This is a very nice example of the Factory Cartridge Conversion Remington Rider Pocket Revolver. The Remington Rider Pocket Revolver was an improvement over its predecessor the Remington-Beals Pocket Revolver, with a somewhat more robust, simplified and smoother action. The Remington Rider pocket revolver was produced from 1860 to 1873, with a total production of about 2,000. Initially it was produced as a percussion ignition .31-caliber pistol, but the later production guns often left the factory as cartridge pistols, chambered for .32 rimfire, like this one. The percussion models had 3” octagonal barrels, while some of the later cartridge pistols had shorter barrels with a length of 2” or 2 ½”. Both pistols had five shot cylinders. The pistols were initially produced with all blued finish on both the barrels and cylinders, with the option of either silver plated, or nickel-plated frames with blued barrels and cylinders at an extra charge. The nickel frames are most often encountered on later production cartridge pistols. Later production revolvers were often produced with an all-nickel plated finish. The hammers of the revolvers were color casehardened, the triggers blued and the triggerguards were made of German silver. Standard the grips were two piece checkered hard rubber that are often misidentified as “Gutta Percha”. The earliest pistols had German silver cone shaped front sights dovetailed into the barrel, similar to the cone sights found on many of Remington’s early production large frame revolvers. However, the majority of the pistols were produced with a simple pin front sight, usually of German silver but sometimes of brass. The double action lockwork of the revolver made the gun somewhat unique during its period of production, and the Remington Rider pocket revolver was one of the first widely produced American pistols to use that mechanism successfully.

This Factory Cartridge Conversion Remington Rider Pocket Revolver is in VERY FINE condition overall. The gun remains complete, correct and original in every way. It is one of the mid production pistols, with the serial number 1364 stamped on the bottom of the frame, inside triggerguard. What appears to be an assembly number 11 is stamped above the serial number and the same mark is partially struck on the bottom edge of the barrel. Both grips have the matching assembly number 11 inside them as well as mold numbers, 562 in the left grip and 92 in the right grip. The two-piece cylinder and cylinder back plate have the matching assembly numbers 1327 on them. These were assembly fitting numbers for those two parts and were not intended to match the balance of the gun. The three-inch octagonal barrel is roll marked in a single line:

REMINGTON’S ILION, N.Y.

This is the later production barrel mark, as the earliest guns were rolled with a two-line barrel address that included the Rider’s patent information on the second line. 

As noted, the gun remains in VERY FINE condition and retains about 90%+ of its original full nickel finish. The nickel shows some areas of minor flaked loss, some high edge wear and some small patches of thinning, most notably on the left side of the frame below the recoil shield. There is also some loss on the lower portion of the frame, forward of the cylinder chambers. The areas where the nickel has flaked or worn have started to oxidize and there is some freckled discoloration present here and there. There are also some lightly scattered minor freckles of surface oxidation here and there on the gun. The markings in the metal all remain clear and legible. The hammer retains about 30% of its color casehardened finish, which has faded and dulled and only shows traces of the colored mottling, with a mostly dull bluish gray patina. The trigger retains some traces of bright blue, most of which has flaked and faded to a rich plum patina. The action of the revolver remains mechanically functional, and the revolver operates smoothly in both single and double action modes. The bore of the pistol rates about VERY GOOD+ and retains strong, deep rifling that is quite crisp. The bore is partly bright and shows some scattered patches of light pitting and oxidation along its entire length. The two-piece checkered hard rubber grips are in FINE condition. They retain crisp checkering and are free of any breaks, cracks or chips. They show only some minor light handling marks and minor smoothing to the checkering due to use. The fit of the grips to the frame is excellent, and as mentioned they are assembly numbered to the gun on their inner surfaces with the mark 11. It is not immediately clear if this revolver was “new old stock”, produced as a percussion handgun and remaining in Remington’s inventory unsold until it was altered to a cartridge revolver to make it more sellable, or if the gun was made as a cartridge revolver from previously unassembled parts.

Overall, this is a VERY FINE example of a Factory Cartridge Converted Remington Rider Pocket Revolver. The pistol is 100% complete, correct and original and retains most of its original factory nickel finish. The gun remains crisp and mechanically fine and would be a fine addition to any collection of post-Civil War 19^th century American pocket revolvers or a Remington collection.