Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · III · 039

Cottrell Flashlight Revolver

Section III: removed from the NFA, curio or relic under the GCA

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION III · VERBATIM · PDF P. 24 ↗

Flashlight Revolver, cal. .22 Rimfire, having a rifled barrel, patented on July 10, 1923, and originally mfd. by S. P. Cottrell and Son in Buffalo, NY.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “originally mfd. by S. P. Cottrell and Son in Buffalo”
  • ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “having a rifled barrel, patented on July 10, 1923”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1923–1929.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States³
Manufacturer
S.P. Cottrell & Son, Buffalo, NY
Type
Pistol
Action
Other²
Caliber
.22 rimfire
Made
c. 1923–1929production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Commercial
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section III · PDF p. 24 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. centerofthewest.org ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody Firearms Museum) "Guns Week" list: the Cottrell Flashlight Gun "was made out of Buffalo, New York, in the 1920s", seven shots of .22 RF; the 1923 start is the patent date ATF states, and the RIA lot reads 1922 and 1923 patent dates on the light
  2. web.archive.org ↗, action: Rock Island Auction lot (Wayback copy): "S.P. Cottrell & Son Flashlight Revolver", "Manufactured circa 1920s", "Double action with a folding trigger"; a revolver: action Other
  3. web.archive.org ↗, country: flashlight stamped with the "two line Buffalo, New York address"
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
3 changes · see below

Correction history

  1. Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  2. Evidence passYears: 1923–1930 → 1923–1929. The only dated sources say "in the 1920s" (Cody Firearms Museum) and "circa 1920s" (RIA), so the end may not pass 1929
  3. Data-trust reviewYears shown as: Patented 1923 → Not stated. ATF gives only a patent date, which is not a date limit; the label read as one

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Patent drawing, U.S. Patent 1,461,600

Image: U.S. Patent 1,461,600, “Combined light and firearm, sheet 1” by Sylvester P. Cottrell, Public domain (US patent). Retrieved October 2026.