doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Teddy Roosevelt's first shotgun was French

I ran across this passage in TR's autobiography:

"My gun was a breech-loading, pin-fire double barrel, of French manufacture. It was an excellent gun for a clumsy and often absent-minded boy. There was no spring to open it, and if the mechanism became rusty it could be opened with a brick without serious damage. When the cartridges stuck they could be removed in the same fashion."

TR was born in 1858. Around the time this gun is mentioned, he got his first spectacles which allowed him to feel normal. So assume he was about 12-14 years old (he talks about the winter of 1872 after the statement on the shotgun) probably around 1870-72? Pin-fires still predominated then. I'm going to assume thus was a classic Lefaucheaux under-lever pin-fire. Interesting.

It may have been his grandfather's; Cornelius Van Schaack "C.V.S." Roosevelt and it sold in 2006.
https://www.collectorebooks.com/gregg01/pinfire/Lot-785.htm







Also discussed here it is on p. 16-17
https://issuu.com/booneandcrockettclub/docs/theodoreroosevelthuntercons

Thanks Dr. Drew. With barrels by Léopold Bernard of Paris...that was not a gun you'd want to hit with a brick.

Some really significant improvements took place in the last third or so of the 19th century. By the time the 20th century rolled around, pretty much every major military in the world was equipped with bolt action rifles. Side by side shotguns had evolved to the point that it's hard to tell the difference between one made in 1900 and one made in 2000.

Great and interesting research, fellows. I was not aware of the gun and history before.

Would be fun to check the barrels for brick marks. My lightweight Dewson percussion 10 bore was said to have been used much later by TR's cook at the ranch. He claimed he used it for shooting passenger pigeons in New York.

Very interesting, thanks for posting!

I sure like them French fired tAters....