The Museum of Art and Industry in St. Etienne has a copy of this weapon in their collection, and they say that the design belongs to a man named Henry Rieger. A cursory glance on the internet says that he worked for Lefaucheux in the mid-to-late 19th century. Conventional double barrels of his are out there, marked both Rieger and Lefaucheux. Hope that this comment is of some help in identifying this weapon.
@@Z3R0_2PR1N9 I would imagine he does not really have time to read every comment on every video, and that comment was made 7 years after the video was uploaded.
Being a Frenchman and living in France, when I showed a friend of mine this video, he told me he has seen one sample of this very shotgun in the firearms museum in St-Étienne.
It's on Google street view, looks like a nice place. What does the graffiti on the other side of the store say? I tried translating my best guess, but I think one word is an abbreviation/slang. 37 Rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris
@ I think his point is that it would have practical use with grenades and such, a double barrel shotgun isn't the most efficient thing nowadays, sadly it's probably why a new double barrel design won't be introduced any time soon
I see one distinct adventage to this system over a converntional break shotguns; you can reload either barrel individually without losing the ability to fire the other barrel. So if you were hunting fowl and you firedd one barrel and then the rest of the fowl were out of range you could reload the spent barrel without taking the unspent barrel out of battery.
I think that's a nonexistent advantage. Anyone with any experience can eject or extract just one spent hull from any top lever double shotgun (o/u or SxS with extractors or ejectors), reload, and be ready to fire just as rapidly. I'm also very sure that action would be much more expensive to manufacture than an Anson & Deely boxlock or even a modern sidelock requiring not only a lot of hand fitting but many more fiddly bits and some very precise machining to adequately seal the breech. It's an unusual and interesting shotgun nevertheless.
Honestly, that looks like a lot more convenient to reload than a typical break action. It's a shame that whoever designed this didn't have more success.
@@CaptKashi Your frame of reference here is asinine, incorrect, and in bad faith. The baseline we are referencing is not whether a person with no machinist skills could make one in their basement. It's in relation to modern sporting firearms.
Jack Sparrow I think its pretty obvious that a "conventional" breech-loading metallic cartridge shotgun design from this era would be a break-action design..
Im not a gunsmith. But I am a "inventor" or a machinist. And I'm thinking of doing a gun like this one too, but for modern standards. Meant to be used for hunting or sporting. The one thing is that in my country I need to be licensed to manufacture a gun. I have started to design it on paper. But it's still lots to design as I want it to be a safe and reliable gun if I ever decide to get the license and manufacture it.
@@noadadgringor6140 well i have sent an email to the ones that give out the licences and i have found out that i only need the license to produce a gun. i dont need it if i will only make one gun for personal usage. witch is a nice thing. and on the design side of things im trying to make a good and reliable way to cok the weapon. and as of now im thinking of doing it so when i put the breaches to the side it coks the weapon. so when the shell have enterd the barrel and the breach have returned to the normal position the weapon is ready to fire. Basically I only have to put in a shell and pull the trigger.
@@ZayBurd nothing interesting have happened. The only thing is that virus have slowed down my gun license and as of now I want to assemble it to get a feeling for it. And then see if what I've drawn on paper works good in reality.
+Paul Williams It'd be nice if a gun company out there would go to you to look at this gun and copy its design. If it happens, please let them. I'd love to see this action replicated.
That is a very cool loading/ejection mechanism, yes I know-i-know, very late to the party, but that is such a beauty piece of engineering I had to add my thanks to Ian and his FW channel for continuing to bring interesting/rare/forgotten weapons to light. This particular one seems like it would be fairly quick loading, and by the looks of the top loader it has been well loved. Thanks lots from the PNW Canada, Cheers!
Checked the address in Paris (37 Rue Vivienne), there is still a gun store with a connection to mister Faucheux, who apparently was a famous gunsmith and inventor.
+Gena Trius I like that you can reload only the barrel you need to, while maintaining the other one ready to fire at all times. Would have been something that a great war Lieutenant might have like to have for trench raiding and such. Obviously a pump or semi-auto would be more efficient, but for single-loading shotguns (IE one cartridge loaded per barrel, no magazine) this seems to be the most functional setup I've seen in a tactical light.
Hi Ian, I am really impressed with this design, it is unbelievable that it did not catch on. It has given me an idea for a modification to my over and under air shotgun. I would not use the same action as I never copy and in this case it would not work anyway but a push through breach would. I love your work in bringing unusual designs to our notice: a great many thanks for that. Keep up the good work.
Part of the theoretical allure was armament while reloading. You could top off the empty chamber without inconveniencing the loaded hole. With a regular double you can get caught out, standing there with an open action and shells in your hand. The idea was that one could be empty, or have just fired one round, and as soon as a round seated in the chamber, the trigger could be pulled. So you did not just look at a sporting shotgun. That was a Tactical innovation for guard/coach guns.
I doubt that. It's way too fancy/expensive and probably too long for a coach gun, and it's not a dangerous game weapon. It was either an experiment or, more likely, a gun made to address someone's handicap.
In a gunshop I saw a 12G by the same maker. This had an underlever and the S/S barrels moved forward away from the breech for loading. The underlever was then pulled back and cocked the hammerless action as the barrels went back to battery.
