The Barkeep can be had in two finish styles, and you can get different grips if the ones that came on yours are not to your liking.
November 16, 2024
By Patrick Sweeney
We all have history. Today I get to test and write up exotic, expensive, custom and highly-refined firearms of all types. The handgun I learned on? A Dickson Cheyenne. Say what? What was that? It was a single-action looking double action revolver, in .22LR. It was made in Germany by Rohm and imported to the States sometime before the GCA 68 put a big barrier to imports. It was not the most robust revolver ever made, and it didn’t take a lot of shooting (at least, not by my idea of “a lot of shooting” even back in the 1960s) to start showing its weaknesses. But it got me started. The point is, if you want someone to get interested in shooting, you have to have them shoot. And it doesn’t take an expensive (to buy or to shoot) firearm to do that. Heritage Manufacturing is all over that aspect of fun, and getting new shooters hooked on the fun we all have. And so, the Barkeep.
For a fun day of plinking, and to introduce new shooters to the fun we have, it is hard to beat a rimfire handgun. And to keep them from burning through your ammo supply in 20 minutes, a single-action revolver does the job. The Barkeep is in the model of the old Colt single action snubbies, which 19th century revolvers had barrels so short they could not have the Colt ejector rod assembly installed. I suspect that a shopkeeper or barkeep in the Old West who had used up the five rounds to be had in his pistol, would have simply dropped his Colt and moved on to some other firearm. Think of it as the Dodge City equivalent of a New York Reload, if you will. The Barkeep is similar, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Barkeep has a solid frame, with a centerpin that the cylinder rotates on. The two-plus-inch barrel and the cylinder, along with internal parts, are made of alloy steel. The barrel has a front sight brazed in place, and the rear of the frame has a notch that functions as a rear sight. This is admittedly simple, but this is not a bullseye-competition revolver. It is meant for fun, plinking, and perhaps stashing in a toolbox in the country, in case you need a rimfire revolver as an emergency tool.
The safety shows you when the Barkeep is ready to fire. Hinge the safety down and see the red dot, and you are ready. The safety, when it is up, blocks the hammer travel, and also covers the red dot that shows when the Barkeep is ready to fire. The centerpin is held in place by a transverse, spring-loaded, retaining pin. This is the same design used on the original single actions. It worked then, it works now, so there’s no need to go re-inventing the wheel. Or retaining pin. The centerpin rests in a non-steel alloy frame, and the trigger mechanism and grips are in a separate, also non-steel alloy assembly. Traditionally, single actions have steel frames. However, when you are chambering for the .22LR, steel is stronger than needed, and more expensive to use and shape as a material. So, Heritage Manufacturing simply uses an alloy that is plenty strong for the job, but is a lot easier to work with, and passes the cost savings on to you. Despite the non-steel frame, the centerpin, barrel and cylinder are all assembled to the frame the same way a big-bore single action would be, with the cross-pin for the centerpin, and a threaded barrel.
One way to eject the empties is to use the provided ejector rod, with the cylinder still in the frame of the Barkeep. But Heritage makes other changes, again, in the interests of lowering cost and still maintaining quality and reliability. One is the firing pin. On the originals, this was a tapered pin attached to the hammer, and it reached the primer through a hole in the frame. To ensure the firing pin reached through the hole in the frame without binding, the firing pin had to have just a bit of play. That, and the shape of the firing pin meant the system had to have a lot of excess power, to ensure enough was delivered to the primer to maintain 100% ignition. As a result, the hammer-fall of the SAA design is more like a slammed door than a firing pin hitting a primer. On the Barkeep (and other Heritage revolvers) the firing pin is a spring-loaded pin secured in the frame, and the hammer has a flat face to strike it. This makes it a lot easier to control firing pin protrusion, and thus reliable ignition, without a ball-peen-hammer strike to fire the cartridge.
