Unfortunately, the Safety Automatic was tainted by infamy when Polish-American anarchist Leon Czolgosz used one to assassinate US President McKinley in 1901, propelling the progressive minded Theodore Roosevelt to the White House. Selling for a fraction of the price of a comparable Smith & Wesson, the Safety Automatic was available to the common worker to put in his pocket or sock drawer in increasingly violent times. The Safety Automatic was meant for close range self-defense. If the sights look tiny and hard to see, it is because they are. Well over one million of these guns were produced until production ended in 1941 with the onset of World War II. From the factory, different barrel lengths were available though today the 3 inch model is the most prevalent and as such weighs in at an almost unbeatable 12 ounces - lighter and smaller than most small revolvers and automatics available today. The sights on the Safety Automatic consists of two small posts on the top-strap of the action and a rounded blade near the muzzle. Neither cartridge was especially powerful, but they were short enough to eject easily and weak enough to be used in a top-break revolver, which relies on a small hinge to hold everything together when firing. The Safety Automatic was available in a small frame that chambered the 32 S&W or a larger frame utilizing the larger 38 S&W round. The automatic ejector raises up and runs back into its housing at the end of its stroke so you can load five rounds into the cylinder A young Oscar Mossberg helped perfect this system, which was both fast and straightforward - but also weak, hence the low powered cartridges that the gun fired. This allows the barrel and cylinder to be tipped forward. These revolvers opened via a latch that rides above the exposed hammer. The owl-head icon on the plastic grips is a dead giveaway that we are dealing with an Iver Johnson revolver. The diminutive grips on these guns are either wood or plastic and all feature some mild checkering along with the owl-head stamp that was Iver Johnson’s trademark at the time. A hammerless version of this handgun was offered and one model even included a trigger safety - much like the one Gaston Glock eventually used many years later.Īesthetically, the guns are all steel with some being finished in blue and others in nickel. This is the modern standard in revolver safety-but Iver Johnson was doing it over 100 years ago. This was one of the first systems of its kind and Iver Johnson’s marketing campaign took to it, billing it as a safer gun that could not be accidentally discharged.
That safety mechanism was a transfer bar system that kept the hammer from striking the frame-mounted firing pin unless the trigger was pulled. The word “automatic” refers to the safety mechanism. Iver Johnson’s marketing largely focused on the safety of their handguns over that of its competitors.ĭeveloped in 1894, the Safety Automatic is not an automatic revolver. Their weapons were expressly meant to fulfill the need of concealed protection in an era of high crime in America’s big cities during a time before concealed carry permits. Suffice it to say, the company Iver Johnson rose to prominence making bicycles as well as firearms. The history of Iver Johnson and their many revolvers could be the subject of a college dissertation. But if any other company had a strong stake in the pocket revolver market, it had to be Iver Johnson. Other companies made similar handguns - some good, some bad. Firms like Smith & Wesson made their modern reputation with guns like the “ Lemon Squeezer”, a top-break five-shooter with a grip safety. 38 caliber handguns were starting to show up on the market. Perhaps the most prolific and successful pocket pistol of the age was the top-break revolver. Despite that, carrying a small handgun in a concealed manner was a normal, but unspoken occurrence. As we leave the 20th century firmly in the dust, I want to look back to see what people were carrying at the dawn of the century we just left behind.Īt the turn of the 20th century, openly carrying a pistol was practically impossible unless of course you were a member of law enforcement and there were no permitting systems in place. The topic is quite popular today given that, since the 1990s, the passage of concealed carry legislation and the production of small pistols to suit this need has simply exploded. My affinity for pocket pistols, both new and old, lead me to this gun. What is innovative yet archaic and popular yet infamous? In the world of handguns, perhaps no firearm better illustrates this little riddle quite like the Iver Johnson Safety Automatic revolver. 32 SW rounds and 32 black powder bullets. Iver Johnson Automatic Safety revolver with smokeless.
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