I believe Greener imported single barrel shotguns to the American frontier made from modified surplus Martini breeches. Assume this may have been a similar concept, repurpose existing parts?
Finally started going back and watching older videos, I wish there were little bloopers at the end of more current videos. Love what you do and I appreciate the knowledge of firearms you share, thank you.
If you google the address (Lefaucheux 37 Rue Vivienne Paris) there are a few pages coming up with some information... Apparently the company was started around 1850, the last member of the Lefaucheux family died in 1869 without kids and the company was taken over by Laffiteu (the husband of the deceased) and then by Rieger in 1876. It was then sold in 1905 to its final owner. The no 37 address was used until 1914, point at which the shop moved. It seems the guns made during the Rieger era had a large LR marking, so this gun could have been built between 1850 and 1876... If you go to www.littlegun.info then French section, then LeFaucheux there are a lot of pictures and some info about LeFaucheux guns and revolvers, some weird designs too...
+TheCarlos840 Since it's marked "Mon Lefaucheux" (mister Lefaucheux) it most likely stand for Casimir Lefaucheux. He got to the 37 rue viviene in 1850 and died there in 1852. If it was the later company, it would have been marked "Lefaucheux" or "E. Lefaucheux" depending if it was sold by the widow or the son.
+Gil gamesh You might be right! I can't find any information about the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking and cannot find a single picture of a gun with the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking apart from this one. Its always "Lefaucheux" or "E. Lefaucheux"! Also it seems most guns with the full address marked on them are from the Eugène era, which lead me to believe this was one to... There really isn't very much info available. So if you are right and this gun is pre Eugene, it could be as old as 1850 to 1852. Either way it is definitely between 1850 and 1876.
+Gil gamesh So given this, wouldn't that put the year at '52. The earliest reference I can find for a "modern" centerfire (as opposed to pin fire) shotshell is 1852 from Lancaster Cartridge in England and from Pottet in France.
+Gun Sense (drmaudio) If we can confirm without a doubt that the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking means it was made by Casimir Lefaucheux then yes. I haven't been able to confirm that. I think we can mostly say it "should" be from 50-76, with a high probability it is from 50-52. If you look at the pictures of the 30 or so guns shown in the link i posted previously, you can see that the markings vary a lot, making it hard to be 100% positive it is from one period or the other. Maybe someone with more knowledge can give us more info, i can't.
I inherited a shotgun just like this from my grandfather. He told me that it was a Lefaucheux 1848 before his passing, whenever it was intended to hunt or not that was the purpose it served. Got some documents on it, sadly i no speak french oui oui. (sad joke) not to mention they are old and is almost falling apart. A friend translated a section of the text and it pretty much said that it was ment to replace the previous weapon (wich ever that was) The rest of the text is almost gone to age.
Interesting - there's still a gun shop at 37 Rue Vivienne in Paris. The Armurerie de la Bourse (the metro stop around the corner is the Bourse - the old stock exchange stop)
I thought about resting on the forearm, but I doubt it. Since this is already a highly customized gun, they would have adopted a front section more suitable to this.
Gnome and are you saying you’re a “real man” for insulting another man about his masculinity while having a conversation that you weren’t a part of..? Because to me it seems like you’re very insecure about yourself to make a comment like that
Lots of weapon designs don't catch on. I always wanted a double - action revolving rifle with a stock and swing - out cylinder, but the only one I've heard of was cap and ball.
Peaple being used to tradition? Also,making them pivot on the other side would have made it better for right handers. In military settings,i imagine peaple having problems with accidentally pushing the block and debree stoping them from rotating.
@@johnfulkrod9596 not sure why you say that. There have been many attempts at it but basically the reason it never stuck was that you cannot hold a revolving rifle's forearm without some significant arm protection. The escaping gasses from the front of the cylinder that leak out behind the forcing cone of the barrel will leave you with serious burns and or tissue damage on the inside of your arm.
That is a REALLY cool Shotgun. One advantage over a standard O/U is you could keep one type of shot in the upper another in the lower, and only open that breech to reload without opening the other. Thank you for sharing.
There was an adresse carved into the gun "37 rue vivienne Paris" There's still a gun shop at that place, they might know something about it ^-^ or maybe not
They likely don't know much, the company was passed out of its original family and then bought by a few others. Seems to be just your average gun store now.
Lefaucheux is really a wonderful french brand, still considered by many overhere as one of the best french manufacturer ever. I wasn't surprised when you revealed the name. It seems to be a really fair price ^^
Very well thought out. I could see you continuing to follow your target for second shot as you emptied the used cartridge and grabbed a ready cartridge from your bag, then began loading the empty barrel. It is also interesting to look at as well as a handsome weapon.
