I just picked up a very fine pinfire hammer gun made by Hedeline of Paris. The book, loosely translated, What is What about French Arms, suggests they were in business from 1870-1872, then succeeded by Ferrier. Nothing else is said.

Can anyone help with more info on the maker ? I do see this gun can be seen here in a Hedeline search on this website, so you can view pictures if interested. https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...ords=Hedeline&Search=true#Post591501

Thanks, Daryl Hallquist

I'd bet it was built by E.M. Reilly or one of his 300 employees that nobody ever heard of!

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...uch-original-finish.cfm?gun_id=101594911

The one pictured on GI is spectacular! The date of manufacture given for it on GI seems late for a pinfire, but what do I know? Certainly a fine maker. Glad you got one, Daryl.

Rich, the gun you are viewing is the one I have. A friend found a similar Hedeline in a French auction. It has the same address as this one [Hedeline a Paris 72 Frg St-Honore] But the one in the auction also has Falloise Patented.

Mine has barrels by Leopold Bernard and include his date mark of 1870. Yes, somewhat late in the game, especially for the French.

Hello, fantastic gun, I hope it brings you a lot of pleasure. Regards.

Mr W martin, thanks for your thoughts. It is a beautifully made gun in all respects. I am ready to start loading some pinfire shells for it, and maybe use the cartridge carrying case which is made for pinfires. The original pins shown for the cartridges are fun. They are contoured for some reason. Maybe the contour helps detonation. I have been using brass escutcheon pins and found the heads on those pins to be quite helpful while reloading.

Looks great all over and lovely Damascus as well. Im sure you'll have fun organising pins etc. Regards

Mr W martin, I have only a few upland birds taken with a pinfire, but I think of it as maybe being the most fulfilling. I’ll weigh this pinfire, but I would guess it is less than 6 pounds. Yes, the Damascus is beautifully, fully colored. wood to metal is just perfect. There is something special about taking a bird with an ancient gun.

This morning I weighed the Hedeline. I thought it was light, but at 5# 3.5 oz., it is lighter than I had guessed. It is a 16 ga. and should be fun to take afield at that weight.

Lovely, looking forward to hear a successful outcome. I'm content nowadays with a kill for the pot with a nice gun, and bird flushed and retrieved by one of my dogs, as icing on cake. Regards

Mr W martin, I agree with you completely on a kill for the pot and using a nice gun. I'm down to my last dog and hope to give him a few chances next season. As he'll be my last dog . the upcoming seasons are getting fewer and fewer for me. Last season friends shot vintage hammer guns, and they used muzzle loaders on sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge. One friend got a double on pointed partridge with his Joseph Manton as I recall. Or, was it with his Patrick Mullin muzzle loader ? In any event both fine guns. I think the Manton was a conversion from around 1815. The Mullin was after 1850.

Congratulations on the beautiful Headline, Daryl. I really like Bernard Damascus too. And the weight!! What a great gun to carry in the field next September and October!

That Thomas Woodward (not his real name) guy comes up with some really interesting guns. I have known him for years and Michael has a really unique taste in guns. We were both members of the local Vintager's chapter here and shared an interest in snap action under lever guns including the "Spiral Spring" Woodwards. A really nice muzzleloader you acquired from him Daryl.

Daryl, You have my sympathies, I'm dreading the day when I'm on my last dog, unfortunately it's approaching all too soon! Let's just enjoy the present and hopefully help and encourage others to follow our footsteps . Regards

Daryl and Mr W martin, Having had my last dog a while ago without being on my last legs, I have been very fortunate to have friends with wonderful dogs who who welcomed a dogless hunter! (They know who they are!) I agree with you both about the fun of very old guns. As I have gotten older, I have enjoyed older and older guns. I have now jumped back in time over the pinfires and have been heading out for upland birds and ducks with muzzleloaders - guns of the ancestors at a point in life when I have grandchildren and am therefore already becoming an ancestor myself! Being out with friends chasing birds is fun and using an old gun to bag a couple of birds is fun. The size of the bag now matters less. Let's keep the Hedelines, Mullins and Mantons going and hope for more seasons to get out in the field, before anything too radical happens!

👍

Hedeline in Paris, 72 Fbg St. Honoré
“Hédeline is Ferrier’s successor around 1868-1870” (source “Le Qui est Qui” by Jarlier).
Very probably Charles Marie Hédeline, born in Trie-Château in 1825 (according to his death certificate) and died on February 10, 1880 in Paris, 25 rue Duphot. On the act he would have been an arquebusier.
In an advertisement, published in "Le Siècle" of September 14, 1863, Hédeline is already quoted at 72 Fbg St Honoré.
Married to Apolline Désirée Scapre on May 1852 in Paris.
On a death certificate of his daughter on June 22, 1871, he declared himself a gunsmith at 72 Fbg St Honoré.

his name appears on two Lefaucheux revolvers.

https://lefaucheuxnet.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/lf12531-commercialise-par-hedeline/

https://lefaucheuxnet.wordpress.com/2021/03/25/le-lf894-a-20-coups/

guillaume

Thank you for the Hedeline information. If this 16 ga. is typical of his work, his named guns should be sought after. A friend briefly used the Hedeline this fall during sharptail/partridge hunting and had good success shooting 3/4 oz of shot.

Thanks for sharing this fine gun with us Daryl, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Dennis Potter

In the Reilly gun database, pin-fires, at least in extant guns, still outnumber center-fire shotguns, until about 1872.

There seems to be a creep back in time perceptions for the wide-spread use of a seemingly practical invention. We assume their advantages would be immediately understood. Actually these improvements seemed to take awhile to be accepted in conservative gun shooting fraternity. Center-break guns did not really take-off in UK until 1857. Center-fire guns finally seemed to supplant pin-fires about 1872 in UK. Steve Nash is the expert.

Beautiful gun Daryl - congratulations! Thanks for sharing.

Ken