Original French 14mm Pinfire Double Action Gold Inlaid Revolving Rifle with Figured Stock – Circa 1860 Original Items

Original item. Only One Available. This is a lovely example of a historical rarity: a revolving rifle! There were various designs fielded in Europe and the United States during the mid 19th century, but they never really caught on in the same way that revolving pistols did. The relatively poor breech seal that revolvers have was definitely an issue with long range accuracy, which other “repeating” systems were able to mitigate more easily.

This gold inlaid example looks to be French or possibly Belgian, and the action is essentially a scaled up version of those used in the pinfire revolvers, but with a wooden butt stock and long rifled barrel. It looks to be in 14mm Lefaucheux pinfire chambering, double / single action with a 6 round cylinder. There are a few markings that look to be proofs, but no markings that could definitively identify who made it or where. We assume it was originally an upmarket showpiece example, based on the gold inlaid designs and heavily figured wood stock.

The Pinfire system was the earliest form of “Cartridge” developed with a pin projecting out at 90 degrees to the cartridge case. When depressed by the falling hammer the cartridge discharged. At the time up against muzzle loading Revolvers these were revolutionary. Like most things by the end of the Civil War technology had moved on and in the late 1860’s regular type cartridges as we know them today had been introduced.

This lovely example was most likely originally blued, which would have really made the gold inlay stand out. There is gold inlay on much of the frame, trigger guard, the breech end of the barrel, and even on the butt plate! It now shows an oxidized patina overall, with some areas of past peppering and light pitting, which has mostly been left intact to preserve the patina. This was also to avoid damaging the gold inlay further, which is probably only about 50-60% complete now. It has a standard style trigger guard and trigger, scaled up to rifle size, and functions in both single and double action. The butt stock shows a lovely tight “tiger” flame pattern on the wood, which is really great looking. There is however some damage and wood loose where the stock meets the frame, probably due to rust oxidation from the frame damaging the wood.

Functionally, it cycles very well in both single and double action. The cylinder indexes correctly, and it has a crisp dry fire. We did not notice any of the finicky behavior we sometimes see on pinfire revolving systems. The bore has 7 groove rifling, which is still easily visible, however the interior of the bore definitely shows past fouling and oxidation, and it is partly dark. It definitely looks to have seen a good amount of service, and was probably not cleaned properly after the last use. The rifle still has the steel ejector rod, which works correctly, however the loading gat is unfortunately missing.

A nicely matured Gold Inlaid French Pinfire Revolving rifle with some great research potential. In lovely patinated condition and ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1860
Caliber: 14mm Lefaucheux
Ammunition Type: Pinfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 44 1/2 inches
Barrel Length: 26inches
Action: Double / Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

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