Pinfire Pepperbox
Liège Gunmakers (Belgian Trade) · Pistol · Discontinued · 1850
Also known as: 7mm Pinfire Pepperbox, Belgian Pinfire Pepperbox, Pepperbox a broche
Overview
The Pinfire Pepperbox is a 19th-century multi-barrel pocket pistol built around a rotating cluster of barrels rather than a single barrel and revolving cylinder. Chambered for the 7mm pinfire cartridge, it is typically a six-shot double-action design with a folding trigger and no trigger guard, mass-produced by the Belgian gun trade of Liège and exported widely as an inexpensive personal-defense weapon. Each barrel is loaded with a self-contained pinfire round whose protruding pin is struck by the hammer to fire, and the barrel cluster indexes to the next chamber as the trigger is pulled.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 300 g (10.6 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 340 g (12.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 130 mm (5.12") |
| Barrel Length | 65 mm (2.56") |
| Height | 90 mm (3.54") |
| Width | 30 mm (1.18") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Integral |
| Muzzle Velocity | 180 m/s (591 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 95 J (70 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 10 m (11 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7mm Pinfire (Lefaucheux) · primary — also known as 7mm Lefaucheux, 7mm a broche
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Manual Loading
- Features: Folding Trigger, Rotating Barrel Cluster, Exposed Hammer, Pocket Size
Service history
Operators
- Civilian Self-Defense
Production
Production years: 1850-1890
No central production records; large numbers were turned out by independent workshops in Liège, Belgium, and exported across Europe and the Americas.
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Casimir Lefaucheux
Discontinued: 1890
Notes
Pinfire pepperboxes were produced in calibers from roughly 5mm to 12mm, with 7mm and 9mm being among the most common. The pepperbox form (multiple full-length barrels) was a transitional design that was superseded commercially by the lighter, single-barrel pinfire revolver.
Background
Cheap, concealable and quick to point, the pinfire pepperbox was the throwaway pocket gun of the mid-19th century, sold by the crate to travellers and townsfolk before the compact pinfire revolver made the bulky barrel cluster obsolete.