As a smith I can see the inherent advantages in this style of o/u. First, you are eliminating the costley and laborious practice of fitting a hinged barrel gun. This includes the fitting of the hinge pin, the critically fitted relationship between the forend and the receiver, the timing of the auto ejectors, primary extraction and the extractors, fitting of the thumb lever and probably most importantly the fitting of the standing breach and the water table. Very ingenious, the company and name have been around and have made a name for themselves. As has been said, it does invoke the Martini name, but yet........ there is something here that in my mind is reminiscent of the original Browning Auto 5. Just watching those action proving rounds slip past the breech block and into the chamber reminded me of the fits I had while studying the design , function and repair of the Auto 5. Just like the Brownings shell latch and carrier and primary and secondary cartridg stops there was something eerily familiar. My guess would be it was manufactured arround the time the supperposed came out, so about the 1930's? Any guess Ian?
The first thing I thought when I looked at that was "a sideways Martini!!" Seriously though, that's exactly what it looks like. The way the breach blocks hinge, the firing pin in the block. It's extremely cool. Like you, Ian, shotguns leave me cold. Double rifles, drillings, etc, sure but not shotguns. But I'd like that one!
Very nice look. I have seen several DBBLguns of several country /company made, but in my opinion, this make is over and above from any point of view. Thanks
Ian, have you ever thought about doing a series on more common weapons (AK, VZ.58, ARs) and going over the history and quirks of the weapons? I know they're not forgotten, but they probably have lots of facts about them forgotten and it'd be cool to get your input on them, plus there'd be a lot of extra views.
+Patrick Takada Me too. I enjoy the way Ian disassembles and points out quirks and characteristics of weapons and gives a honest opinion. Far better than most gun reviews.
+Patrick Takada I'd love to learn about newer guns as I do learn about the older ones with him, he has a very nice way to teach and show that even me, someone who isn't very good at listening to english can understand very well!
+Patrick Takada Ian created a very interesting niche in a very common line of study. There are dozens of modern firearm YT channels that discuss interesting facts. Why would Ian taint his niche with something that is already being done 20 times a day on YT?
I'd imagine the extractors would work as ejectors as long as while reloading, the shotgun is pointed up or at somewhat of an angle. Looks like with practice one could reload it pretty quickly.
very interesting I also find my Savage 775a from 1954 to be pretty interesting too with the way the barrel moves back is part of the operating system and the super choke when you fire it and you slow it down it looks pretty much like a tank Barrel although the gun is a little heavy so it feels like you're pretty much holding on slight joke there but I like my little 16 gauge it's the oldest gun I own to date and sadly the only American-made gun I want to date as it was back when Savage was still a US company
True, but this seems like prototype. with a bit of refinement I think this could have been a very useful extraction/ reload action in comparison to the popular break action shotguns of the time.
Obviously, an incredibly unusual format. But now that I've seen it, I'm having a hard time trying to think of a more solid breach locking system. There's almost no room for blow-by or catastrophic failure once the gate swings shut. Even if the pins fail, the girth of the loading gates would likely stall most of the rearward momentum. Not to mention, it's a shotgun so the chamber pressure wouldn't be sufficient to cause more than a little bit of "gassing". And if Ian has no knowledge of the firearm, you can be sure that it's either incredibly rare, or a one-of-a-kind. What a cool weapon!!
That's some Wild outside the 📦 Design of how that works and seems to make a good bit of sense for speed loading a double barrel with basically one hand! I love it!
the way the stock comes off is interesting, I imagine someone could make some interesting stock types if they had the time resources and savvy. if I had the 3 aforementioned things, then I would probably buy this shotgun. double barrels shotguns and other weapons with that much wood on them have a lot of artistic potential
That's really cool, and a unique mechanism. About the only problem is I can't see any way to regulate the barrels (The equivalent of Zeroing a rifle, the range where the shot patterns theoretically overlap.) Which isn't uncommon for SGs of that apparent era, however with Superposed, that can be problematic, remembering which barrel patterns where at what range. Less so with Side/Side designs, because you can sight down either barrel. Arguably one of the reasons why that's a more popular configuration (Also cheaper, easier to load in a breakopen lock, which is also cheaper, and so forth.)
I never could forsee this day in which our resident UA-cam sage is bereft of the information we came for. Nevertheless, an interesting and peculiar piece. One can only assume it's tale. Despite the age of the firearm, whoever came across must have taken good care of it, on the exterior anyways.
Ian, really interesting design. I've always had a soft spot for Martini-type actions ;-) Any ideas on the firing mechanism - striker/hammer? Is it cocked by the lever, or by pushing the breechblock out the way?
+Forgotten Weapons I think that the breachblock pushed to the side pushe a lever combined with the trigger and cocking the hammer with some ind of a spring, then pulling the trigger releses the hammer that pushes the firing pin in the breechblock (i sam a smal hole in the center of it at 1:30) and the shotgun fires. What do you think about that Ian?
The name of the street engraved means that this gun was made after 1850 (the factory was at another address before). Maker is maybe Casimir Lefaucheux (1802-1852) but it's not sure because differents owners kept the name of the factory after his death. His son Eugène, also a gun maker, lived from 1832 till 1892. He left Rue Vivienne in 1856, disagreeing with his mother. On the gun, before the name Lefaucheux is " Mon " engraved, what is the shortcut for " Maison " (House)
Hearing Ian say he has never seen something before is like hearing the lockpicking lawyer say he hasn't been able to pick something open.
