Lefaucheux Pinfire Shotgun
Lefaucheux · Shotgun · Discontinued · 1853
Also known as: Lefaucheux Pinfire Double-Barrel Shotgun, Fusil Lefaucheux à broche, Lefaucheux Breechloader
Overview
The Lefaucheux Pinfire Shotgun is a 19th-century French double-barrel break-action shotgun built around the pinfire cartridge system devised by Casimir Lefaucheux. Loaded at the breech via a drop-barrel hinge released by an underlever, it fired self-contained pinfire shotshells whose protruding pins were struck by exposed hammers. Typically chambered in 16-gauge with Damascus-twist barrels and a walnut stock, it was among the first practical breech-loading sporting guns and helped popularize the break-open design worldwide before being displaced by centrefire cartridges.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 2710 g (95.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1160 mm (45.67") |
| Barrel Length | 760 mm (29.92") |
| Action Type | Break Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 2 rounds |
| Muzzle Velocity | 360 m/s (1181 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 1814 J (1338 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 35 m (38 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Damascus Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 16 Gauge · primary — also known as 16 ga, 16 bore, 16 broche
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Break Open Breech
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Hammer
- Features: Double Barrel, Underlever Release, Drop Barrel Breech, Exposed Hammers, Engraved Receiver
Service history
Operators
- Civilian Sport Shooters · adopted 1853
Production
Production years: 1853-1914
Large numbers of pinfire shotguns were produced under the Lefaucheux system by many makers from the mid-1850s until commercial pinfire production ceased after 1914.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Casimir Lefaucheux
Discontinued: 1914
Notes
The pinfire system was first patented by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835 as an addition to his 1832 break-action breechloader patent, and was refined and popularized by his son Eugène Lefaucheux. A Lefaucheux pinfire breechloader displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London inspired British and American gunmakers to adopt the break-action concept.
Background
Casimir Lefaucheux, a Parisian gunmaker, patented the hinged drop-barrel breechloader in 1832 and the pinfire cartridge in 1835, inventions that together gave the sporting world its first genuinely practical breech-loading shotgun and laid the foundation for the modern break-action gun.