The Giant Gasser Revolver: the BFR of 1870
Today, there seems to be an arms race to make exceptionally large revolvers that fire huge rounds—as witnessed by the S&W 500, the BFR and others. However this is nothing new as something very similar to this occurred over 140 years ago. The location was central Europe, the time was the 1870s, and the gun that started the ruckus was a behemoth known as the Gasser.
The Austrian Army in the late 1860s was coming off a brutal defeat at the hands of Prussia in the Seven Weeks War. Looking for new firearms to modernize their forces, the hunt was on for a modern revolver. The revolver needed to be able to fire a down-loaded version of the standard Werndl cavalry rifle’s cartridge adopted at the same time. The firm of Mr. Leopold Gasser gave it a stab and the rest is big wheelgun history.
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