Pepperbox, anyone?
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Hi,
Nice and unusual pepperbox, most and many are 4&5&6 barrel.
Yours seems much slimmer.
I had a Hoppe's 6 barrel a few years ago.
Silly me, I sold it off!
They are getting pricey now!
I see that yours is an antique ( original )
All the best!
Old Ford
Nice and unusual pepperbox, most and many are 4&5&6 barrel.
Yours seems much slimmer.
I had a Hoppe's 6 barrel a few years ago.
Silly me, I sold it off!
They are getting pricey now!
I see that yours is an antique ( original )
All the best!
Old Ford
They were quite the rage back before conventional revolvers took over. They are heavy and awkward to carry, you sure can't just tuck it under your belt. Also very odd to shoot but they did come in a lot of variations. I had one of the Hoppe's replicas and never could get it to fire. I tinkered with it for a couple of years off and on. I replace the mainspring with a much stronger spring which made the trigger pull horrendous but it still wouldn't bust a cap every time. The hammer was striking the nipples square and hard but it just would not fire a cap half the time, most frustrating thing I've ever worked with and the only one I've ever just flat given up on. It seemed to be cursed, well it was cursed, many times! :haha:
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Thats a very nice 3 shot. I have Never seen one like it. I had one by Hoppes awhile back too just like coyote joe I couldnt git it to ignite the chare due to the small flash hole in the breech. I swithced to a 4 shot Sharps !!! :blah:
but we cant discuss that here.....
but we cant discuss that here.....
The markings say
MANHATTAN F.A. MFG. CO./NEW YORK
FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...and their values , 9thEd, 2007 shows this guns brothers gun on page 128.
Flayderman says the three shot version of this gun is "very scarce" and the 2007 value would range from $450 to $1250.
These pepperboxes were made in Norwich, Connecticut, c.1856-1859.
The engraving was standard.
The 3 barrel pistol had a 3 inch barrel.
The 5 shot version had a 3", 4" or 5" barrel.
The 6 shot version had a 3 or 4 inch barrel.
Manhattan Firearms is best known for their copy of the 1851 Colt with a few improvements but they made a number of different pistols during their existence.
MANHATTAN F.A. MFG. CO./NEW YORK
FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...and their values , 9thEd, 2007 shows this guns brothers gun on page 128.
Flayderman says the three shot version of this gun is "very scarce" and the 2007 value would range from $450 to $1250.
These pepperboxes were made in Norwich, Connecticut, c.1856-1859.
The engraving was standard.
The 3 barrel pistol had a 3 inch barrel.
The 5 shot version had a 3", 4" or 5" barrel.
The 6 shot version had a 3 or 4 inch barrel.
Manhattan Firearms is best known for their copy of the 1851 Colt with a few improvements but they made a number of different pistols during their existence.
I'm a bit of a pepperbox junkie. I love them but have only ever owned one. One of the Classic Arms kits and it would crossfire with alarming regularity. A lot of that was probably due to my inexperience at the time. I have to admit that as a teenager I got a kick out of it going "full auto".
One reason I like going to the Tulsa Arms show is that there are several pepperbox collectors with their guns for sale. Dozen upon dozen originals. Some with quite fair prices! There were some real beauties made back then.
One reason I like going to the Tulsa Arms show is that there are several pepperbox collectors with their guns for sale. Dozen upon dozen originals. Some with quite fair prices! There were some real beauties made back then.
Pepperbox chain fires were very common 'back in the days'.
Mark Twain wrote of the multiple firings he witnessed saying words to the effect of nothing was safe anywhere around one of those things.
Sam Colts pistols, including the Paterson had its nipples down in milled pockets to prevent (or at least lessen) the chance of a chain fire.
He was smart enough not to patent the pocket but rather, to patent the whole idea of making a metal dam to deflect the fire from a chamber away from the other nipples on a multi-barrel or chambered cylinder. (All of that metal between the milled pockets on Colts cylinders is the "dam" on his revolvers).
I guess when you add Mark Twain's thoughts along with some common sense one could come to the conclusion that maybe those multiple firings made up for the lack of accuracy one has when aiming a heavy barreled pepperbox without any sights at an assailant? :grin:
Mark Twain wrote of the multiple firings he witnessed saying words to the effect of nothing was safe anywhere around one of those things.
Sam Colts pistols, including the Paterson had its nipples down in milled pockets to prevent (or at least lessen) the chance of a chain fire.
He was smart enough not to patent the pocket but rather, to patent the whole idea of making a metal dam to deflect the fire from a chamber away from the other nipples on a multi-barrel or chambered cylinder. (All of that metal between the milled pockets on Colts cylinders is the "dam" on his revolvers).
I guess when you add Mark Twain's thoughts along with some common sense one could come to the conclusion that maybe those multiple firings made up for the lack of accuracy one has when aiming a heavy barreled pepperbox without any sights at an assailant? :grin:
1911nutjob
40 Cal.
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Am I the only one here who wishes that someone would make a quality repro or kit of these things? Think I must be, as the choices I've seen offered are limited, and the quality is questionable upon reading product reviews. I once splurged on an original colt 1860 army, but I can't bring myself to do it with the pepperboxes. Guess I'll keep wishing, just like I do with a possible broomhandle repro.
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One YES vote for quality pepper boxes.
It's really quite simple. Supply and demand.Not too many people want a good one bad enough to pay
for it simply because they can't be used for much
except protection or plinking fun...and for the
plinking fun they just want something cheap...and
cheap is the bottom line...Quality cost much more
and instead of saving till they have enough $$$'s
for a custom job they consider the cheapy close
enough and also they can have more of them...It's
a collection thing...Just an opinion not a personal experience....I can't afford a cheapy.
for it simply because they can't be used for much
except protection or plinking fun...and for the
plinking fun they just want something cheap...and
cheap is the bottom line...Quality cost much more
and instead of saving till they have enough $$$'s
for a custom job they consider the cheapy close
enough and also they can have more of them...It's
a collection thing...Just an opinion not a personal experience....I can't afford a cheapy.
In all my years of playing with black powder arms I only recall two pepperboxes made in recent times.
The Classic arms, IMO isn't worth a hoot if you want to shoot it and the Hoppe's Ethen Allen, which I thought might be worth having doesn't sound too good either. Of course, it is long out of production.
Something as small as the pepperbox in the original post would be kinda fun to own and if it were a reproduction, even a single action one that had to be cocked for each shot, making the lockwork rather simple, it would be a kick to shoot. Especially at the range when all three barrels went off! :rotf:
The Classic arms, IMO isn't worth a hoot if you want to shoot it and the Hoppe's Ethen Allen, which I thought might be worth having doesn't sound too good either. Of course, it is long out of production.
Something as small as the pepperbox in the original post would be kinda fun to own and if it were a reproduction, even a single action one that had to be cocked for each shot, making the lockwork rather simple, it would be a kick to shoot. Especially at the range when all three barrels went off! :rotf:
