Bang Up

About the Bang Up

The Bang Up is a cheap single-action, spur-trigger pocket revolver of the American "Suicide Special" type, chambered for the .22 Short rimfire cartridge in a seven-shot solid-frame cylinder. Made in the United States in the late 19th century, it was sold under the fanciful "Bang Up" trade name and is attributed to Harrington & Richardson (and, in some references, to the wholesaler Ely & Wray). Typically nickel-plated with hard-rubber grips and a short barrel, it was one of the countless inexpensive concealable pocket revolvers marketed to civilians during the post-Civil War boom in cheap American handguns.

In the decades after the Civil War, U.S. makers churned out cheap pocket revolvers under hundreds of flashy trade names like 'Bang Up,' 'Bloodhound' and 'Blue Whistler' - a marketing free-for-all that collectors later dubbed 'Suicide Specials' for their dubious quality.

Bang Up specifications

"Suicide Special" was the collector term for the flood of cheap, solid-frame, single-action spur-trigger pocket revolvers produced in the U.S. c. 1870s-1890s under hundreds of catchy trade names. The Guns Dictionary (archivingindustry.com) lists "Bang Up" as a cheap Suicide Special revolver made in the U.S.A. by Ely & Wray or Harrington & Richardson. Physical dimensions here are representative of the small-frame .22 rimfire class and are not maker-certified for every example.