doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The pinfire game gun

This is one of those with no forearm wood above the underlever. I don't know how to remove the barrels for cleaning. Please advise. The only marks I can find are three digits on the rib just forward of the lever mechanism.





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Hal, I believe the following screw has to be removed to release your barrels from the action (I suggest picking out as much grunge as I could from that slot before trying):


Many Lefaucheux-type actions incorporate a small lever on the fore-end piece to more easily remove the barrels (an invention of the Parisian maker/inventor Jean Lepage), but yours does not have it. Once the barrels are off, the various proof marks should then be visible, and barrel maker's marks, if any.

The screws/pins on your gun seem to be in very good condition!

Thanks. System makes sense to this old barrel-gripper. Who needs furniture behind? But slow loaders for sure. Was wondering why the checkering went back underneath almost to the buttplate and can see how it would help hold the stock close to the body when reloading.

I'm stopping the exploration till I find a proper turnscrew. My three dozen are mostly junk. Can't see well enough to grind one to fit. The screw heads are widened very slightly, but retain fit and finish. Certainly a sign barrel removal was infrequent.

A couple more notes. bbls 30.5" and retain nearly all original blue finish.
Both hammers hold half and full cock.

This is an earlier style. It is actually this pin shown here that needs popped out.

ie:

AaronN, I think Hal is just looking to remove the barrels from the action, and not the fore-end piece from the action bar. I imagine undoing the single screw will do the trick. It would be easier if his gun had Mr Lepage's innovation, seen here:



I have to say, though, the notion of having a hinge pin that can be easily drifted out and replaced would make the task of keeping the barrels on-face that much easier. That said, I haven't come across many quality pinfires that are loose.

Those are nice thick fences on your gun!

Nope, that front metal piece and what that screw removes is pretty much just for looks.

Also, that's also originally a Lefaucheux invention in 1849 I believe.

How very interesting! I guess we'll hear back from Hal at some point on how his gun is configured. I'm very curious now.

I recently saw photos of an Austrian-marked pinfire made by Auguste Francotte, with an odd barrel fastening flip-up 'lever' on the attached fore-end, apparently the invention of a Mr Eugène Armand of Liège, which was new to me. Unfortunately none of my continental examples have that form of attachment, or the version in your picture.

The apparently captive hinge pin in your picture is reminiscent of the hinge pin arrangement on the Needham sidelever. Does it push out with finger pressure, or does it require tools?

This is just the very latest examples of the original 1832 Lefaucheux patent. I am actually working on an article for the Double Gun Journal on exactly this! As kind of a followup to the Pauly articles last year.



Also, see the evolution of the pinfire versions on my other post:
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=591098

And it definitely needs tools. Some are very hard to remove.

AaronN, the barrel release mechanism my comments are based on is different from yours, the second lever engages a notch on a small barrel lump. The hinge pin does not need to be removed to remove the barrels, which is a lot less of a headache, I expect! I was led to believe this minor improvement was Lepage's design, but I may be wrong on that. I find the fog around early French and Belgian designs often impenetrable, and I'm happier with the British side of the story. Continental guns are a whole area of study I'm not familiar with, other than having a few examples to examine first-hand. I look forward to reading your DGJ article!