Re-Loading Pin-Fire Cartridges:

Any antique, brass cartridge pin-fire guns may likely be in dodgy-dangerous condition as found - and will mostly be thought too valuable to risk by firing .. but some practical metal cartridge reloaders might seek to revive or make working specimens of this obsolete black-powder cartridge from new.

The Pinfire cartridge was an early system from the 1800's that provided self contained cartridges for breech-loading firearms. while retaining the external hammer like a percussion muzzle loading black powder arm - the percussion cap / primer is moved to inside a cylindrical cartridge loaded with powder and bullet - and fired by a small rod or firing-pin that projects from the side ready to transfer the hammer's blow to ignite the charge.

Pinfire shotguns, rifles & handguns were used for many years from the 1820's until the 1890's when the newer and safer rim-fire and center-fire cartridges became widely accepted. They were much more than a brief "flash-in-the-pan" eh.

Lefauchoux Pinfire Revolver Detail .. Many of These 'Pinfires' May Later Have Been Converted To Use a 12MM Center-Fire Round.

Modern re-loaders can rework fired pinfire cartridges by fitting fresh percussion caps inside prior to charging with black powder. WARNING: Old original brass should be regarded with serious caution due to a strong likelihood that the metal will be embrittled and dangerously weak.

Another failing when re-loading this type of pin-fire black powder cartridge is that the side hole the pin uses quickly becomes enlarged and leaks high pressure gas & flame. 😆

However, this (linked) & interesting site instructs how new cases may be found and a kit used to produce working ammunition while providing your own caps and powder. LINK:

http://www.hlebooks.com/pinfire/pin01.htm

- Here is a further tale of shooting an old revolver using one such kit and some surprises enjoyed while having fun. LINK:

http://www.nrvoutdoors.com/PINFIRES/SHOOT%20YOUR%20PINFIRES%20AGAIN.htm

Note: Unlike modern brass cartridges that may sometimes be carried loose on the person - PINFIRE cartridges must be kept securely in a holder that protects the firing pins from any accidental impact.

Marty K.

P.S For great color images & info on a fascinating variety of old cartridge designs take a look at this page .. LINK:

http://www.cartridge-corner.com/rimiden.htm

Although Lefaucheux is rightly credited with developing metallic Pin-Fire cartridges - the originator was strictly speaking a Swiss born inventor called Jean Samuel Pauly (1766-1821) (born Samuel Johannes Pauli) who "invented" the needle-fire - pin-fire system (with Frenchman Prelat) in 1808.
Inventor Pauly is well worth researching for his clever work in Transport & Aviation as well as Ordnance .. LINK:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Samuel_Pauly

.. Some people have got brains eh,

M.K.

Brun Latrige 8 MM Self-Loading 'Belly Guns':

This image below really caught my eye .. looking sort of "artistic" and ever-so classy.

The designer - Paul Brun Latrige worked for the Manufrance mail order company that later developed their Gaulois palm squeezer pistol.

Elegant Prototype French Brun Latrige Pistol,

But .. if you view the 'Forgotten Weapons' video below linked - you should, like me, be intrigued by the very simple-clever 'trombone' or 'pump'? action.

Now I've only just 'discovered' these wee repeaters from around 1900 - so am merely introducing the marque to you guys - & I don't pretend to know anything about them - BUT  Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has seen one .. LINK:

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ria-brun-latrige-model-1900/

One aspect of this interesting "squeeze-pump-action" is the way it strips it's cartridges backwards from it's fixed magazine in the same way that the Bond(Boberg) Bullpup does - and how this permits the whole action to be located further rearwards of the trigger line than usual.

https://flicense.blogspot.co.nz/2018/01/bond-arms-bullpup-9-boberg.html

Engraved Personalized Gun Sold From Paul Brun-Latrige Estate.

There seems to be three main trigger variations .. 'folding', 'ring' and what I'd call 'trombone'.

This Version Makes It Clear That A TWO Finger Trigger Pull Is Needed.

I'm thinking that a modern maker could do something with this elegant design in .22" rimfire or maybe even in .32" ACP? - It is 'neat' in the old-fashioned original meaning of the word. (-  8 mm is .314" .. almost exactly the bullet size for 32 ACP.) - It would need to be as short a cartridge as possible due to the squeeze action length of pull.

