Colt's · Revolver

Colt House Pistol

Name: Colt House Pistol
Brand: Colt's

Single action · .41 Short Rimfire · introduced 1871

Also known as Colt House Model Revolver, Colt Cloverleaf

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About the Colt House Pistol

The Colt House Pistol, popularly called the 'Cloverleaf', was a small Colt pocket revolver and the company's first solid-frame design built from the ground up for metallic rimfire cartridges. Produced from 1871, it chambered the .41 Short rimfire and was offered with a four-shot deeply fluted 'cloverleaf' cylinder or a five-shot round cylinder, with recessed chambers as a safety feature.

As Colt's earliest solid-frame revolver and first purpose-built for metallic rimfire cartridges, the House Pistol introduced recessed chambers as an advanced rimfire safety feature that Colt would not reuse for many years.

Colt House Pistol specifications

General

Type: Revolver
Action: Single action
Firing mechanism: Single action
Trigger: Single action
Calibres: .41 Short Rimfire
Magazine capacity: 4 rounds
Magazine: Revolving cylinder

Dimensions

Barrel length: 76 mm (3.0 in)
Overall length: 171 mm (6.7 in)

Barrel

Rifling: Right hand

Materials

Barrel: Steel
Receiver / frame: Brass
Stock: Wood
Finish: nickel_plated

Performance

Muzzle velocity (typical): 130 m/s (427 fps)
Effective range: 10 m

History

Introduced: 1871
Discontinued: 1876
Production status: Out of production
Country of origin: US

Features

Solid frame
Cloverleaf cylinder
Spur trigger
Birds head grip

Safety

Recessed chambers

The 'Cloverleaf' name comes from the four-leaf-clover appearance of the four-shot fluted cylinder. A five-shot round-cylinder variant was also made. Barrels were offered in 1.5-inch and 3-inch lengths. Also nicknamed the 'Jim Fisk Model' after financier Jim Fisk was killed with one in 1872.