Non-steamed steampunk guns

[abney park fan]

any kind of flintlock.

[maze.rodent]

there is some company making broomhandle mausers right now, i can remember the name but its a modern production of the classic gun... cost about 400-600 bucks but they are out there if ya look... mmmm brandnew 9mm mauser pistol... who doesn't drool at that...

if you can supply a manufacturer name, please, they are my favorite gun ever!

still looking, i ran across it in the back of a guns and ammo or an american rifleman or one of those publications a while back...

cool.  let me know if ya find it.

[JosephR]

any kind of flintlock.

Like these?

[Hyeronymus Amphigourias]

As can be seen on my avatar : the Mauser C96...
It is a cheap zamac replica that I turn around and around to figure out exactly what I want to do with it to make it even more steampunk than it is already....

[Major Frye]

Gentlemen;

Having been asked to join this thread, first I'd like to say this seems to be a nicely mannered group, which is always a pleasure to engage with.  Secondly, folks know their stuff on firearms!  That's also a big plus for me!  Excellent...

Anyway, JosephR, early on in the thread you noted that you prefer to pack your 1917 Colt, but it's too late to use for Steampunk if the cut-off is 1914.  But worry not!  The original Colt New Service, which the M1917 is merely a category of, came out in 1897, and the US Army even adopted it as a limited standard in .45 Long Colt in 1909.  The M1917 only denotes the model made during WWI in .45 ACP for use with half-moon clips.  The only other minor difference between it and the M1909 is that the barrel has the swell to it as it meets the frame: other than that and the caliber, they are identical.  The fact that you have the earlier style commercial hard-rubber grips on it too actually "back-dates" it, so I personally would have little trouble foisting it off as a pre-war New Service. They are in fact one of the finest double-action revolvers ever made (in my opinion, at least) so I say "Carry On!"

I'll have to take some photo's of some of my toys to post here eventually, but I'm afraid that my favorites are hadly "steampunk" as they are pretty pedestrian for that, and more fit the image of the Cowboy.  But here's one of them anyway, my current "carry gun" in .44WCF.

(This is an original, mine is a Colt 3rd Generation made around 1985 or so, but otherwise pretty much identical.)

Cheers!

Gordon

[JosephR]

Very nice, Gordon!

[Major Frye]

Thanks!

Although this isn't a very good photo, here are most of my Colts, all pre-1920 of course:



I need to make a new photo, as there have been a couple of changes and additions since I took this, but it will do in the mean time.

Cheers!

Gordon

[Captain Lyerly]

So, what do you use for a rifle?  I hope you noticed my current competition rifle back on the earlier page - finding the bayonet for it was a pain, but I have to say I get "style points" all day long when I am at the range.

Nice Colts', by the way. 



Cheers!

Chas.

[Major Frye]

My favorite rifles? Kinda depends on what, where and when as to what my long arm is at any  given time.  For doing 1850's and early 1860's I like my caplock Sharps rifle, as it's accurate and fairly easy to load, etc. (and no blackpowder-scooged brass to clean up later, just the rifle).  I also have a nice cape-gun that seems to actually be FROM South Africa, that is in .62"X20ga, which is pretty cool.  Both shoot to the sights with round ball, the rifled barrel at 100 yars point of aim, the smooth barrel at 50 yards point of aim.  I call it my "Lion Gun", as it just seems about right for that sort of fun.

For single-shot BP cartridge I have an H&R "Officer's Model" Springfield Trapdoor that shoots rather well.  I also have a Navy Arms Henry and a Navy Arms Wnchester 1866 carbine that are fun for the Cowboy Action Shooting game (I do want to get an 1873 Winchester again though. I foolishly sold off the one's that I've had for some idiot reason or another that seemed good at the time.) 

As far as "modern" stuff goes I like either my Winchester 1895 Carbine in '30-'06 or my good old SMLE MkIII* in .303.  I have a nice Springfield 1903MkI, but I can't say that it's a favorite shooter. I have a few other odd-ball pieces stashed deep in the safe, but those are the nominal favorites.  I guess I'm more of a pistolero than a rifleman anyway, though.