Another interesting characteristic of this design is that the barrel is rearward and shrouded at the moment of firing - thereby reducing any muzzle flash.

These antiques were supposedly made in both 5mm and 8MM short calibers - cartridges that today would be thought badly under-powered.

8 MM Cartridge .. Short & Soft.

Gaulois or Mitraillesue Palm squeezer.

Thanks to "Dreamweaver" from The Firing Line for this Image

(- The Rifle Case is a 30:30.)

I've not been able to find anything sensible about the 5 MM cartridge - perhaps because it may have been even less popular & "proprietary".. and maybe other metric size descriptions were used - 7mm, 8mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm ? - I simply don't know. (or perhaps there's no such thing?)

Marty K.

Lies, Damned Lies & A KIWI Royal Assassin:

I've long understood that we all "are treated like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed bullshit." - There is even a theory of Business management called "Mushroom Management".

It is well recognized that 'History is written by the victors' - and George Orwell's famous novel '1984' features a "Big Brother" government that constantly re-writes history to match it's current policy.

 - However sometimes a long buried  truth can emerge.. such as the New Zealand, Dunedin assassination attempt on the Queen in 1981.

LINK:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/01/queen-assassination-attempt-new-zealand-police-investigate-claims-of-cover-u

17 year old Christopher John Lewis fired a stolen .22" rifle at the Queen on 14 October 1981 - was never charged or tried for that - but reportedly died aged 33 in prison in 1997.

Police Quote:
“Given the passage of time, it is anticipated this examination of the old file and its associated material will take some time. New Zealand police will share the outcome of this examination once it has been completed.”

For a detailed account - go to LINK:
https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/intelligence-documents-confirm-assassination-attempt-on-queen-elizabeth-in-new-zealand-20180301-p4z282.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feedhttps://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/intelligence-documents-confirm-assassination-attempt-on-queen-elizabeth-in-new-zealand-20180301-p4z282.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Marty K.

WWI MILLS Bomb-Grenade:

The No.5  'Mills Bomb' was patented by Briton William Mills in 1915 - but was clearly "inspired" by the pre-war design of Belgian army Captain Leon Roland (with engineer Albert Dewandre .. who worked with Mills on some prototypes) - Roland was taken prisoner early in the conflict by the Germans - thus curtailing his development work - but this later resulted in a patent lawsuit.

Some 33-50 Million were produced by around 100 contractors during WWI .. initially made with a seven second fuse .. this proved to be too slow - permitting grenades to be thrown back - so was changed to a four seconds only fuse. According to Mill's notes - the "pineapple" grooving is NOT for fragmentation but for security of grip - and in practice it has been demonstrated that the casing randomly fragments into irregular shrapnel. The British Home Guard were instructed that while these grenades might be accurately thrown 30 yards .. the danger area was 100 yards - thus requiring the user to take cover.

The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron "pineapple" with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. According to Mills's notes, the casing was grooved to make it easier to grip and not as an aid to fragmentation, and in practice it has been demonstrated that it does not shatter along the segmented lines.

The heavy segmented bodies of "pineapple" type grenades result in an unpredictable pattern of fragmentation. After the Second World War Britain adopted grenades that contained segmented coiled wire in smooth metal casings.

The 'Mills' was soon adapted as a rifle grenade to extend it's range - first by the fitting of a rod that went down the Lee-Enfield rifle barrel - the pin was pulled - then the rifle fired with a "blank" cartridge propellant.

Mills Rifle Grenade No.23 Mk.II

DODGY!

This in practice was found to be an unsatisfactory & destructive (!!) system .. leading to development of the much better "CUP Grenade" and launcher.

Mills Cup Grenade No.36. With Gas Check Disc.

The Cup-Grenade launcher rifle was first loaded with the special projector 'blank' cartridge - the 'position' was adopted - then the pin pulled while - the insertion into the cup retained the grenade's hand lever on-safe until it was launched.

Mills Rifle Cup Grenade Firing Position

 - That's Better!

.. The various versions of the Mills Grenade adapted for launching by rifle could still be used as Hand Grenades. “it is essential the lever be held securely against the grenade, otherwise the collar that holds the striker may release and ignite the fuse.”