I just changed videos from the lock God to the gun god and this is the first thing i see
"Lockpickinglawyer fans watch this"
I love that similar people such as ourselves love both of these guys.... and they’re referenced by the fans. Truly. They’re among the best UA-camrs.
He just said that in today's video!
@@cbass2976 true
The Museum of Art and Industry in St. Etienne has a copy of this weapon in their collection, and they say that the design belongs to a man named Henry Rieger. A cursory glance on the internet says that he worked for Lefaucheux in the mid-to-late 19th century. Conventional double barrels of his are out there, marked both Rieger and Lefaucheux. Hope that this comment is of some help in identifying this weapon.
You are a scholar and a gent for posting this.
@@Z3R0_2PR1N9 I would imagine he does not really have time to read every comment on every video, and that comment was made 7 years after the video was uploaded.
Donc c'est une arme française de saint Étienne ?
Being a Frenchman and living in France, when I showed a friend of mine this video, he told me he has seen one sample of this very shotgun in the firearms museum in St-Étienne.
Your comment needs to be voted to the top for providing information, hopefully my comment helps get it up there
thanks for the info
It's on Google street view, looks like a nice place. What does the graffiti on the other side of the store say? I tried translating my best guess, but I think one word is an abbreviation/slang.
37 Rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris
I've seen it. Generally, these kinds of taggings don't really bear any meaning, besides for those who made them. Maybe. Such is the case here.
Thank you
It’s hard to believe this isn’t used in a modern shotgun. Looks like a good design to me. I’d buy a new one.
Same it's definitely a huge improvement over the break open design.
Reminds me of a tank kinda you know
bro just make one🤷🏽♂️
I'd buy one of these just cause it seems fun to play with that whole mechanism
@ I think his point is that it would have practical use with grenades and such, a double barrel shotgun isn't the most efficient thing nowadays, sadly it's probably why a new double barrel design won't be introduced any time soon
I see one distinct adventage to this system over a converntional break shotguns; you can reload either barrel individually without losing the ability to fire the other barrel. So if you were hunting fowl and you firedd one barrel and then the rest of the fowl were out of range you could reload the spent barrel without taking the unspent barrel out of battery.
Yes great comment
I also do believe that such a mechanism would be very convenient for reloading in prone position. Definitely far more than standard break shotguns.
Svorty yes
I think that's a nonexistent advantage. Anyone with any experience can eject or extract just one spent hull from any top lever double shotgun (o/u or SxS with extractors or ejectors), reload, and be ready to fire just as rapidly. I'm also very sure that action would be much more expensive to manufacture than an Anson & Deely boxlock or even a modern sidelock requiring not only a lot of hand fitting but many more fiddly bits and some very precise machining to adequately seal the breech.
It's an unusual and interesting shotgun nevertheless.
@@Svorty Shooting shotguns prone?...
Honestly, that looks like a lot more convenient to reload than a typical break action. It's a shame that whoever designed this didn't have more success.
probably an expensive method and the others work just as well
@@CaptKashi I don't imagine this would have been that much more expensive. It doesn't have all that many more moving parts.
@@Slavic_Goblin then go make them
@@CaptKashi Your frame of reference here is asinine, incorrect, and in bad faith. The baseline we are referencing is not whether a person with no machinist skills could make one in their basement. It's in relation to modern sporting firearms.
@@warweasel2832 i stopped reading your comment after "in bad faith"
2015: "This is the Most Unusual Over/Under Shotgun I've Seen"
2019: 10 gauge bullpup curved-barrel over/under
2019: Hold my beer
lol I just saw that one
I think this one still wins. I get where you're coming from, though.
Triple barreled drilling with swiveling stock
I was expecting this comment.
1:57 "I fired both unintentionally"
Heavy Metal starts
rip and tear.
*BFG Division Intensifies*
zack hall until it’s done
Demons : *why do I here boss music?*
Mick Gordon slides in ripping a sick riff on a guitar while simultaneously pulling a shotgun out of his underwear 🤣
As unconventional as this is, it looks functional and durable.
+foobar201 Wow, a beautiful and very interesting design... I have never seen anything quite like it before..
very cool.
+foobar201 why unconventional?
+Jack Sparrow I'm fairly certain he was referring to the shotgun, which absolutely is unconventional.
Charsept
well what else could he be referring to ?
Jack Sparrow I think its pretty obvious that a "conventional" breech-loading metallic cartridge shotgun design from this era would be a break-action design..
I want to apprentice at a gunsmith just so I can try to replicate this. I literally think of this shotgun at least once a week
Im not a gunsmith. But I am a "inventor" or a machinist. And I'm thinking of doing a gun like this one too, but for modern standards. Meant to be used for hunting or sporting. The one thing is that in my country I need to be licensed to manufacture a gun. I have started to design it on paper. But it's still lots to design as I want it to be a safe and reliable gun if I ever decide to get the license and manufacture it.
@@Fransenn How's that going for you? Just wanna know
@@noadadgringor6140 well i have sent an email to the ones that give out the licences and i have found out that i only need the license to produce a gun. i dont need it if i will only make one gun for personal usage. witch is a nice thing. and on the design side of things im trying to make a good and reliable way to cok the weapon. and as of now im thinking of doing it so when i put the breaches to the side it coks the weapon. so when the shell have enterd the barrel and the breach have returned to the normal position the weapon is ready to fire.
