Colt Revolver: Inspiration from a Ship’s Wheel Sam Colt is now known as the inventor of the revolving pistol but, how it all came to be as we know it now is a mystery. The idea came to him as he was on a ship bound for India. Story has it he got the idea for the revolver by watching the motions of the ships wheel and how the spokes always returned in perfect line with a clutch that locked the wheel in position with any spoke that was in line with it. He then immediately set about making a wooden model of his revolver. Upon his return from the voyage of inspiration, employed Anson Chase to build a model of metal. This however, blew up with the first disc