I don't have a lot of stuff, at least compared to what most of my fellow collectors and shooter friends have, but I like to think that what I have is of pretty decent quality. 

(I'll try to get some photo's up soon.  For some odd reason I'm more inclined to take photo's of my pistols than rifles!)

Cheers!

Gordon

[akumabito]

I'd love a lever-action rifle in .45-70 alas, that won't happen with the firearm restrictions in this part of the world..

[tophatdan]

I'd love a lever-action rifle in .45-70 alas, that won't happen with the firearm restrictions in this part of the world..

you cant own a lever action ? thats harsh...

[akumabito]

I'd love a lever-action rifle in .45-70 alas, that won't happen with the firearm restrictions in this part of the world..

you cant own a lever action ? thats harsh...

Ok well, technically I could, but I'd have to jump through a ton of hoops to get a license, plus I could only use it at a shooting range (and all 'ranges I know off are indoors anyhow) now where's the fun in THAT??

[tophatdan]

ya, we have to jump through a bunch of hoops for handgun ownership, then also for conceal and carry license and all that jazz, but at least we can get a rifle without hustle and shoot cans in a field if we want to... is it legal to hunt there?

by the way, I'm just curious, i dint want to get into the politics of it, as this thread has managed to stay up and running because we dint talk about the politics of guns here...

[akumabito]

Yeah, let's steer clear from any political talk (or anything resembling it) I'll send you a PM instead..

[tophatdan]

good choice, but back on topic, who has seen the film zombieland?

the gun woody has there, i believe, is a 'chopped' 45-70 lever action winchester, the old TV series the rifleman (i think that's it) has a fellow who carried the same gun, the only difference being that he used the 'fast slap' or 'hoop' lever, instead of the standard box lever, this allowed for quicker firing, and was easier on the lever hand...

it has been brought up on a number of forums, and I'm curious what some of you think....

can a lever action rifle, properly modified, be used as a 'tactical' weapon, that is, if you add the right sights, store inboard ammo, lights, super lite weight stocks, etc. is it a good tactical gun...

lets get a little talk about this if we can, because I'm thinking about doing exactly that to one of mine, making it a tactical weapon... and then steam punking it, lol

[akumabito]

Problem with lever-actions are two-fold, really.
1.) Spitzer ammo is right out, as the rounds are loaded top to bottom, it would be too unsafe.
2.) Because of this arrangement, ammo capacity is limited.

You really need spitzers for very long range sniping, but for short range stopping power, soft lead rounds are perfect. I think the perfect short/medium range round would be the .44 Magnum, or similar. Not too large, so ammo capacity is reasonable, and still packs a hell of a punch..

Maybe in a bit shorter lever-action rifle, perhaps the size of Marlin's Guide Gun.. now just gotta find a period-replacement of a red dot sight..

[JosephR]

can a lever action rifle, properly modified, be used as a 'tactical' weapon, that is, if you add the right sights, store inboard ammo, lights, super lite weight stocks, etc. is it a good tactical gun...

In the mid-19th c. it was a tactical weapon without modification - the "gun you could load on Sunday and shoot all week."  It's actually faster than a bolt action, though not nearly as accurate at long range.  So I guess it all depends on the context of what kind of war you're fighting and the tactics involved.

[Major Frye]

Joseph is right, that in the late-19th Century the lever-action was THE tactical weapon of choice, and in fact you could argue that the lever-action carbines in such calibers as .44 rimfire and .44-40 were the period equivalents of sub-machine-guns.  They fired a pistol-sized round, but fired them fast, and lots of them (the "Horizontal Shot Tower", etc.)  16 fast rounds from a Henry, or 18 from a Winchester '66 rifle was absolutely astonishing firepower for folks used to single-shot muzzle loaders!  The Battle of Plevna in 1877, where the Russians assaulted the Turkish positions resulted in a horrific slaughter of the Russians as the Turkish infantry had their Peabody-Martini single-shot rifles supplemented by the Cavalry's Winchester '66 Carbines.  When the few Russians who managed to escape the long-range musketry of the Turks made it to the trenches, they were met with a hail of .44 RF bullets, and few escaped.  It definitely left an impression, and lead to the adoption of tube-magazines by most of the European armies within 10 years of the event.