Basically I only have to put in a shell and pull the trigger.
@@Fransenn any update?
@@ZayBurd nothing interesting have happened. The only thing is that virus have slowed down my gun license and as of now I want to assemble it to get a feeling for it. And then see if what I've drawn on paper works good in reality.
Thats actually incredibly cool looking. Its such a shame quirky guns like this arent produced today. I'd buy a shotgun with an action like that.
+Doug Peck You can if you follow the link, you may be bidding against me though :D
+Paul Williams It'd be nice if a gun company out there would go to you to look at this gun and copy its design. If it happens, please let them. I'd love to see this action replicated.
DreamPen I couldn't get it but I have a friend who is a gunsmith and we are trying to replicate it ;)
+Drunk “Very” Turtle I'd love to hear if that ends up successful. Would be amazing to see.
HaydenMcM1 We actually have a (semi) working alpha model, when we get something decent I will post it up ;)
That is a very cool loading/ejection mechanism, yes I know-i-know, very late to the party, but that is such a beauty piece of engineering I had to add my thanks to Ian and his FW channel for continuing to bring interesting/rare/forgotten weapons to light.
This particular one seems like it would be fairly quick loading, and by the looks of the top loader it has been well loved.
Thanks lots from the PNW Canada, Cheers!
I bet you could reload that bad boy faster than anything. I like the design.
Michael Norman me too such an awesome design
especially in trenches, Reloading it would be niffy and actually keep you on the edge without loosing momentum.
Uhhhh nah man. You gotta manually eject each shell so it def takes way more time than a regular overunder w/ automatic eject
Jesse Lewis Won’t the design let you just tilt the gun a bit, and let the slugs just fall out?
Gabe Lost so you think flipping your arms around are faster than any eject???
Checked the address in Paris (37 Rue Vivienne), there is still a gun store with a connection to mister Faucheux, who apparently was a famous gunsmith and inventor.
Wow, this seems like a really convenient action as over-unders go.
+Gena Trius Its a really clever way of doing it as well....really cool shotgun
+Gena Trius It would be a dream to use for clay pidgeons
+the49thline Better for real pigeons
***** ross mk2 with straught pull, under barral shot gun and mp40 with extended mags and laser, silenced colt 1911 with laser and extended mags
+Gena Trius I like that you can reload only the barrel you need to, while maintaining the other one ready to fire at all times. Would have been something that a great war Lieutenant might have like to have for trench raiding and such. Obviously a pump or semi-auto would be more efficient, but for single-loading shotguns (IE one cartridge loaded per barrel, no magazine) this seems to be the most functional setup I've seen in a tactical light.
Hi Ian, I am really impressed with this design, it is unbelievable that it did not catch on. It has given me an idea for a modification to my over and under air shotgun. I would not use the same action as I never copy and in this case it would not work anyway but a push through breach would. I love your work in bringing unusual designs to our notice: a great many thanks for that. Keep up the good work.
Part of the theoretical allure was armament while reloading. You could top off the empty chamber without inconveniencing the loaded hole. With a regular double you can get caught out, standing there with an open action and shells in your hand. The idea was that one could be empty, or have just fired one round, and as soon as a round seated in the chamber, the trigger could be pulled. So you did not just look at a sporting shotgun. That was a Tactical innovation for guard/coach guns.
thank you for this comment that makes a lot of sense
Yah i thought the same thing
Christopher Neely Provenance? Hope it's book can read at library for more details. Martini - henry influence other commenter mention?
I doubt that. It's way too fancy/expensive and probably too long for a coach gun, and it's not a dangerous game weapon. It was either an experiment or, more likely, a gun made to address someone's handicap.
Also allows you to reload without breaking your aim. Pretty sure you can easily reload a chamber by touch alone.
No disassembly required. I like it. Whoever designed that brilliantly simple masterpiece must have been a genius.
Someone needs to make reproductions of this.
Yup. I'd buy two.
I bet there would be some if These laws today were not so bad in Europa...
solorhypercane 695 OH GOD WHAT IS THAT FONT
Yes please
Probably would only be legal in CA
In a gunshop I saw a 12G by the same maker. This had an underlever and the S/S barrels moved forward away from the breech for loading. The underlever was then pulled back and cocked the hammerless action as the barrels went back to battery.
It's kinda like a pair of Martini Henri's turned on their side. Very cool.
I believe Greener imported single barrel shotguns to the American frontier made from modified surplus Martini breeches. Assume this may have been a similar concept, repurpose existing parts?
Lever action would make this gun ROCK.
It has two little levers.
Finally started going back and watching older videos, I wish there were little bloopers at the end of more current videos. Love what you do and I appreciate the knowledge of firearms you share, thank you.
If you google the address (Lefaucheux 37 Rue Vivienne Paris) there are a few pages coming up with some information... Apparently the company was started around 1850, the last member of the Lefaucheux family died in 1869 without kids and the company was taken over by Laffiteu (the husband of the deceased) and then by Rieger in 1876. It was then sold in 1905 to its final owner. The no 37 address was used until 1914, point at which the shop moved. It seems the guns made during the Rieger era had a large LR marking, so this gun could have been built between 1850 and 1876...
