needle gun

[neil]

New to this site and I love it. I recently got a H&A underhammer and now I got the bug.


my question is...

I have a 1867 french chassepot needle gun and now want to shoot it. does anybody know how to make a paper cartridge for it? All of my searches bring up the kind for a flint lock and such, not a needle gun. Any help would be greatly appreciated....Thanks.

 

[Stimpy c. cat]

Hi zrex,
try following link: http://www.schmids-zuendnadelseite.de/chassepot_papierpatrone.html

Its a german page, but the pictures are in english :winking:

Hope this helps...

Best wishes Stimpy

 

[OldNo7]

"Its a german page, but the pictures are in english"

LOL!!!!!

Guten tag. Das gut. Wie geht's es einen? eace:

Old No7

 

[schwartzpulver]

"Its a german page, but the pictures are in english"

LOL!!!!!

Guten tag. Das gut. Wie geht's es einen? eace:

Old No7

Ummm... "Ist ihnen" Contraction; "Wie gehts'?" "Ich geht gut, danke!" Reponse.

 

[neil]

Yup no problem with the pictures.thanks.

 

[bob1961]

sure there not in chinese :crackup:..................bob

 

[2172]

I was given one of the 1867'a as a gift and I called the late Jac Weller(honorary curator of both the West Point and Sandhurst arms museums) for advice...it wasn't what I expected. He said, "hang it on the wall...that gun blinded more Frenchmen than the Prussian Army ever did. The gutta percha seal on the bolt didn't work when it was new, and now it is 100 years old..." I took the needle out and gave the gun to a friend who wanted a wall hanger.
We've already got one member here wearing dark glasses and we don't need another...I urge you to hang it on the wall...Hank

 

[schwartzpulver]

I was given one of the 1867'a as a gift and I called the late Jac Weller(honorary curator of both the West Point and Sandhurst arms museums) for advice...it wasn't what I expected. He said, "hang it on the wall...that gun blinded more Frenchmen than the Prussian Army ever did. The gutta percha seal on the bolt didn't work when it was new, and now it is 100 years old..." I took the needle out and gave the gun to a friend who wanted a wall hanger.
We've already got one member here wearing dark glasses and we don't need another...I urge you to hang it on the wall...Hank

Quite-Right this! "Obturation/Sealing" Poor, Entire-Concept Ill-Concieved, Badly-Executed.

"Wall-Hanger" Please!

 

[bezoar]

Chassepots used a self contained brass cartridge. In case of a case rupture the bolt/breech has a hole drilled for release of the gas.
And the dreyse needle gun used the rubber obturating rings. Sure it would weaken and eventually break, and the needle would break eventually. But the benefits were wonderful.

Higher velocity due to ALL the powder being burned inside the barrel. And ease of loading that nice paper cartridge into the breach. Lots of "military historians" will tell you that the needls would break all the time, but that wasnt so, and if it did break, the soldier merely pulled the bolt, dissassembled it and replace the pin.

id love to have a dreyese.

 

[Zonie]

I seem to recall that the primer was located in the base of the bullet and the needle penetrated the full length of the paper cartridge?
If this is true, I don't know how anyone could even begin to find the right components.

Hang it on the wall, or stick it in the closet as a nice piece of hands on history.

Interesting as it is, it also doesn't sound much like a muzzleloader to me.

 

[bezoar]

Yep, your right on that part. Its basically a very high power version of the "rocket ball" type ammunition originally used in the Volcanic pistols.

Normal skirted bullet contained a cardboard disk centered in that disk was the primer, pulling the trigger sent the needle thru the back of the cartridge thru the powder and into the primer wich would detonate and fire the gun.

The cartridges were commercially produced for many decades, production of the cartridges ended when the production of the last dreyse weapons ended. The cartridge was paper, tho i have heard some mention of a linen version.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

found some more sites:

http://arquebusiers.ancenis.free.fr/trucsdoc/11mmchassepot.htm
In French with pictures



http://perso.wanadoo.fr/guy.jachet/chassepot.htm
This is hte jackpot! In French with detailed instructions and lots of excellent illustrations; clicking on "Mode d'emploi" on the first page takes you to the actual construction page:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/guy.jachet/bandeau.htm
then click on each section from the index in the frame on the left side. It includes instructions on rebuilding the rubber obturator (gas seal) on the bolt head from faucet washers.

Looks like fun to play with.

Joel

 

[neil]

That is just the type of info I was looking for.
Excellent sites thank you very much.

..and it is ok in french...yes the pictures are in english!!!