, it’s INSANE

[@kregchrist2826]

you guys are my heroes thank you so much for all the work you do

[@Eulemunin]

I enjoy the more obscure firearms. Especially with the beards dedication to the history. More context!

[@Mzerron]

This is one I have been waiting for! EXCELLENT!

[@johndallman2692]

The night-time shot was excellent. Please keep doing this for black powder guns.

[@Reepicheep-1]

57:50

[@itatane]

Othais, not gonna lie, the whole flow chart was brilliant, but I still have a headache trying to follow the story. I can't even begin to imagine how much of a pain in the tuckus this was for you. I don't know if you imbibe spirituous drinks, but I am sipping a mug of Hot Buttered Blackstrap Rum and Coffee on your behalf... Cheers!

[@TheWalterKurtz]

I had to back this one up several times. And several times in the same spot in several places.

[@timblack6422]

Outstanding!! A release on my Birthday!! Thank you!

[@Gunner40Five]

Excellent job guys! Keep up the good work.

[@akatripclaymore.9679]

Thank you for the history lesson on British Revolvers.

[@Roddy556]

Was looking forward to this one.

[@Z09SS]

This unknown stuff is what I'm paying for, dunno about everyone else. I dabble with alternate histories and this is fuel for equipping the characters.

[@coldandaloof7166]

Thank you Ballistol, getting some for stocking stuffers

[@Frank-bc8gg]

A two shot .450/577 pistol? I really hope that you guys get your hands on one because that seems terrifying and fantastic.

[@tomhenry897]

Make 2 shot 7.62. X 39

[@CitizenSmith50]

I saw one once at a club display next to my "Montenegrin" Gasser; both are a fairly similar size, from memory !

[@SamGray]

Comment to show that I love top-break revolvers even though I understand the mechanical and holster issues.

[@rdrrr]

Would love a high-quality modern top-break revolver in .357 Magnum - I think it's possible to make the frame strong enough with modern production techniques. If not, .44 Special would be an interesting proposition. But I guess there's just no market for it, even as a bespoke piece with an equally bespoke price tag.

[@88porpoise]

@@rdrrr With modern materials and production it would be trivial to make strong enough But it wouldn't have enough demand to be worthwhile. And with the reliability of modern swing-out revolvers, what practical benefit does it have?

[@ch319ris]

Love you guys! Keep being awesome.

[@T30-z5w]

I like the efficiency of top breaks. I recall years ago having some old US commercial examples and all of them had issues. Very delicate system at least with the metallurgy of the late 19th and early 20th century.

[@rickyokogawa6154]

I always look forward to each episode! It’s great to know how firearms how evolved. The early revolvers look so “steam punk”!

[@chefemilj]

Thank you for your hard work

[@niklasaskham4208]

I was getting worried. Much love ❤

[@terrysmith7751]

A nice grouping br Mae, shooting rapidly with the double action.

[@badopinionsrighthere]

You've had a lot of firearms on here that are really weird, but I think this one truly deserves the descriptor "contraption."

[@ZGryphon]

Ha! I was _just_ looking at the channel page thinking, "Huh, that's weird. They usually go up first thing in the morning, I hope everything's OK." Anxiety resolved. :)

[@sputnikjones6838]

I just bought a can of Ballistol because of your recommendation. I mostly use Rem Oil and Hoppies .Ballistol is not as available but that can should last me

[@cheesenoodles8316]

I have learned so much about revolvers, the lock work, hands, designer names....give me a test. Yes I would fail. I can shoot em, load em n love em. This is so much in the weeds...I like it.

[@keithplymale2374]

I have very much enjoyed this trip through the history of revolvers other than the Colt 1873 that were out around the same time.

[@William_Bryant]

I think this is the only time I’ve ever seen Mae not absolutely ecstatic about shooting.

[@Zlopyy]

CONGRATS on getting a sponsor :D

[@shootingwithmitch5921]

Great vid as always!

[@Garden-Guns]

I love Ballistol!

[@ericmckinley7985]

I add it to my humidifier so I can properly huff it while tending to my Minecraft farm.

[@timothyedge6100]

Excellent! Always had a lack of any reasonable knowledge in these

[@TrentTheWanderer]

God these are so satisfying!

