doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com My First Post - 15mm Double Barrel Pistol

Hello All.

I am a researcher and collector of pinfire cartridges, their guns, and documents or images related to them.

I recently bought a gun specifically because it came with two 15mm pinfire auxiliary percussion adapters which I had never come across (I previously only had 12mm and 9mm ones; an article about one of these is on my website: http://freemycollection.com/?page=articles/pinfireauxiliaryadapter )

Additionally, I now believe this gun may be a sidelock, not a boxlock after reading more about the two on this forum and elsewhere. Comments?



This was made by the luxury gun manufacturer, P. Boissy somewhere around the late 1850s to 1860s. He manufactured his guns in Saint-�tienne, France and even won an award at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris for his "pistolets de luxe."

This pistol has a few unique features. first it was made to work with the included 15mm percussion adapters which could be used with readily available powder, caps and balls if one ran out of pinfire cartridges. To use these adapters the rear sight/safety/pin-holder would be removed by unscrewing one screw which allowed the larger auxiliary adapters to fit in the holes.

When using it with pinfire cartridges, the piece that was removed to allow use of the adapters would be placed back on the gun and screwed back in. This partially fills the larger hole to allow a pin from a pinfire cartridge to be held steadily in place.

Many of the higher quality pinfire boxlock pistols have sliding safeties which would protect the cartridges from untimely detonation but this one has a unique way of protecting the pins. It has spring loaded, hinged safeties that automatically spring open when cocking the hammer, allowing for quicker firing.






Also, I recently bought my first pinfire shotgun (it is not a doublegun, but it's still neat!) I recently bought the pinfire shotshells that were still left over from the Belgian Proof House (some of which have headstamps that were made specifically for the proof house) so I figure I may as well start buying some shotguns!

Interesting niche! (Now you have to get into handloading pinfire ctgs.....).

Leroy Merz has a double shotgun with a similar combination pinfire / muzzleloader system: http://www.gunsinternational.com/HEUSE-L...un_id=100341071

Interesting collection and great pictures.

Thanks for posting!

Welcome to the board! Pinfire guns and cartridges are a rarity nowadays, and there sure can't be too many competent people on the board!

Interesting pistol. Wasn't this setup with protruding nipples the original Lefaucheaux's idea, the pinfire cartridge being a later development?

In Russia, steel shells for centerfire guns which used the same idea of shooting muzzleloading primers were available till the end of XIX century. Naturally, the nipple was placed in an indentation on the bottom of the shell; the recommended procedure was to load the gun from the muzzle and then replace the primer by breaking the gun open. Slow and awkward, but probably saved someone's trip in the depths of Siberia. I haven't ever seen one, though, only read about them.

Re: sidelock vs boxlock, we don't usually distinguish between them when talking about hammer guns. Although if the line had to be drawn, this pistol would surely be a sidelock, with the lock parts fitted to a plate on the side of the gun. Your shotgun, on the other hand, ought to be called a boxlock, despite having a side hammer, since its lock parts apparently are fitted inside a box-shaped action. However, as I said already, the "sidelock-boxlock" opposition is normally reserved for hammerless guns, a hammer gun is just a hammer gun.

I have a 12-g French pinfire/percussion SxS by Beringer of Paris.
Steve Helsley

Humpty Dumpty: Yes I remember too that the first version of the Casimir Lefaucheux's cartridge was a percussion affaire like this. And the LF marking as seen on the base could well mean ... LeFaucheux?!

With kind regards,
Jani

Be careful on proof house cartridges, you need to ensure they are not proof loads as firing one could hurt you and your gun

This is that first 1832 patent that I believe you are referring to.




And then the famous one from 1835, which is actually an addition to that last one:




And the shotshell, Casimir Lefaucheux's good friend, Joseph Marino G�velot, made following that patent: (the white one. blue one follows his 1845 patent)

(Jules Gevelot and Eugene Lefaucheux also were very good friends and grew up together)