Arminius Revolver Manual Of Arms

Revolver Arminius HW 3-piece frame is assembled on the small size and rounded with a short handle. Food weapons carried out of the drum, leans to the left side, which has the bolt for patrons hole axis, facilitating workpits longitudinal, transverse grooves to lock the drum and simultaneous manual removal of spent cartridges. P89 - Manual Safety Model (manufactured from 1993 to 2009) (Out of Production) P89D - Decocker Model (manufactured from 1993 to 2009) (Out of Production) P89DAO - Double-Action Only (manufactured from 1993 - 2004) (Out of Production) P90 - Manual Safety Model (manufactured from 1991 to 2010) (Out of Production).

Arminius Revolver Manual Of Arms

This Arminius model ARM 357 is a 6 shot, single-action revolver that is chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge, but it can also easily accept the .38 special round. This revolver has a blued finish on the barrel and cylinder, and what appears to be a simulated color case hardening finish on the receiver. It is equipped with a 5 1/2 inch barrel and utilizes a blade front sight and a square notch rear sight, both of which are not adjustable for either windage or elevation. The grip panels are a smooth wood and include a round metal disc inlay of the Arminius company logo at the top of each grip. The model ARM 357 is based upon the Colt M1873 single action army revolver. It differs in the Colt M1873 design by having a floating firing pin in the standing breech. This change was due mostly to comply with the United States gun control act of 1968 in regards to imported firearms.

Arminius Revolver Manual Of ArmsManual
  1. Class: Double Action Revolver Action: Double Action Sights: Rigid Rear Finish: Burnished Unloaded Weight: 1.87 lbs. Barrel Length: 6 in. Unloaded Weight: 0.8.
  2. This Arminius model ARM 357 is a 6 shot, single-action revolver that is chambered for the.357 Magnum cartridge, but it can also easily accept the.38 special round. This revolver has a blued finish on the barrel and cylinder, and what appears to be a simulated color case hardening finish on the receiver. It is equipped with a 5 1/2 inch barrel and utilizes a blade front sight and a square.

The Arminius model ARM 357 that is featured on this page ranks as the most damaged firearm in the collection. It has been awarded this status by no fault of the manufacturer, but rather from a previous owner. This firearm was stored in a in-ground floor safe at a residence that had some water issues when the occupants were away for an extended period of time. Upon their arrival home and discovering the problem, they set out to repair the minor damage to the house but had some how forgot about the items stored in the safe. On the surface, all looked well but it was forgotten that when the water flooded the part of the house where the safe was located, it allowed the safe to be partially filled with water. It was not until much later that they realized that the items in the safe were actually sitting in water. The pictures here show the firearm in nearly the same condition that I received it. When the pictures were taken, the firearm was not operational. The hammer could not be pulled back and both the cylinder and loading gate were frozen solid in place. This revolver will make for a fun restoration project when it is awarded its turn on the workbench.

The .357 Magnum round is the worlds oldest handgun 'magnum' cartridge. Smith & Wesson played a major part in the development and success of the .357 magnum cartridge. it is Philip Sharpe, whom at the time was a firearms author and experimenter who is credited for the development of the round in the 1930s. In his book 'Complete Guide to Handloading', Phillip Sharpe summarizes his extensive testing in the development of the .357 Magnum. Elmer Keith also played a large role in the development of the .357 magnum due in part to his testing of the .38 Special cartridge and loading it to far beyond normally accepted limits. Many police agencies at this time were using such cartridges as the .32 or .38 special and were asking for a more powerful round. S&W's Vice President Major Douglas B. Wesson agreed to design a new revolver that would handle 'high-intensity' .38 Special loads if Winchester would develop a new cartridge for it. Winchester went to work and a short while later introduced the .357 Magnum, which is dimensionally identical to the .38 Special except for having a .125 inch longer case then that of the .38 special. On April 8, 1935 the first revolvers known as the .357 Magnum Models were then introduced by S&W. The classic Model 19, is one of the original S&W .357's.

About the Arminius name and firearms.

Arminius was originally the name of a German hero from around the first century AD(17 BC - AD 21). He was a chieftain of the Cherusci who defeated the Roman army by destroying three legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest(described as clades Variana by Roman historians) late in the summer of 9 AD. He successfully blocked the efforts of Germanicus to reconquer the Germanic territories east of the Rhine river. Although Arminius was unsuccessful in forging a unity among the Germanic tribes, his victory over the Romans had a far reaching effect on the history of both the Germanic tribes, and ultimately of Europe.

Moving ahead to modern day firearms, there have been two different German firearms manufactures that have used the Arminius name. In addition, to a Spanish gun maker by the name of Gregorio Boluburu, who also used the Arminius trademark.

