Whitney-Laidley Rolling Block Rifle
Whitney Arms Company · Rifle · Discontinued · 1871
Also known as: Whitney-Laidley Style I, Whitney-Laidley Type I, M1872 Whitney-Laidley
Overview
The Whitney-Laidley Rolling Block Rifle is a single-shot, breech-loading rolling-block rifle manufactured by the Whitney Arms Company of Whitneyville, Connecticut from 1871 to 1881. Built on a rolling-block action derived from an 1866 patent by Theodore Laidley and Charles A. Emery, it used a separate cam to lock the breech block closed in order to avoid infringing on the Remington-Rider rolling block patent. Chambered for the .50-70 Government and other metallic cartridges, it was offered in military rifle, carbine, and sporting/target configurations and competed directly with the Remington No. 1 Rolling Block, mainly winning contracts in South and Central America.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4627 g (163.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1245 mm (49.02") |
| Barrel Length | 826 mm (32.52") |
| Action Type | Rolling Block |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Muzzle Velocity | 381 m/s (1250 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2120 J (1564 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 300 m (328 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 900 m (984 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 3 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .50-70 Government · primary — also known as .50-70 Musket, .50-70-450
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Single Shot, Iron Sights, Cam Locked Breech Block
Variants
- Whitney-Laidley Military Carbine - Carbine
- Whitney-Laidley Sporting Rifle - Sporting
Service history
Operators
- Mexican Army · adopted 1877
Production
Estimated total produced: 50,000 · Production years: 1871-1881
Approximately 50,000 produced in total, of which roughly 30,000 were of the military pattern, mainly for South and Central American contracts; Mexico purchased about 2,000 in 1877.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Theodore Laidley and Charles A. Emery
Discontinued: 1881
Notes
The Whitney-Laidley action was more complex and costly to produce than the Remington-Rider system, which limited its commercial success despite high quality. Roughly 30,000 of the total were military-pattern rifles built largely for Latin American contracts.
Background
Eli Whitney Jr.'s Whitney Arms Company purchased the rights to the Laidley-Emery rolling block patent in 1870 and engineered an intentionally complicated cam-locked breech so it could legally compete with Remington's wildly popular No. 1 Rolling Block without infringing Joseph Rider's patent.