[@crbielert]

love the smell of ballistol, reminds me of those orange "circus peanut" candies

[@jorgechalub8930]

Muy bueno tu vídeo saludos desde Argentina

[@Dogbertious]

I was starting to get a little worried! My fortnightly Tuesday morning ritual of watching the new episode was broken....and replaced by a new Wednesday morning ritual of watching the new episode!

[@stamfordly6463]

It's worth pointing out that Prince George was the Duke of Cambridge and was notoriously averse to change so for himof all peopleto decide that revolvers were needed then the clamour for them would need to be deafening.

[@johannfwengelbrecht7178]

In terms of "What the good Geian grief were they thinking?" this makes the Reichrevolver look like a well-thought-out, rational decision. But it is gorgeous.

[@Hallacairion]

Regarding ballistol the cool thing is that the standard formula is actually completly harmless to your body. You can even drink it if you want theres plenty of old people in switzerland doing that. even though I dont know how they handle the smell of it.

[@PLAYINGAROUND]

I wonder if the high knuckle/long grip is a nod to the gloved hand of a cavalryman???

[@krijnvandersman7998]

There it is!

[@BHuang92]

In my opinion, the Enfield revolver is very steampunk!

[@j.sagiechode]

That little spring could do two things, help the hand, and help reset the trigger full forward.

[@rodwilson6648]

Just on the problems with the cartridge extraction, especially when one or more cartridges are unfired. I think it may have become slightly less a problem after the MkIII cartridge was introduced from late 1881. The MkIII had an oversized bulbous projectile of .477 which fitted much firmly in the cylinder and when the revolver was opened didn't drop out quite so easily. It was likely developed to attempt to solve the extraction issues identified in your video. In any case the whole revolver wasn't very good. There's a saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. I've always considered the Enfield revolver to be the firearm equivalent.

[@51WCDodge]

No the Enfield revolver is more a Military Design Mouse- The rest of the world calls it , an elephant! 😁

[@Nipplator99999999999]

I had the...umm... honor...of de-gumming one of these for a old timer that kept skating across the teeth. I will say one thing... It would have been a great trench club, but it is a absolutely perfect example of burdened by over-engineering and causing it to be ID-10-T resistant but suffers easily from interfacing issues.

[@REXOB9]

Thanks to Balistol for the support. Other uses? makes a great beard oil ;-)

[@robertfox1401]

That gun makes such a lovely thumping sound

[@51WCDodge]

A classic British Design Military Mouse- Known to the rest of the world as , an Elephant. The War Office wanted to design a new type of military horse, and came up with a camel. So saying the British Officer Pattern Saddle is still widley used throughout the world. The Royal Navy were actually the most go ahead arm of the British military, including being the first to think of armoured cars and tanks.

[@Sir_Pleasant]

25:48 When you’re about to say “weird” but decide to say “odd” instead.

[@SonOfTheDawn515]

It baffles me it took us so long to figure out the swing out cylinder with ejector.

[@88porpoise]

Because it is actually pretty hard to do. Having the cylinder reliably swing out and back in without affecting the alignment or timing of the revolver was far from trivial for 19th century manufacturing.

[@TheWalterKurtz]

Seems like a lot of work for what they got. But that's the way the evolution of contraptions work.

[@johnfisk811]

Watching using subtitles I was so amused by the start. “Hi I’m Odious and….”

[@rwm4738]

Great episode, are you going to be doing one on the Adams cartridge revolvers?

[@wittercase1593]

When it comes to two types of loading and extraction the Merwin Hulbert comes to mind.

[@jonrolfson1686]

Makes one wonder what sort of simple, smoothly functioning revolvers would have eventuated had John Moses Browning been commercially involved in revolver design.

[@JerryEricsson]

AT LAST! A man with more first names then mine! I am Jerry Arthur Gordon Ericsson, named for a character out of my eldest sisters reading book "Alice and Jerry" my Grandfather Arthur and my father Gordon. Dad being a first generation Swedish American.

[@woodsmanforlife1677]

This revolver was issued to the (then) NWMP (North West Mounted Police), the Kanadian federal police. The Kanadian government and the British influence did their best to keep US made weapons out of service and the hands of citizen. The Win M 1876 was an exception.

[@michaelconquergood9556]

Been waiting it's a little early, cool

[@michaelrobbins9679]

Wonder how Lady Mae would do using her longest digit to operate the trigger during the grab point and shoot.. love to see her readdress this.. ;-)