40 shot pistol was the high capacity ‘weapon of the future’ in 1878

Ian from Forgotten Weapons takes on a trip back to the good old days of 1878.

The 40-shot Guycot Chain pistol was the ‘weapon of the future’ nearly 140 years ago.

Patented in both the United Kingdom and France, this 40-shot .25 caliber is basically an early double-action semi-automatic pistol. At the time this capacity was unbelievable. 40 black powder cartridges are spread over a chain running throughout the pistol frame and grip.

With each trigger pull the firing pin is drawn back, released, and drives the chain forward one length. At the time of its design, this pistol was revolutionary.

To load the weapon, the rear sight slides back revealing access to the cartridges. Unfortunately, loading the weapon wasn’t the safest activity since it required the shooter to pull the trigger to advance the chain. Forgetting to engage or negligently disengaging the safety during the loading process would absolutely result in a negligent discharge.

Take a look at this fascinating piece of history in the video below.