If you go to www.littlegun.info then French section, then LeFaucheux there are a lot of pictures and some info about LeFaucheux guns and revolvers, some weird designs too...
+TheCarlos840 Since it's marked "Mon Lefaucheux" (mister Lefaucheux) it most likely stand for Casimir Lefaucheux. He got to the 37 rue viviene in 1850 and died there in 1852. If it was the later company, it would have been marked "Lefaucheux" or "E. Lefaucheux" depending if it was sold by the widow or the son.
+Gil gamesh
You might be right! I can't find any information about the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking and cannot find a single picture of a gun with the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking apart from this one. Its always "Lefaucheux" or "E. Lefaucheux"! Also it seems most guns with the full address marked on them are from the Eugène era, which lead me to believe this was one to... There really isn't very much info available.
So if you are right and this gun is pre Eugene, it could be as old as 1850 to 1852. Either way it is definitely between 1850 and 1876.
+Gil gamesh So given this, wouldn't that put the year at '52. The earliest reference I can find for a "modern" centerfire (as opposed to pin fire) shotshell is 1852 from Lancaster Cartridge in England and from Pottet in France.
+Gun Sense (drmaudio) If we can confirm without a doubt that the "Mon Lefaucheux" marking means it was made by Casimir Lefaucheux then yes.
I haven't been able to confirm that. I think we can mostly say it "should" be from 50-76, with a high probability it is from 50-52.
If you look at the pictures of the 30 or so guns shown in the link i posted previously, you can see that the markings vary a lot, making it hard to be 100% positive it is from one period or the other. Maybe someone with more knowledge can give us more info, i can't.
TheCarlos840 Interesting. Thanks.
"That is not how it works"
That is exactly how I would make it work.
I inherited a shotgun just like this from my grandfather.
He told me that it was a Lefaucheux 1848 before his passing, whenever it was intended to hunt or not that was the purpose it served. Got some documents on it, sadly i no speak french oui oui. (sad joke) not to mention they are old and is almost falling apart. A friend translated a section of the text and it pretty much said that it was ment to replace the previous weapon (wich ever that was) The rest of the text is almost gone to age.
merde
Piper Amadeus i know im late to the party but thiers some interesting info about the company that (possibly) made this gun the comments above
it would be cool to have such a gun; do you shoot it much?
@@colejosephalexanderkashay683 I have for memories sake and it does pack a punch.
@@PiperAmadeus You should post pictures of it and the documents. Gun nerds can get a lot on info out of a small amount of stuff.
Interesting - there's still a gun shop at 37 Rue Vivienne in Paris. The Armurerie de la Bourse (the metro stop around the corner is the Bourse - the old stock exchange stop)
Possibly a custom peice for someone with a damaged/lost/deformed hand? Looks like its designed to be loaded one handed.
WizardAngst i thought the same though now i’m not sure about firing a shotgun like that one handed
I thought about resting on the forearm, but I doubt it. Since this is already a highly customized gun, they would have adopted a front section more suitable to this.
@@MURDERFACE555666 A real man could do it easily. I don't think you could, though
Gnome and are you saying you’re a “real man” for insulting another man about his masculinity while having a conversation that you weren’t a part of..? Because to me it seems like you’re very insecure about yourself to make a comment like that
@@Bloodreign137 reading your comment made my pants tighter.
This is, until he came upon the "bullpup over / under with a secret" shotgun
Really neat, and seems like it could actually be practical.
"I fired both unintentionally"
*Doomslayer sent you a friend request*
the bottom trigger just happens to be a meathook trigger
That's actually a really cool, logical design. I wonder why it never caught on.
Yeah. The shotgun design is so cool!
It’s like break action but much smaller
Lots of weapon designs don't catch on. I always wanted a double - action revolving rifle with a stock and swing - out cylinder, but the only one I've heard of was cap and ball.
@@johnfulkrod9596 Taurus supposedly makes a carbine version of its Raging Judge, that might tickle your pickle.
Peaple being used to tradition? Also,making them pivot on the other side would have made it better for right handers. In military settings,i imagine peaple having problems with accidentally pushing the block and debree stoping them from rotating.
@@johnfulkrod9596 not sure why you say that. There have been many attempts at it but basically the reason it never stuck was that you cannot hold a revolving rifle's forearm without some significant arm protection. The escaping gasses from the front of the cylinder that leak out behind the forcing cone of the barrel will leave you with serious burns and or tissue damage on the inside of your arm.
This is the most interesting shotgun I've ever seen.
1:50 There is the garand thumb... but there's also the *Lefaucheux thumb*
This looks really cool, and the craftsmanship looks high quality aswell.
Seems like a decent design, I'd buy one
That is a REALLY cool Shotgun. One advantage over a standard O/U is you could keep one type of shot in the upper another in the lower, and only open that breech to reload without opening the other.
Thank you for sharing.