Per using such devices today, you could of course... and now that Federal Cartridge Company has come out with their "Lever-Evolution" bullets, which feature a polymer tip on the end of a blunted bullet to give aerodynamic improvments to the flat-nosed bullets required in a tube-magazine, the issues of range and accuracy are much reduced.  And of course, having 8-10 rounds of .45-70 in your magazine (in the case of the Marlin "Cowboy" model 1895 Rifle) is a very handy thing to have.  It's rather long barreled of course, but still, lots of fire-power for a 115-year-old design!

I'd also like to mention that the vast majority of tactical shotguns also still use tubular magazines to this day.  Works well, and you just don't often need as many shotshells in a given situation as you do bullets...

Cheers!

Gordon

[Sir L. Cuilein]

The handgun version what Woody was using is just that a handgun as it too only holds six rounds. There is a real version available to purchase for $1400.00 retail
The lever action pistol was in a handgun caliber, probably 44-40. This wasn't a long range weapon.
As a rifle it's comparable to the M1 Carbine making it a close to medium range weapon. As a rifle the longer barrel increases velocity making the pistol caliber much more stout. Here's an example Marlin Camp carbine firing a 115gr FMJ can penetrate a class 1 tactical vest with its 16 inch barrel. But if you take the same bullet and fire it out of say a Beretta it wont penetrate.

Again as a handgun caliber the lever action only needs hallow points if you want a tactical load.

As a tactical weapon it's as good as the operator.

[akumabito]

What happened to the lever-action shotgun? I know there were a few models out there back in the day.. anyone still producing them?

Convesely.. just out of curiosity, are there any pump-action rifles around?? (non-smoothbore)

[tophatdan]

What happened to the lever-action shotgun? I know there were a few models out there back in the day.. anyone still producing them?

Convesely.. just out of curiosity, are there any pump-action rifles around?? (non-smoothbore)

I'm not sure about the lever action shotguns, i would think someone must be making them, however i haven't read anything in recent history about one...\

the pump rifle tho, it getting to be pretty common as a small caliber gun, .22 lever actions are a great trainer gun for kids, i know several people who have given them to their children for rabbit hunting and the like, its a good safe weapon as without pumping it, there is no way to fire, (most have a grip lock safety on the pump) the modern Henry company makes one;


they are a simple, easy to operate, easy to clean, easy to maintain gun for young shooters/hunters...

I'm sure Henry must make them in other calibers, but i have not personally seen them.

[Sir L. Cuilein]

Actually there is a Winchester 1887 Copy being made for the cowboy shooters.

Made by Norinco and imported by IAC here's a link.

http://personalsecurityzone.com/cgi-win/order/prodlist.exe/PSZ/?Template=ProdDetail.htm&ProductID=36852

I shoot one in SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) a tad cumbersome as the rules when shooting in competition is only two rounds at a time so that the double barrel shooters can keep up.

[tophatdan]

oh my... to take that 12 gauge lever action, put a rifled choke into it, load her up with slugs and tear through an obstackle course....


i think i need to change my underpants....

[Inktank]

I'm a pretty big fan of old revolvers, one of my favorites being the 1851 Colt Navy.

I actually did a photoshop of one not too long ago:

[tophatdan]

that looks great, i wish i still had a scanner... i own a July 1963 issue of American Rifleman, its framed above my bar, anyhow the cover art is a picture of Roy Bean the hanging judge's personal colt revolvers, the embellishment looks not to dissimilar to those you have photoshopped...

isn't it amazing what a skilled engraver can do with a device made to kill a man...
it becomes a piece of terrible art...