In 1917 the British copied the German "Egg" grenade producing the No.34 Mks. I, II, III, & Mk.IV "Testicle" grenade. This was smaller & lighter than the 'Mills' and was better suited to combat from the trenches.

No.34 Cast Iron Testicle (Egg) Grenade.

There is a much wider variety of grenades & bombs than those I have researched .. including phosphorus types etc. - my interest is really in ballistics rather than bombs. - For a very good (82 page) read about THE HAND GRENADE by Gordon Rottman - follow this link to a nicely illustrated pdf.  LINK:

http://educacion-holistica.org/notepad/documentos/War/Weapons/The%20Hand%20Grenade.pdf

Marty K.
P.S.
TFB reports that US Army has dropped competency at throwing grenades as a basic training requirement due to "lack of skills & discipline in trainees".

After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24075745

WWI Jam Tin Grenades:

Colonel L Jackson developed the "Jam Tin Grenade" early in the First World War - as an alternative to the unsatisfactory No.1 Percussion Grenade.

No. 1 Grenade With 'Streamers'

- Impact Grenade Sometimes Struck The Rear Trench Walls

 & Detonated When Being Thrown.

If you look carefully above .. the boys are throwing 'Jam Tin Grenades' with the 'Leach' catapult:

The No. 8 grenade consisted of an inner tin which held an amount of Ammonal explosive, inside a larger tin with the void being filled by 4 layers of shrapnel balls separated by cast iron rings. Inside the ammonal was a standard No. 8 Mark VII detonator with a length of Bickford fuse protruding from the top of the grenade fitted with a Nobel percussion igniter. This double wall design is why the official name for the original Jam Tin grenade was the "Double Cylinder Hand Grenade".

The 'Roburite' on the label is an interesting "flamefree" mining explosive that was safer to use in "gassy" coalmines where 'firedamp' & fine coal dust were present. (The Nobel 'percussion igniter' is used here fixed to a length of fuse cord - the internal spring-loaded firing pin detonates a percussion cap that lights the fuse when the 'rip-cord' is pulled .. then you throw it.)

However - supply couldn't keep up with demand so the Royal Engineers put-out a set of instructions that enabled troops to build their own versions from expedient supplies.

The need for this design mostly ended as the Mills Bomb was made available to the British Expeditionary Forces (B.E.F) .. But the Commonwealth ANZAC troops in Gallipoli were held to be of a lower priority "a Side Show" for supply - so were left to make a variety of their own improvised war materials in 'factories' down on the landing beach - where at one stage more than 50 men were producing 200 bombs a day..

 ANZAC Troops Cutting The Enemy Barbed-Wire Into Short Lengths For JAM TIN Shrapnel.

Anzac Cove 25 April 1915.

The ANZACS also set-up a periscope factory where they produced over 3,000 periscopes and later they built complete Periscope rifle attachments.

ANZAC home-made Periscope Rifle and Spotter using trench periscope.

- "Needs Must"

Mk.II Number 23 Mills Bomb

 Pineapple Grooves Are For Hand Grip Security - NOT For Fragmentation:

Marty K.

Freemason President Assassination Attempt:

I can't remember a time when I wasn't aware of  "The Masons" - I've certainly worked under a number of bosses who were Freemasons .. some were half-decent blokes.**

Did you know that almost a third (14) of U.S. Presidents were Masons (so far):
George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, Warren Harding, F. D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Gerald Ford.

http://www.32nddegreemasons.org/

You don't get to be a Presidential candidate millionaire unless you walk tall .. mostly while stomping all over anyone getting in your way .. but Freemasons are supposed to be committed to being charitable and also to helping others in trouble - provided they have not been crooks. - Could work eh.

In 1835 President Andrew Jackson who was a prominent Freemason and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee became the first President ever to experience a assassination attempt (by Richard Lawrence) - when both of his two derringer percussion pistols failed to discharge. - Both percussion caps of the guns ignited - but failed to fire the main charges.

They were later re-primed and tested with fresh caps, and both guns fired flawlessly. Nobody knows why they failed to go off—they were properly loaded but it was a very damp & misty day - the high humidity/moisture may have affected the percussion caps. - A few believed that Jackson was extraordinarily lucky—most believed it was Divine Intervention that saved Andrew Jackson’s life that day. - More likely loopy-Lawrence never practiced with these guns.

