Handguns

If anyone thinks about pinfires nowadays, it’s probably because of those tiny, watch-fob, five-and-dime novelty single-shot pistols they had as a kid. There was a time, however, when the pinfire cartridge was top-of-the-heap—and state-of-the-art.

The pinfire was not only the first practical, widely used self-contained cartridge; it also lasted well into the era of rimfire and centerfire cartridges. In Europe especially it was popular for pocket pistols up to World War I. After the 1920s its decline was steep, though ammunition never completely went out of production, even up to the present. At its height, the military pinfire revolver was the most sophisticated arm of its day, and one that was sought after on both sides of the Atlantic.

While many think the pinfire was the first self-contained round, actually this is not the case, though there was a connection. As early as 1812, Swiss inventor Samuel Johannes Pauly patented and produced a brass cartridge containing powder, ball and priming compound. This innovative load underwent several modifications during its lifetime, but never really became popular and was eventually eclipsed by more robust designs.

In 1814 a 12-year-old apprentice, Casimir Lefaucheux, began working for Pauly, and by 1827 Lefaucheux owned both the firm and Pauly's patents. Soon he went to work on a cartridge of his own and, in 1835, patented an ingenious brass-based paper shotshell that was ignited by a hammer striking a pin that extended through the rear of the case, which rested upon an internal fulminate percussion cap.

Breech-loading shotguns were manufactured to accommodate the new round, and it found immediate popularity on the Continent—less so in Britain. The British complained that the case did not properly seal the breech, and could not be extracted easily—though this is probably more an example of sour grapes against a non-Anglo invention than it is a legitimate damnation of the product. Still, pinfire guns were eventually made in England by some pretty high-toned houses, and the gun gradually became a fixture at weekend country shoots.

Realizing his round had an application in other types of firearms, Lefaucheux patented a breech-loading, single-shot handgun in 1845, and then followed that up a year later with a pinfire pepperbox. Cartridges, originally part-paper, were made wholly of copper or brass for durability and ease of use.

Casimir died in 1852 and was succeeded by his son, Eugene. In 1851 Eugene attended the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London where he studied percussion revolving pistols produced by Colt.

Returning back to France, he came out with his own single-action sixgun in 1854; it was chambered his father's pinfire rounds. The gun possessed many of the features we accept as commonplace today—a bored-through cylinder (one year before S&W's Rollin White patent), loading gate and ejection rod.

The sixgun, as it originally (and most popularly) appeared, had an open top, à la Colt, and a rear sight notch in the hammer nose that could be lined up with the bead-style front sight when the gun was on full cock—also similar to that of the Colt.

In very short order the French military adopted the revolver as an issue sidearm. As well, civilian models in various configurations and calibers (5mm, 7mm, 9mm, 12mm and 15mm) began to be produced by Lefaucheux and others, as early on Casimir had sold the rights to his invention to selected makers.

The revolver mechanism really gave the pinfire a new lease on life. Revolving rifles were made, as were combination and mega-shot repeaters, sometimes in dual calibers. There was even an odd dropping-block pinfire carbine designed for Napoleon III's Cent-Garde.