It isn't possible to understand the history of the pinfire system without looking at at the contemporary breech-loading alternatives at the time, with the Needham needlefire being first and foremost - so not off-topic at all, Daryl.

In the late 1850s a sportsman could purchase a new muzzleloader, a gun at its pinnacle of perfection. Or the choice could be made for a new-fangled breech-loader, but which one? A pinfire, a needle-fire from William and Joseph Needham, or a Charles Lancaster breech-loader? Each had their advantages and disadvantages, their followers and their detractors. Some considered the Needham needlefire just plain ugly, in large part because it lacked proper hammers! The Lancaster is rock-solid when closed, but the slide-and-tilt action feels decidedly loose when open, which some found off-putting - and then there was the cost of Lancaster cartridges to consider. The pinfire was of French origin, and required French cartridges. Altogether it took brave souls, not afraid of extra expense and disparaging comments from their peers, to go the breech-loader route.

The Needham needlefire was only available as a 'best' gun, so it was expensive and exclusive. So was Lancaster's breech-loader using base-fire cartridges or Pottet / Schneider centre-fire cartridges, which at 60 guineas or more for a cased gun, was the most expensive sporting gun around.

Thanks to Daryl for sharing pictures of the needlefire, and here is Lancaster's breech-loader. Then I'm back to pinfires.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

This particular gun is a 14-bore, number 3092, made in 1858 for Captain Henry John Bower of the 4th (The King's Own Royal) Regiment of Foot. The action is Lancaster's 'slide-and-tilt' type, where the lateral underlever moves the barrels forward before they can swing on the hinge. Note that the action face is not at the normal 90 degree angle to the flats. Instead it is at an acute angle, making for a very strong closure once the barrels have slid back into place. Lancaster favoured nose-less hammers, and the locks are non-rebounding.

As to the action design, there is much history behind it. Albert Henry Marie Renette of Paris obtained two French patents in 1820 for exterior-primed (capping breechloader) guns with slide-and-tilt actions, some seven years before Casimir Lefaucheux patented his hinge-action capping breechloading gun, which led the way to his pinfire invention in 1834. In 1853 Renette's son-in-law and partner, Louis Julien Gastinne, obtained French patent No. 9058 for this breech action on a hammer gun, intended to use the new internally-primed centerfire cartridges. The prolific patent agent Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford patented the design in Great Britain, receiving patent No. 2778 of 1853. This is the patent that was later assigned to Lancaster and first used for his base-fire cartridge, and the story behind "Charles Lancaster's Patent" marked on his guns -- though the patent was never taken out in his name.

Last edited by Steve Nash; 02/03/21 04:10 PM.