Phillips and Rodgers Medusa, Multi-Caliber Revolver

I was initially drawn to the Medusa for the fact that it could reliably chamber and safely fire at least 25 different calibers in the .0355 - .0357 range. Meaning that without special adapters (like moon clips) you can load and fire .380acp, .38spl, 9mm or .357 magnum all in the same cylinder.

This is achieved by using a very clever extraction system. The extracting "star" not only acts to remove the cartridge, but also to secure it in place. Outward bent prongs will automatically secure themselves within the groove of rimless cartridges, holding them safely in place. I probably didn't explain that very well, so here's a link to the Air Born Combat Engineer who does a much better job.

When I first got the Medusa I was really excited about the idea of being able to fire the majority of handgun rounds all from one gun. I felt that this fact alone made the Medusa a great survival type gun. If all I was left with was 2 rounds of 9mm, 1 of .357, 2 of .380 and 1 of 9x18; I wouldn't need 4 guns to use the bullets. I would be able to chamber all of them in one gun; not too bad. I very much liked the slab, groove type barrel. And of course the unfluted cylinder, always a plus. I had a 5" model and felt like it handled really well. It was very interesting to feel the difference in recoil between 5 or 6 different kinds of ammo in one cylinder. The 5" barrel really helped tame the recoil from a .357.

The down side of the Medusa, mine at any rate; was that with all the caliber switching the chambers of the cylinder got extremely dirty very quickly. I wouldn't be able to fire more than 18 rounds without having the cases get completely stuck in the cylinder, requiring a dowel to extract them. Of course this makes sense though, all of the gunpowder gumming up the chamber from rounds of different lengths is bound to happen. Ultimately this is why I was so comfortable parting with the gun. It offers great caliber diversity, but at the cost of reloading ability. There's a quality vs. quantity debate in there for sure, but I'll save that for another day.

The Medusa is the perfect survival revolver for those that really only plan on taking 6 or 12 shots. Anything over that and you're definitely in trouble. It's a great gun with excellent (in my opinion) aesthetics, profound versatility and dead on reliability (when firing 12 rounds or less). Phillips & Rogers did a great job of creating a revolver that it seems only now is beginning to catch on in the guise of the Taurus Judge or S&W Governor. A little ahead of your time guys, but well played none the less.