What Is Your Favorite Pre-Metallic Cartridge Firearm

[MagnumDweeb]

Pick a firearm you like that was made before metallic cartridges became all the rave. For some exception Pin-Fire ammo can be included. For grin and giggles I'll pick a handgun and a rifle.

My favorite handgun is the LeMatt revolver. Nine .44 caliber shots with a 20 gauge shot (granted if you wanted it to work you'd have to fire it first). Granted a close second would be one of those 20 gauge double barrel pistols I heard the Germans would run around with on horseback.

My favorite rifle is the Dreyse needle rifle. Sure the Chassepott (*spelling) was a better example but the Germans got there first and even when the French had one of those Militarusse artillery pieces the Germans proved it was about who had the bigger cajones in the fight then the better rifles.

I keep hearing about a Confederate sharp shooter having a muzzle loading big SOB of a rifle that weighed around twenty pounds and could reach six hundred yards with deadly efficiency and was known to fell many a men at four hundred years. I'd like me one of those if I couldn't get a needle rifle.

I'm sure some wisecrackers are going to be cliche and pick the Colt Dragoon, and why wouldn't they. In their day they were awesome cap-and-ball guns.

 

[rcmodel]

The Kentucky long rifle.

And the 1860 Colt Army revolver.

Historically, to me, nothing else strictly American even comes close.

The LeMatt is a only footnote in history.
And the Dreyse needle gun was too.

rc

 

[Legionnaire]

I'm a fan of the 1847 Walker and 1848 Dragoons ... so call me a wisecracker. And the Uberti replicas are still awesome guns; always draw an audience at the range.

 

[orpington]

Definitely an original Colt Walker. My pockets aren't deep enough for one...yet.

 

[SFsc616171]

A nice Pennsylvania, Lancaster County school, roman-nosed tiger maple stocked, 40-inch-brown-barreled, .45 caliber, English 3/4 inch flint-throwing double-set-triggered flintlock rifle, with German silver furnishings and pins, long barleycorn front sight with buckhorn rear sights. Accoutrements to include a nice Iroquois pouch with double horns, primer/main charge, a hand-forged cast-iron patch knife, and linen for patching.

For a pistol, I'll take a nice Tower pistol, preferably, in a larger caliber than .50". They 'hang out' so nicely.

 

[Palehorseman]

Long gun would have to be my 20 balls to pound fusil de chasse smoothbore. Ball or shot, what's there not to like.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Wheel gun?
My '58 Remington that I've been carrying since Jimmy Carter was president.
Smooth bore?
A Belgian flintlock trade gun has that position
Rifle?
It has been a heavily modified CVA Blaser, but I'm beginning to lean toward a T/C Hawken.

 

[montanaoffroader]

Colt 1851 Navy revolver, first handgun I ever fired. Still my favorite.

As far as a long gun is concerned, I always wanted to get my hands on a Ferguson breech loading rifle. Not too many of those floating around, so I will probably not be handling any in the near future.

 

[WestKentucky]

There is a really cool frontloader I know where is that has side by side 16bores and a 32 cal rifled barrel tucked in under the weld seam of the shotgun barrels. It's basically a drilling but it's all front load triple hammer triple trigger. If the pricetag wasn't written on a scroll I would own it. That is the coolest gun ever. Forget your fancy newfangled breech loaders.

 

[Jim Watson]

A Small Bore Target Rifle, a la Gibbs, Rigby, etc. from the late 1860s before the upstart Americans started using breechloaders. The Pedersoli "Gibbs" is a reasonable approximation.

A pair of duelers. Maybe one smoothbore, one rifled so I can compare the practical accuracy.

 

[StrawHat]

Hard to pick an all time favorite, currently this pair is reigning supreme.



I know, the Burnside is a cartridge firing rifle but it is still percussion. The 1860 is always a good choice.

 

[Kaeto]

1863 Sharps Cavalry Carbine

Savage/North Revolver

 

[bannockburn]

1) Colt Model 1860
2) Ferguson Breech Loading Rifle

 

[Ian]

Lorenzoni repeating flintlock.

 

[Malamute]

Hard to choose just one of any type. Percussion Sharps, original type Hawken 52 or 54 cal, Colt 3rd Dragoon, Colt 1860.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

Awesome so far. Knew I wasn't the only one who had an affinity for non-metallic cartridge firearms. Sure LeMatts and Dreyse needle rifles are footnotes but they still made it into the history books in their day and age. If it hadn't been for the Mauser brothers and their ingenious design the needle rifle may have had a longer life but when you also consider the fact that the German army was using them in 1860 when Americans were still largely using muzzle loader firearms, the Dreyse had a distinct advantage in its time.

The French needle rifle also survived numerous refurbs and saw almost another fifty years of service as I recall.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have two Kentucky Long Rifles, one made in Berks County in the 1840s, and one made by Bob Watts of Stone Mountain, Georgia (look him up in Foxfire.) I also have an M1848 Colt Pocket Revolver. My deer rifle, though is a Lyman Deerstalker Carbine.

 

[earplug]

Ferguson breachloading flintlock

Basics on the Ferguson breechloading flintlock - YouTube
► 1:26► 1:26
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ss6dhL...‎
YouTube
Aug 29, 2008 - Uploaded by blacksmithju
A close up on the workings of the Ferguson breechloading flintlock rifle.

36 caliber under hammer pistol.

 

[Hanshi]

Long guns would be a toss-up among these three.

.45 late Lancaster


.50 early Lancaster


and this .36 Southern Mountain Rifle.


As for hand guns I favor the Colt 1862 .36 Pocket Police. Don't have one yet but have had a couple of full size c&b revolvers over the years.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Ferguson breachloading flintlock

Interesting. My five-times Great-Grandfather, Captain Moses Cavett, was one of those who killed Ferguson.

 

[Claude Clay]

1862 pocket police, hands down as i have an original plus colts traditions set and a brace for the range.

 

[csa77]

Arquebus, Americas first gun, the gun of conquest.

 

[Stacer]

My circa 1800 "walk late" "london" Flintlock

 

[oldgold]

My colt.

 

[NoirFan]

I have probably read too many Bernard Cornwell books because the English Baker Rifle is the only one for me:



I need to get a repro of a Baker rifle. Then's time to go snipe some Frog Voltigeurs and follow up with a bayonet charge.