It’s an old Lefauchux shotgun, they were made (I think) from the late 1800’s to 1945
There was an adresse carved into the gun "37 rue vivienne Paris"
There's still a gun shop at that place, they might know something about it ^-^ or maybe not
They likely don't know much, the company was passed out of its original family and then bought by a few others. Seems to be just your average gun store now.
I love this. Old unique firearms make me drool!!! Thanks for sharing, Ian!
Lefaucheux is really a wonderful french brand, still considered by many overhere as one of the best french manufacturer ever. I wasn't surprised when you revealed the name.
It seems to be a really fair price ^^
That’s the coolest over under I’ve ever seen
Man i really like the loading/unloading mechanism for this shotgun, i would love to see a modern shotgun with a similar system.
Very well thought out.
I could see you continuing to follow your target for second shot as you emptied the used cartridge and grabbed a ready cartridge from your bag, then began loading the empty barrel.
It is also interesting to look at as well as a handsome weapon.
As a smith I can see the inherent advantages in this style of o/u. First, you are eliminating the costley and laborious practice of fitting a hinged barrel gun. This includes the fitting of the hinge pin, the critically fitted relationship between the forend and the receiver, the timing of the auto ejectors, primary extraction and the extractors, fitting of the thumb lever and probably most importantly the fitting of the standing breach and the water table. Very ingenious, the company and name have been around and have made a name for themselves. As has been said, it does invoke the Martini name, but yet........ there is something here that in my mind is reminiscent of the original Browning Auto 5. Just watching those action proving rounds slip past the breech block and into the chamber reminded me of the fits I had while studying the design , function and repair of the Auto 5. Just like the Brownings shell latch and carrier and primary and secondary cartridg stops there was something eerily familiar. My guess would be it was manufactured arround the time the supperposed came out, so about the 1930's? Any guess Ian?
This is actually a really nice-looking shotgun!
The first thing I thought when I looked at that was "a sideways Martini!!" Seriously though, that's exactly what it looks like. The way the breach blocks hinge, the firing pin in the block. It's extremely cool. Like you, Ian, shotguns leave me cold. Double rifles, drillings, etc, sure but not shotguns. But I'd like that one!
Very nice look. I have seen several DBBLguns of several country /company made, but in my opinion, this make is over and above from any point of view. Thanks
Ian, have you ever thought about doing a series on more common weapons (AK, VZ.58, ARs) and going over the history and quirks of the weapons? I know they're not forgotten, but they probably have lots of facts about them forgotten and it'd be cool to get your input on them, plus there'd be a lot of extra views.
+Patrick Takada Me too. I enjoy the way Ian disassembles and points out quirks and characteristics of weapons and gives a honest opinion.
Far better than most gun reviews.
+Patrick Takada good idea, i am sure ian would know things about such weapon you dont hear in every other vid etc
+Patrick Takada
I'd love to learn about newer guns as I do learn about the older ones with him, he has a very nice way to teach and show that even me, someone who isn't very good at listening to english can understand very well!
+Patrick Takada Ought to be in a different channel then as the name doesn't quite reflect that
+Patrick Takada Ian created a very interesting niche in a very common line of study. There are dozens of modern firearm YT channels that discuss interesting facts. Why would Ian taint his niche with something that is already being done 20 times a day on YT?
Probably one of the coolest shotguns I've seen, I love the reload mechanics
4:19 is awesome. I now want a Forgotten Weapons Blooper Reel more than I've wanted anything else in my life.
I love this. It very much feels like some enthusiast gunsmith just making something he thought was fun.
Amazing gun! There's still a gunshop at Rue Vivienne 37 in Paris, where the Lefaucheux shop used to be.
This is one of the most interesting mechanisms I've seen on a firearm.
I'd imagine the extractors would work as ejectors as long as while reloading, the shotgun is pointed up or at somewhat of an angle. Looks like with practice one could reload it pretty quickly.
Wow that’s a very nice peace of machinery. Someone payed a pretty penny once to have a nice one of a kind shotgun.
that's a really beautiful design. :O
Why are these videos so oddly peaceful and relaxing
Ummmm, this is actually really cool and I'd like it a lot if I had the money haha
very interesting I also find my Savage 775a from 1954 to be pretty interesting too with the way the barrel moves back is part of the operating system and the super choke when you fire it and you slow it down it looks pretty much like a tank Barrel although the gun is a little heavy so it feels like you're pretty much holding on slight joke there but I like my little 16 gauge it's the oldest gun I own to date and sadly the only American-made gun I want to date as it was back when Savage was still a US company
this is the coolest thing ever. someone should make new copies.
Give it a system to auto-eject shells and it'll be a perfect double-barrel
That seems pretty fun. Not sure if it's an improvement over the good old break action, but it is cool.
It may have been designed for old people with arthralgia, its purpose doesn't necessarily have to be being better.
+MrGrenade McBoom I think that in 1850 _the good old break action_ was newfangled, where falling blocks were the thing.
MrGrenade McBoom opp
That is such an awesome shotgun
The ending was brilliant
Callum Thompson yes.. comic genius.. hahahaha
So I can show you how this works...*misses* ... that is not how it works. Didn’t even miss a beat
why isn't this gun more popular? its so efficient.
This is actually a pretty efficient action for reloading.