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An easier way to get the empties out is to remove the cylinder from the frame. You’ll have a lot easier time poking the empty brass free. The grip assembly is one piece. On the originals (and remember, we’re talking the height of mid-19th century design and fabrication, with the originals) the grip assembly was two parts. This required seven screws to assemble everything grip-related, and to secure the mainspring. (Eight if you include the grip screw itself, although many were made without the grip screw, just solid chunks of wood or ivory trapped in the grip frame assembly.) The Barkeep grip assembly holds the hammer spring, while the hammer, trigger and other parts are in the frame. It still has five screws, plus the grip screw, but it is actually stronger than the all-steel or all-brass originals, since it is one-piece instead of two. And the mainspring does not require a screw to keep it in place. The mainspring assembly is a clever bit of engineering. Heritage has created a circular inset in the frame, and the end of the mainspring is looped to fit this recess. Then, they machine a pin that has smaller ends, and this is the grip panel retention, or location, pin. The pin can be removed if you ever have need to remove the mainspring (not likely) and this means the locator pin might be mis-placed. But as a simple and effective means of creating a mainspring retention, and grip location setup, this is neat.
The centerpin is held in place by a spring-loaded transverse locking pin. To remove the centerpin you first have to compress the locking pin. The six-shot cylinder works pretty much like any other single action revolver. Loading is simple. The Barkeep trigger assembly has the same four clicks that the Colt single action had from the beginning. So, cock the hammer to the second notch, the second click, and the cylinder will now rotate freely. Hinge the loading gate open (it pivots out to the right, on the right side of the frame) and insert a cartridge in each chamber. Now, the Barkeep has a safety, but Heritage recommends that you only carry it with the hammer down on an empty chamber. In order to do that, you do the “One, skip, four” sequence. Insert one cartridge. Rotate the cylinder past the next chamber and leave it empty. Then load four in sequence. Now, cock the hammer and then ease it down. If done properly you have the hammer resting on an empty chamber. This is the way prudent cowboys did it a century-plus ago, and still the way you carry a traditional single action today.
To remove the center pin, you have to compress the spring-loaded retaining latch. This is as single actions have been since the 1890s. The rear sight is a simple groove in the frame, but this has worked for nearly a century and a half, so no problems here. Two of the frame screws are flanking the hammer. Make sure they are tight, but there’s not going to be much need to remove them for cleaning. If you want to load six, then you need to use the safety. The lever on the left side of the frame, next to the hammer, is the safety. Up is safe. Down, when you can see the red dot behind it, is Fire. So, lever up to load, load six, and then ease the hammer down once you are done loading and have closed the loading gate. Shooting is simple. Thumb the safety lever down, exposing the red dot. Cock the hammer all the way. Aim. Press the trigger. Once you’ve done that five or six times (depending on how many you loaded) it is time to eject and reload. Here’s where the fun and tradition of the Barkeep calls for extra work. You don’t have the usual ejector rod, attached to the barrel, on the Barkeep as you’d have on a full-sized single action. So, you have to use the supplied ejector rod, which is a separate and simple steel rod. Cock the hammer back two clicks. Flip open the loading gate. Rotate the cylinder until a fired case is in line with the loading port and press it out with the ejector rod. Repeat until they are all out. What I found to be an easier way was to bring the hammer back to the unloading position, and then press the cylinder pin retaining plunger, and pull the pin out. Then I’d remove the cylinder and could quickly eject the empties. I found this to be a lot faster than keeping the cylinder in the frame to eject the empties. Then, to reload I’d re-insert the cylinder into the frame, and load up as usual.
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The hammer and trigger are held in place the traditional way, with cross screws, one for each. The firing pin is spring-loaded, rides in the frame, is not meant to be disassembled, and will probably never need service. The barkeep can be had in one of two finish styles. There is the blued steel finish with the frame done in a color case-hardened style finish, and that one comes with wood grips. The grips have a fish-scale pattern on them, and a bit of scroll work on the top and bottom of each side panel. The other option is all-blued, with faux pearl grips in a white/gray pattern. Each one of those will be different in the pattern created. If the grips provided aren’t entirely to your liking, then Heritage offers a selection of replacement grips in patterns and styles, materials and colors, to choose from. Also, if you want to have the option of different calibers, you can get a .22WMR cylinder with your Barkeep, or as a later accessory. Now, out of a 2.7-inch barrel, the velocity boost of the .22 WMR isn’t going to be very much, but if you want the option, you have it. What you really get with that one is a wider selection of bullet designs, when you can score some rimfire ammo again.
