POTD: Before The Nagant 1895 – The Steyr 1893 w/Gas Trap
Sam.S 03.14.24
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! In the lead-up to adopting a new service revolver around 1893, the Austro-Hungarian military evaluated around 100 Steyr 1893 revolvers in trials. These early examples featured a Pieper-type gas seal system where the cylinder cammed forward upon firing to bridge the gap with an over-length cartridge case. This reduced gas leakage to increase muzzle velocity, though at the cost of a poor trigger. The 1893 Steyr also had a tip-up cylinder with a central ejector rod for rapid reloading of its 7-round 8mm ammunition cylinder. Later iterations replaced this with a fixed cylinder and Abadie loading gate. Ultimately, the more conventional Rast & Gasser Model 1898 was selected instead of the overly complex Steyr design. Interestingly, one of the sample 1893 Steyrs bears a Nazi-era German commercial proof, suggesting it was sold on the civilian market at that time, unlike the unproofed military trials revolvers.
“Developed for possible sale to the Austrian Army, the 1893 Gas Trap Revolver never left the prototype stages, with less than 100 believed manufactured in total. A novel design, the 1893 uses a spring-loaded movable cylinder that is automatically pressed forward during the firing cycle to enclose and engage the breech of the barrel and seal the cylinder to the breech. The gas gap between the cylinder and barrel is an issue endemic to revolving weapons, and most designers were willing to treat it as a necessary evil; the most famous design to confront the problem head-on was the Russian/Soviet Nagant Model 1895.”
Lot 1541: Excellent Rare Steyr 1893 Gas Trap Revolver, WWII War Trophy – Rare Steyr Model 1893 Gas Trap Double Action Revolver Serial Number 5, with Extensive Documentation as a WWII War Trophy of the 71st Infantry Division. (n.d.-b). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved March 13, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/80/1541/excellent-rare-steyr-1893-gas-trap-revolver-wwii-war-trophy.