Later NOTE: I was reminded this last Saturday (24 Feb 2018) that percussion caps will fail to ignite the main charge IF the gun was previously cleaned & OILED and the nipple passages may be fouled with oil and crud. - I had one such "flash-in-the-pan" type dud in the first cylinder full of my Ruger Old Army - and a later one that I credited maybe to sooty blockage?

Found Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity.

There seems to be no record of what happened to the pistols after the trial - perhaps they are treasured artifacts in a Masonic Hall somewhere.

** When I told that then current Mason/manager I was getting married - he sternly rejoined "Haven't you got any friends?"  ... "If you had they'd tell you don't do it".

Marty K.

WWI TRENCH GRENADE CROSSBOWS & Mortars:

I was researching info on Roman military use of handheld crossbows (as you do ..a dubious & uncertain topic - did they or didn't they?) when I discovered that during World War I there had been widespread use of  'crossbows' to throw various grenades at each other at extended range.

Firstly I found the German WURFMASCHINE that used 8 coil springs to launch three grenades simultaneously up to 200 meters,

Wurf Maschine With Austro-Hungerian Troops.

 Then I have also found reference to the West Spring Gun - a trench grenade thrower - one example of which may be in the Australian War Memorial Collection. This used 24 coil springs to (slightly erratically) launch grenades out to 240 yards and was not trusted by the men - as it would sometimes bounce it's grenade back from the rim of the trench!

West Spring Gun:

Then in 1915 the British developed the LEACH TRENCH CATAPULT which was a Y-shaped frame with natural rubber bands pulled taut by a windlass and held in position by a hook release.

- They were manufactured by the Gamages department store in Central London and cost £6 17s 6d to make ! - but they only stayed in use until the end of 1915.

Then the Brits discovered that the French had a more effective tool called the Sauterelle Crossbow .. well it was lighter but shorter ranged ..

The Sauterelle replaced the Leach Catapult in British service

 (until they were in turn replaced in 1916 by the 2 inch Medium Trench Mortar
 and the Stokes mortar)

Sauterelle In French Service 

The Sauterelle weighed-in at 24-29 kg and threw its bomb up to 140 meters at the rate of four rounds per minute.

That most worthy man Ian McCollum of Forgotten weapons has a neat piece on the Sauterelle here LINK:

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/larbalete-la-sauterelle-type-a-dimphy/


I have seen reports that those clever Germans went into the war in 1914 already equiped with some x140 mortars in three different sizes! - but it was January 1915 before pommy Bill Stokes came-up with his design for the '3 inch mortar' - that set the pattern for most later designs .. including the much larger 9.5 inch heavy mortar - called "FLYING PIGS" by the Tommies.** 😊😊

The STOKES 3" Mortar was invented in 1915 (by (Sir) Mr Wilfred Stokes) & was actually a simple 3.2 inch smooth-bore.

  

I read that the Stokes Trench Mortar continued in use with New Zealand Defense Forces until after the end of WWII.

An interesting debate about Grenades and throwing them can be found here: LINK:

https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/33103/were-slings-used-for-throwing-hand-grenades-if-not-why/33141

** British soldiers have been called "Tommies" after the legendary 'Tommy Atkins' since way back in the 1700s:

One common belief is that the name 'TOMMY' was chosen by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington after having been inspired by the bravery of a soldier at the Battle of Boxtel in 1794 during the Flanders Campaign.

 - After a fierce engagement, the Duke, in command of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, spotted the best man-at-arms in the regiment, Private Thomas Atkins, terribly wounded. The private said "It's all right, sir. It's all in a day's work" and died shortly after.

__________________

- Between 1915-1917 the Brits also used a "2 inch Medium Mortar" This was a simple two inch tube but the bomb itself was a 9 inch football sized sphere fixed to a 22" long steel shaft that dropped down the tube to fire. - Our Tommies called these "Toffee Apples" after their shape .. and there is the legend that this is the origin of the phrase "How do you like them apples?"

'Two Inch' Toffee-Apple Mortar Grenade:

Marty K.