NCS Service Handguns

OM44 - After the R1 rifle was officially adopted, the NCS began looking for a newly made handgun to go along with it. The vast array of handguns already in current use by the NCS had created a nightmare for logisticians and modern automatic pistols were deemed too difficult to mass produce. With this current predicament, the NCS formed a testing committee that went out looking for a new handgun that could be made cheaply while still being effective.

They didn't have to look far. Upon finding out about interest in a new pistol, Colonel Colton West of the 2nd Confederate Cavalry submitted one of his personal sidearms; a Cimarron replica of the Colt Single Action Army chambered in .44 Special and with a 7.5" barrel. The arms committee was very taken with the simplicity of the revolver and the potency of the cartridge, not to mention that brass could be resized from .44 Magnum brass with little effort, that they adopted it within the month.

The OM44 entered service in 2040 as the Model 44, only becoming known as the Old Model 44 after the introduction of subsequent handguns. They've stayed in service ever since, even now being issued to rear line troops and as saddle guns for cavalrymen, though the majority of them were cut down to 5.5" barrels in 2066. The ability to hot load ammunition for the OM44, as well as their relatively low cost, makes them a popular choice for citizens even today and they're a common sight in holsters all across the NCS.


NM44 - This pistol was introduced in 2050,a decade after the Old Model had first been fielded, and was the first in a long line of top break double action pistols. While the OM44 served admirably, it was becoming obvious that a quicker method of reloading was necessary for the cavalrymen.

Around the same time as the cavalry was coming to this realization, a team of designers at NFA had been working on a break open revolver for private sale. Their finished product featured a Webley style cylinder latch, a birds head grip frame similar to the Colt 1877, and a double action trigger mechanism based upon large frame Smith and Wesson revolvers. By the time the arms committee released a request for a new sidearm, some 3000 NFA top break revolvers had already been sold. This immense stroke of good luck allowed NFA to win a very large contract for their revolvers with very little competition from other companies. Large scale production of the newly dubbed New Model 44 began late in 2049, with the first guns reaching the troops in early 2050.

After the initial contract for 10000 revolvers ended, the NCS federal arsenal in Wilmington continued production of the NM44. Available in 7.5" barrels for the cavalry and navy and 5.5" barrels for the infantry and artillery, the New Model 44 has proven popular with all branches of the military as well as civilians.


NM44* - After a decade of production, it became clear that the long barreled New Model revolvers were unnecessary. It also became clear that the birds head grip of the New Model was not optimal for handling the recoil of the .44 Special cartridge. Some of the engineers at the Wilmington arsenal, aware of these problems, began to look at how they could fix them.

While the issue of barrel lengths was as simple as ending production of the 7.5" barreled versions, the prospect of solving the issue with the grip frames would be bit more involved. Fortunately, one of the laborers in the Raleigh arsenal realized that the grip frame of the Old Model 44 would be a perfect solution and began work on a prototype on his own time. Factory lore holds that he was promoted to engineer the same day he showed off his prototype and also received a sizable pay raise. While that may not be true, what is true is that the new revolver was exactly what the military was looking for and served from 2060 on.

NM44 (NFA) - Faced with a shortage of revolvers at the outset of the Cuban War, the military turned to NFA for help. While NFA no longer made any top breaks, they did have another revolver that fit the bill. This new revolver, a swing out cylinder double action that was very reminiscent of early Smith and Wesson swing out cylinder revolvers, had already been popular on the civilian market for several years in a variety of cartridges, barrel lengths, and finish options.

The NCS decided to have them all given a parkerized finish and 5.5" barrels, settling on a contract for 12000 revolvers in late 2074. These guns are regarded by collectors as the best revolvers the NCS ever adopted as, while they are a bit slower to load than the top breaks, they're much stronger and can handle more hotly loaded ammunition.


NM44** - This is likely to be the last of the NCS top breaks, automatics having reentered the mainstream in the past few decades. Able to take both .44 Special and the new .44 Auto Special on moon clips, these revolvers can load quite a bit faster than earlier versions. These revolvers were introduced in 2092 as a supplement to the .44 AS automatic pistols.

As the older versions of the NM44 return to armories for repair, they are being updated to the new model's specs with the goal of these guns replacing all other revolvers in current service.