Editing Revolver (section)

=== Fixed cylinder designs ===
[[File:Nagant-holstered.jpg|thumb|upright|A fixed-cylinder [[Nagant M1895]] with gate open for loading]]

In many of the first generation of cartridge revolvers (especially those that were converted after manufacture), the base pin on which the cylinder revolved was removed, and the cylinder taken out from the revolver for loading. Most revolvers using this method of loading are single-action revolvers, although Iver Johnson produced double-action models with removable cylinders. The removable-cylinder design is employed in some modern "micro-revolvers" (usually chambered in .22 rimfire and small enough to fit in the palm of the hand) to simplify their design.<ref name="Ahern2010" />

Later single-action revolver models with a fixed cylinder used a loading gate at the rear of the cylinder that allowed insertion of one cartridge at a time for loading, while a rod under the barrel could be pressed rearward to eject a fired case.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramage |first1=Ken |last2=Sigler |first2=Derrek |title=Guns Illustrated 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pSA2xVGZVYC&pg=PA133 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708224454/http://books.google.com/books?id=0pSA2xVGZVYC&pg=PA133 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |date=2008 |publisher=F+W Media |location=Iola, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-89689-673-4 |page=133 }}</ref>

The loading gate on the original Colt designs (and on nearly all single-action revolvers since, such as the famous Colt Single Action Army) is on the right side, which was done to facilitate loading while on horseback; with the revolver held in the left hand with the reins of the horse, the cartridges can be ejected and loaded with the right hand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gunweek.com/2000/lefties.html |title=Tips for Lefties Shooting in a Right-Handed World |access-date=2007-11-13 |first=R.K. |last=Campbell |website=GunWeek.com |archive-date=2007-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916000826/http://www.gunweek.com/2000/lefties.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because the cylinders in these types of revolvers are firmly attached at the front and rear of the frame, and the frame is typically full thickness all the way around, fixed cylinder revolvers are inherently strong designs. Accordingly, many modern large caliber hunting revolvers tend to be based on the fixed cylinder design. Fixed cylinder revolvers can fire the strongest and most powerful cartridges, but at the price of being the slowest to load or unload since they cannot use [[speedloader]]s or [[moon clip]]s to load multiple cartridges at once, as only one chamber is exposed at a time to the loading gate.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Radielovic|first1=Marko|last2=Prasac|first2=Max|title=Big-Bore Revolvers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V89WYyn1GeEC&pg=PA17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708223546/http://books.google.com/books?id=V89WYyn1GeEC&pg=PA17|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2014|year=2012|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-2856-8|page=17}}</ref>