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As proof I am working on another ammo post...

By The Armorer on March 20, 2004 | | Comments (7)

...here's a 'screen shot' of one of the pics I've taken for the series.

chassepot.jpg

The breech end of a Chassepot needle-gun, with a genuine Chassepot cartridge in the tray.

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7 Comments

By Dave on March 21, 2004 8:18 PM
out of idle curiousity, have you ever fired that thing? I've never seen one in the flesh (so to speak) .
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 21, 2004 8:37 PM
No, I haven't fired it. For several reasons. 1. It has a notoriously bad gas seal, whether with leather washers or the rubber plug. This one, while it has the remnants of a plug, has no gas seal. The gas vents directly into the shooter's face! 2. The needle. One of the weaknesses of these guns is that the needle is exposed repeatedly to the heat of combustion of the powder. This makes them brittle over time and they fail. Needless to say, replacements are hard to come by. 3. The ammo. There is no shootable ammo available to my knowledge and the effort to develop a shootable form (the primer for these is contained in the base of the bullet - the needle punches through the linen and charge to get to the primer) combined with the gas seal problem mentioned earlier - dissuades me from trying! 4. Add all the above together - there's a reason the rifle was obsolete almost as soon as it was fielded!
 
By Dave on March 22, 2004 10:53 AM
Like I said, it was idle curiousity. I like oddball guns, but I REALLY like oddball guns that I can shoot. You're the first person I've ever ran across who has one of these silly things. The gas seal alone would be enough to keep me from firing it. I had a minor accident with a .54 Sharps some years ago (powder on top of the breechblock) that made me a much more careful boy.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 22, 2004 3:22 PM
I understand completely. I am as interested in the history of (military) firearms development as I am in shooting them, so I own several weapons I either won't shoot for safety or wear & tear concerns and several that I haven't taken the time to try to develop a low power load for, like my Werndl, Sniders, and Martini's. I do have a .303 Martini that I have shot. I also have a "Khyber Pass" Martini-Enfield that is in some off-the-wall caliber. Someday I need to make a cast of the chamber and slug the bore. It's larger than a .303 or 8mm, smaller than a .57. While I have a fairly extensive cartridge selection from the era, nothing I have comes remotely close to fitting. Just need to take the time to cut a dowel and melt some lead to make a chamber cast.
 
By Dave on March 22, 2004 7:43 PM
hmmm Martini Henry's... I've had the chance to buy several and was always too broke. I've not seen a Snider in ages. I always thought they were a better design than the Sprinfields converted to cartridge after the "late unpleasentness." I've got a buddy with a repop Trapdoor that he's afraid to shoot live because it leaks around the breach so bad.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 22, 2004 8:04 PM
That must be one crappy repo that it leaks around a rimmed cartridge. And he shouldn't - if a rimmed cartridge is leaking, you've got to be pretty close to a blow-out of the case. Still want a Snider? Enter Snider in the search window.
 
By Dave on March 22, 2004 9:52 PM
I saw those a couple of months ago, I would have REALLY loved to have gotten one of the 3 band Enfields, but I think they may be gone already. The main thing (besides $$) that stopped me was the fact that I like to handle 'em before I buy. The Trapdoor I mentioned does have a serious problem. He bought it to take to Montana when they were filming Son of the Morning Star back in the 80's. As far as I know he's never used it for anything but blanks.