Hopkins & Allen · Revolver
Hopkins & Allen XL
Single action revolver · .32 Long Rimfire · introduced 1871
Also known as Hopkins & Allen XL No. 3, Hopkins & Allen XL No. 2 1/2, H&A XL
About the Hopkins & Allen XL
The Hopkins & Allen XL is an American single-action, spur-trigger pocket revolver produced in Norwich, Connecticut, and patented March 23, 1871. The small-frame XL pattern (such as the XL No. 3) is a five-shot revolver chambered in .32 rimfire with a short octagonal barrel, typically 2 5/8 to 2 3/4 inches. Spent cases are driven out one at a time by a spring-loaded ejector rod beneath the barrel. Usually nickel-plated over a solid steel frame with checkered gutta-percha or varnished wood bird's-head grips, it was an inexpensive concealable defensive arm sold widely on the post-Civil War civilian market alongside the larger six-shot XL Army, XL Navy, and XL Police service models.
Hopkins & Allen made its name on cheap, mass-produced pocket revolvers, and the small-frame .32-rimfire XL was a typical example of the spur-trigger 'suicide special' that flooded American gun shops in the 1870s and 1880s.
Hopkins & Allen XL specifications
General
- Type
- Revolver
- Action
- Single action revolver
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single action
- Calibres
- .32 Long Rimfire
- Magazine capacity
- 5 rounds
- Magazine
- Internal
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 70 mm (2.8 in)
- Overall length
- 165 mm (6.5 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 0.34 kg (0.75 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- nickel
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 330 m/s (1083 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 316 J (233 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 18 m
History
- Introduced
- 1871
- Discontinued
- 1898
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- US
Features
- Spur trigger
- Fixed sights
- Octagonal barrel
- Bird head grip
The XL designation covered a broad family of numbered patterns and barrel lengths. The small-frame .32-rimfire pocket guns (No. 2 1/2, No. 3, etc.) were five-shot spur-trigger single-actions with octagonal barrels; later No. 3 examples carry an additional Jan. 5, 1886 patent and a double-action mechanism. The larger six-shot XL service revolvers (Army/Navy/Police) were offered in .38 rimfire, .44 rimfire, and .44-40 centerfire with 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 inch barrels. Top-strap markings read 'HOPKINS & ALLEN MFG. CO. / XL. NO 3. / PAT. MAR. 23 1871'.
