This selfcocking revolver feature enabled a high rate of fire, although it required a heavy pull on the trigger, which made it almost impossible to aim the weapon except at point-blank range.

[4] Adams revolvers had a solid, one-piece frame with an integral barrel, all made from a single piece of steel, which gave them inherent strength and durability, although they was somewhat more expensive to produce, as their production required skilled workers.

The British military commission found this construction superior to the Colt's multi-part open-frame revolver design, which was seen as inherently weaker and prone to break under pressure.

[4]In April 1896, Lieutenant Colonel G. V. Fosbery commented about an incident with a Colt Navy revolver during the Indian Rebellion of 1857: An officer, who especially prided himself on his pistol-shooting, was attacked by a stalwart mutineer armed with a heavy sword.

The officer, unfortunately for himself, carried a Colt's Navy pistol, which, as you may remember, was of small caliber, and fired a sharp-pointed picket bullet of 60 to the pound and a heavy charge of powder, its range being at least 600 yards, as I have frequently proved.

This he proceeded to empty into the sepoy as he advanced, but, having done so, he waited just one second too long to see the effect of his shooting, and was cloven to the teeth by his antagonist, who then dropped down and died beside him.

[5][6] Adams and Beaumont-Adams caplock revolvers, privately purchased by British officers, were used in the field during Crimean War (1853–1856) and the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Practical use showed that these revolvers were not accurate at distances greater than 25 yards, and that the .450 Adams cartridge was often unable to stop the charge of heavily built opponents in hand-to-hand combat.