The first German company to do so was Pickert Waffenwerk that was founded by Friedrich Pickert who was a cousin of Carl Walther. The company was located in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, Germany. This firm manufactured inexpensive yet well made pocket revolvers form the early 1900's until the WWII era. They produced a variety of revolvers in calibers ranging from 5.5mm to .38 caliber. The revolvers can be found in many numerous varieties to include a vast range of barrel lengths, calibers, number of chambers per cylinder and so on. It is possible to find these firearms in any number of different combinations. Often the only identification on the firearm will be the Arminius name engraved beneath the head of the German hero.

The second German company to use the Arminius name was Herman Weihrauch Waffenfabrik of Mellrichstadt, Bayern(Bavaria), West Germany. The company was originally located in Zella-Mehlis, Germany but fled to West Germany when Thuringia came under Soviet control after WWII. Originally the firm manufactured bicycles and sporting arms, but after the move to West Germany they began to manufacture air rifles as well as other sporting arms. These included a number of revolvers that were manufactured using the Arminius trade name. These Arminius revolvers made by Weihrauch should not be confused with the Arminius revolvers made by the earlier Pickert Waffenwerk firm before WWII. The Herman Weihrauch Waffenfabrik revolvers are side opening hand ejector models that were based on the designs of Colt and Smith & Wesson and are sturdy sidearms made of good quality. The revolvers will be found with a two digit number code stamped on them. This number will be the date that the firearm went through the West German proof facility and will most likely also indicate the date of manufacture.

Today, the Arminius brand of firearms are still being made in Germany. The address and full name of the company is, Hermann Weihrauch Revolver GmbH, Postfach 25, 97634 Mellrichstadt. Their phone number is (+49)9776-707678. The abbreviation 'GmbH' from above indicates 'Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung' and is literally translated as 'company with limited liability' which has become the most common corporation form in Germany.

I have written before about action types and trigger types, but now we need to discuss the Manual of Arms. This refers to the actual operation of a gun, sometimes called “running the gun”. While this relates mostly to someone who carries a gun on their person, it also applies to someone who stores a gun at home. More than one person has retrieved a gun in an emergency, only to discover that it was not immediately dischargeable, and they weren’t sure how to recover. There are two questions, the answers to which will vary depending on the type of gun:

Arminius Revolver Manual Of Arms
  1. in what condition should this gun be carried (or stored)?
  2. what steps are necessary to make it dischargeable?

I will start with the simplest type, and move toward the more complex.

Revolver. Most are double-action (DA), which means they can be fired cocked (single-action) or uncocked (double-action). It is a common convention to only fire them in DA mode, and they must never be carried or stored in single-action. Some revolvers are double-action only (DAO). There is no safety, so running the gun simply means point and shoot.

Revolver (SAO). It would be uncommon for someone to have a single action revolver (which can only be fired when cocked), and not know this, as these are typically used for competition, but these guns should never be carried with a round under the hammer.

Semi-automatic (striker-fired). These guns do not have an external hammer, and often do not have a safety. They should be carried with a round in the chamber, and safety off. On presentation, take off the safety (if on) and press the trigger. In a crisis, if you forget the safety, or cannot take it off in less than 1 second, you are in trouble.

Semi-automatic (hammer-fired, SAO). Many hammer-fired guns are single-action only. When you rack the slide to charge the chamber, the hammer is cocked, and the gun will not fire if it is decocked. These are carried “cocked-and-locked” (safety on). On presentation, take off the safety and press the trigger. Another option is to not have a round in the chamber (only advisable at home). Yet another option is to rack the slide and manually decock the hammer (this is dangerous). On presentation, cock the hammer with your thumb.

Semi-automatic (hammer-fired, DA, with safety and no decocker). Same as above, except that, when decocked, it is not necessary to cock the hammer. The trigger will do that. On presentation, (if safety on), take off the safety and press the trigger. If decocked, just press the trigger. It cannot be decocked with the safety on. **

Manual

Semi-automatic (hammer-fired, DA, with decocker and no safety). Same as above, except there is no safety. After racking the slide, you must carry the gun decocked. On presentation, just press the trigger. **

Manual Of Arms Coast Guard

Semi-automatic (hammer-fired, DA, with both safety and decocker). Some Beretta models have this odd combination. After racking the slide, when you put on the safety, it automatically decocks the hammer. On presentation, you must take off the safety first. **

** When firing a decocked, double-action gun, the first pull of the trigger is long and relatively heavy, by design. Since the gun always resets itself on firing to single-action (cocked), all subsequent pulls will be short and easy. It takes some training to get used to this, and many people will prematurely discharge the second round. It is due to this training issue that most police departments use striker-fired guns, where every trigger pull is the same.

Arminius 357 Revolver For Sale

It is important that you train around the proper operation of your gun so that you don’t fumble in a crisis. A drill I recommend is loading your gun, and putting it in the condition you would carry it (safety on, decocked, etc.). Place it on a bench (on in a holster, if that is allowed), and put a silhouette target at 3 yards distance (later, at 5 yards). Track the time it takes to retrieve the gun, make it dischargeable, and put two good shots in center mass. The goal is three seconds. Repeat as necessary.