| British Bulldog | |
|---|---|
 Non-firing replica of a Webley British Bulldog revolver |
|
| Type | Pocket Revolver |
| Place of origin |  United
Kingdom |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Webley & Scott |
| Designed | 1878 |
| Manufacturer | Webley & Scott, various manufacturers in Europe & USA |
| Produced | 1878–1914 |
| Specifications | |
| Barrel length | 2.5in (64mm) |
|
|
|
| Calibre | Various, inc .442 Webley, .44 Bulldog, .380 Revolver, .455 Webley |
| Action | Double Action revolver |
| Effective range | 15 yd |
| Maximum range | 20 yd |
| Feed system | 5-round cylinder |
| Sights | fixed front post and rear notch |
The British Bulldog was a popular type of solid-frame pocket revolver produced initially by British gunmakers Webley & Scott in 1878 and subsequently copied by gunmakers in Continental Europe and the United States.[1] They featured a 2.5-inch (64 mm) barrel and were chambered for a variety of heavy-duty calibres, including .442 Webley and .450 Adams.
Designed to be carried in a coat pocket or kept on a night-stand, great numbers have survived to the present day in good condition, having seen little actual use.[2]
Numerous copies of this design were also made in France, Belgium, Spain, and the USA during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,[3] with many of the American copies being manufactured by the firm of Forehand & Wadsworth.[4] American copies of the design retailed for approximately $5[1] and were often chambered for the low-powered[5] .44 Bulldog cartridge.[1]
One of these American-made British Bulldog revolvers was used to assassinate US President James Garfield on July 2, 1881 by disgruntled lawyer Charles Guiteau,[6] who was angry that Garfield had not appointed him to a Federal post. Guiteau reportedly wanted to purchase a British Bulldog revolver with ivory grips instead of wooden ones (as he believed they would look nicer when the gun was displayed in a museum[7]) but decided not to spend the extra dollar that the Ivory-gripped model would have cost[7]. In all, he paid $10 for the revolver, a box of cartridges, and a penknife[8], before spending the next day familiarising himself with the revolver's operation and firing 10 practice shots with it into trees along the banks of the Potomac River[7], before eventually using the revolver to shoot Garfield a week or so later in the Sixth Street Railway Station in Washington, D.C.
After Guiteau's trial, the revolver was placed in the Smithsonian Institution, some time after which (believed to be around 1900) the revolver disappeared[7], and has not been seen since.
British Bulldogs are now generally sought after as collector's pieces, especially as ammunition for them is (for the most part) no longer commercially available.
  | British Bulldog revolver - Gunwriters' Questions and Answers, Part 14. |
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