The ejector rod works the same way on both the .22LR and the .22WMR cylinders. Heritage Barkeep Revolver Specs Type: Single-action revolverCaliber: .22LR (.22WMR Available) Capacity: 6 rds. Barrel: 2.7 in. Overall Length: 7.9 in. Height: 4.8 in. Width: 1.5 in. Weight: 27 oz. Finish: Black OxideGrips: Wood or simulated gray pearlSights: Fixed front, nothch rearTrigger: 4.5 lbs. Price: $180Manufacturer: Heritage Manufacturing Cleaning and maintenance if the Barkeep is simple. Make sure your Barkeep is unloaded. Remove the centerpin and remove the cylinder. Unscrew the grip screw and set the grips aside. You can now scrub the chambers of the cylinder and run a brush and patches down the bore. You don’t need more. Now, once a presidential election cycle, or each decade, you can unscrew the five screws on the grip frame. Those would be the two astride the hammer, and the three surrounding the trigger bow. That removes the grip frame and relieves tension on the hammer. You can then (and only then, don’t do the hammer and trigger first) unscrew the hammer and trigger screws. You’ll only need to do this rarely, or if you and your Barkeep take a plunge into water. Really, most shooters won’t ever have to detail strip the Barkeep to this level. And it is not a regular maintenance process, so don’t expect to be doing it on a regular basis.
This is as far as you have to take the Barkeep down for regular cleaning. Reassembly is the reverse. If you have gone to the last screw, insert the hammer and trigger and screw their screws in. Then press the grip frame into the frame, compressing the hammer spring and holding it in place while you tighten the screws. (You might find it useful to have a third hand at this point.) Then bring the hammer back to the second notch, insert the cylinder into the frame, and press the centerpin into the frame. Hand-cycle the action to make sure it is all working properly, and you’re done. Now, what is the place of the Barkeep in the pantheon of shooting gear? It would be a pretty frustrating hunting tool, except in an emergency setting, where its compact size meant it would be there when you needed it. Cleaned, lightly oiled and packed in a waterproof container, I can see having it as part of a bush plane survival kit. Are there firearms that would serve better? Probably, but do they cost a mere $180? Ditto in the toolbox of a bushwacking 4X4, as long as the jurisdiction you’re in permits such a thing.
The auxiliary cylinder allows you the choice of .22LR or .22WMR. But the real use that makes the Barkeep a gem of a firearm is in getting new shooters taught, and caught on the fun of shooting. It hits to the sights and shoots accurately enough to make plinking fun. It requires paying attention to the basics. Since there are only five or six shots to be had, and reloading takes time, a new shooter isn’t going to blast through a 10-20-30 round magazine without hitting much, and then insist on more. They’ll shoot their five or six, hit more often, and then insist on more. There’s also the Old West aspect of having to thumb-cock the revolver for each shot. (I don’t know about fanning the Barkeep, I never was a fan, and didn’t try that dubious practice here.) The Barkeep appears to be much more durable than the old Dickson Cheyenne I shot. Heritage manufacturing would have to work very hard to get down to that level, and nothing on the Barkeep gives me that impression.
The Barkeep is accurate enough to make plinking fun and easy. No, it isn’t a bullseye gun, but then, for $180 can you reasonably expect it to be? I would predict a lifetime of fun plinking with the Barkeep and graduating new shooters up to bigger firearms. The Cheyenne? Apparently, they can still be found, as I did a search and came up with some on auction sites that have some offered for sale. No thanks. Somebody in the family has possession of the one I learned on, and I’m content not knowing just where that is. What I am also content to know is that should I need a firearm to give someone else a similar introduction such as the one that I received back when Johnson was President, I can count on a Heritage Manufacturing Barkeep. It will stand up a whole lot better to a lot of use than the rimfire I learned on, that’s for sure.
