Burnside Carbine First Model
Bristol Firearms Company · Carbine · Out Of Production · 1857
Also known as: Burnside First Model Carbine, Bristol Firearms Burnside Carbine
Overview
The Burnside Carbine First Model was the earliest production pattern of Ambrose E. Burnside's single-shot, breech-loading percussion cavalry carbine, made in .54 caliber by the Bristol Firearms Company of Rhode Island around 1857. Distinctive among all Burnside variants, the First Model carried an internal tape primer actuated by a breechblock-release lever on the right side of the frame, a feature dropped on every subsequent model. Its tapered brass cartridge wedged into a matching breech to seal against the gas leakage that plagued rival breechloaders. Fewer than 300 were built before the design was simplified, making it the rarest of the Burnside series.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3062 g (108.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 991 mm (39.02") |
| Barrel Length | 559 mm (22.01") |
| Action Type | Break Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Percussion |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 290 m/s (951 fps) |
| Effective Range | 183 m (200 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 550 m (601 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 8 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .54 Burnside · primary — also known as .54 Burnside Carbine
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot Breech Loading
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Hammer
- Features: Tilting Breechblock, Internal Tape Primer, Breechblock Release Lever, Conical Brass Cartridge Gas Seal, Saddle Ring
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1858
Production
Estimated total produced: 300 · Production years: 1857-1858
Fewer than 300 First Model carbines produced by the Bristol Firearms Company; the rarest and earliest Burnside pattern, the only one fitted with an internal tape primer
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Ambrose Burnside
Discontinued: 1858
Notes
Manufactured by the Bristol Firearms Company circa 1857-1858 following Burnside's 1856 patent. The First Model is set apart from later Burnsides by its self-contained tape primer and the side-mounted breech lever; production ceased at under 300 units before George P. Foster's later improvements and the Civil War-era mass production under the Burnside Rifle Company.
Background
The First Model wears the tape primer that every later Burnside would shed, a fussy self-priming coil that marked Ambrose Burnside's first stab at a cavalry carbine before he traded the gun trade for a general's stars and lent his whiskers to the word 'sideburns'.