Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2

About the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2

The Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 is an American single-action spur-trigger pocket revolver of the late 19th century, one of the many low-cost 'Suicide Special' trade-name revolvers produced in Norwich, Connecticut. A solid-frame, five-shot design chambered for the .32 rimfire cartridge, the 'No. 2' frame size denoted the .32 caliber within the maker's numbered range, while the 'Tiger' name was simply one of dozens of catchy trade brands under which these inexpensive concealable revolvers were marketed to working-class buyers.

So-called 'Suicide Specials' earned their grim nickname from collector Duncan McConnell in the 1940s, a label for the cheap, fancifully named single-action pocket revolvers that flooded the American market between the 1870s and 1900s; the Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 was a typical example, affordable, concealable and sold under an evocative brand.

Hopkins & Allen Tiger No. 2 specifications

'Tiger' was a trade name rather than a distinct mechanism; Hopkins & Allen sold near-identical spur-trigger suicide specials under more than three dozen brands including Ranger, Dictator, Blue Jacket and Czar. No. 1 frames were .22 rimfire and No. 2 frames .32 rimfire.