Manufrance Velo-Dog
Manufacture Française d'Armes et Cycles de Saint-Étienne · Revolver · Out Of Production · 1895
Also known as: Le Mignon, Velodog, Velo Dog, Pistolet Velo-Dog
Overview
The Manufrance Velo-Dog is a small double-action-only pocket revolver sold through the mail-order catalogues of Manufacture Française d'Armes et Cycles de Saint-Étienne (Manufrance), a firm that made both firearms and bicycles. Marketed under the name 'Le Mignon', it followed the generic Velo-Dog pattern created for cyclists who needed to fend off aggressive street dogs, its very name fusing 'velocipede' with 'dog'. Chambered for the tiny 5.5/6mm Velo-Dog centerfire cartridge, it carries a fully shrouded hammer and a folding trigger so that it would not snag when drawn from a coat pocket, and its short, frequently smoothbore barrel kept it compact and easily concealed. Manufrance sold these little revolvers in large numbers across France from the 1890s until the Second World War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 230 g (8.1 oz) |
| Overall Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Barrel Length | 38 mm (1.50") |
| Action Type | Double Action Revolver |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action Only |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 200 m/s (656 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 40 J (30 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 5 m (5 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Hard Rubber |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 5.5mm Velo-Dog · primary — also known as 5.5x29.6mmR, 6mm Velo-Dog, 6mm Flobert, Velo-Dog Calibre
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Loading Gate Cylinder
- Safety mechanisms: Double Action Only Trigger, Shrouded Hammer
- Features: Concealed Hammer, Folding Trigger, Pocket Size, Smoothbore Barrel, Snag Free Design, Loading Gate
Production
Production years: 1895-1940
Sold in large numbers through Manufrance catalogues; precise totals unrecorded as the Velo-Dog was a generic mass-market pattern
Origin
Country of origin: France
Discontinued: 1940
Notes
Manufrance did not originate the Velo-Dog; it retailed the generic pattern (branded 'Le Mignon') via its famous annual catalogues alongside its shotguns and bicycles. Ammunition was offered with lead bullets as well as cork, wax, dust-shot and even cayenne-pepper loads intended purely to deter a dog rather than wound it.
Background
Manufrance was as famous for bicycles as for guns, which made it the natural retailer for a 'Velo-Dog' - a cyclist's pocket revolver named for the velocipede and the dog it was meant to scare off, sometimes loaded with cayenne-pepper cartridges rather than lead.