Agreed, a little refinement and this design would have dominated break action double barrel designs.
True, but this seems like prototype. with a bit of refinement I think this could have been a very useful extraction/ reload action in comparison to the popular break action shotguns of the time.
Obviously, an incredibly unusual format. But now that I've seen it, I'm having a hard time trying to think of a more solid breach locking system. There's almost no room for blow-by or catastrophic failure once the gate swings shut. Even if the pins fail, the girth of the loading gates would likely stall most of the rearward momentum. Not to mention, it's a shotgun so the chamber pressure wouldn't be sufficient to cause more than a little bit of "gassing". And if Ian has no knowledge of the firearm, you can be sure that it's either incredibly rare, or a one-of-a-kind. What a cool weapon!!
Break-action ❌
Side-action ✔
That's like an over-under shotgun version of a Martini rifle
That's some Wild outside the 📦 Design of how that works and seems to make a good bit of sense for speed loading a double barrel with basically one hand! I love it!
the way the stock comes off is interesting, I imagine someone could make some interesting stock types if they had the time resources and savvy. if I had the 3 aforementioned things, then I would probably buy this shotgun. double barrels shotguns and other weapons with that much wood on them have a lot of artistic potential
This is a beautifull pieace of craftmanship!
quite honestly, I think this should be brought back
i'd take a single barrel one tomorrow
Hello
I am French and I am very happy to see the interest you have in our armouriere industry.Unfortunately this time is over.
Good video thank you.
3:18 "This by the way, is not a button. Don't ask me how I know".
That had to be the neatest shotgun I've ever seen.
Thank you for showing it to us.
The second I saw those breach blocks, I had to thing of a Martini-Henry
DerWillDochNurSpielen it is like a sideways martini Henry now you point it out
The shop that sold this gun is still there. Armurerie De La Bourse. 37 Rue Vivienne.
Established in 1870 by August LeFaucheux.
You should definitely do a video on Lefecheux revolver.
That's really cool, and a unique mechanism. About the only problem is I can't see any way to regulate the barrels (The equivalent of Zeroing a rifle, the range where the shot patterns theoretically overlap.) Which isn't uncommon for SGs of that apparent era, however with Superposed, that can be problematic, remembering which barrel patterns where at what range. Less so with Side/Side designs, because you can sight down either barrel. Arguably one of the reasons why that's a more popular configuration (Also cheaper, easier to load in a breakopen lock, which is also cheaper, and so forth.)
I never could forsee this day in which our resident UA-cam sage is bereft of the information we came for. Nevertheless, an interesting and peculiar piece. One can only assume it's tale. Despite the age of the firearm, whoever came across must have taken good care of it, on the exterior anyways.
+Oliver Karuna There's been a couple of videos where he finds a really interesting gun to show, but has no solid information about its origins.
The Mechanism makes me want to play with it all day. Someone make a replica.
imagine firing it without the stock
yo10057 Broken fingers, broken hand...
before shooting: "i have a hand"
after shooting: "what hand lmao"
SKOLAS BROOOOOOOOOOOOOO
hi
no no no I imagined that too but noo on the other hand it could be useful for building some kind of boobytrap
Fascinating that Nr 37 Rue Vivienne, Paris is still a Firearms / Hunting shop today.
That things gorgeous. classy gentlemen's gun.
I wouldn't mind having on of these, seems durable and cool looking.
Man,... really sad that this was up over a year ago, I would have loved to own this.
I would buy that in a heartbeat!
Never seen something so weird like this before...
havent looked in the mirror?
Rpzzz I don't see shit like you in the mirror
Cover your webcam
Rpzzz cover your ass . your ass is dropping shit all over the internet.
cya l8er
All i can say is that it is a beauty, and nice mechanism, looks simple.
Гениальный механизм! Лайк за обзор!
I think I'm in love with this beauty.
0:40 ....Linux?
awesome synth pfp
God that's such a beautiful piece of kit. Really speaks to me.
Ian, really interesting design. I've always had a soft spot for Martini-type actions ;-) Any ideas on the firing mechanism - striker/hammer? Is it cocked by the lever, or by pushing the breechblock out the way?
+Lindsay Wilson I believe the breechbock actually cocks it.
+Forgotten Weapons I think that the breachblock pushed to the side pushe a lever combined with the trigger and cocking the hammer with some ind of a spring, then pulling the trigger releses the hammer that pushes the firing pin in the breechblock (i sam a smal hole in the center of it at 1:30) and the shotgun fires.
What do you think about that Ian?
I was never interested in firearms and still aren't, but this video was strangely interesting. Thumb up! :)
That has to be one of the sexiest shotguns i've ever seen. I would love to do a replica of it!
The name of the street engraved means that this gun was made after 1850 (the factory was at another address before).
Maker is maybe Casimir Lefaucheux (1802-1852) but it's not sure because differents owners kept the name of the factory after his death.
His son Eugène, also a gun maker, lived from 1832 till 1892. He left Rue Vivienne in 1856, disagreeing with his mother.
On the gun, before the name Lefaucheux is " Mon " engraved, what is the shortcut for " Maison " (House)
i would wanna buy that
its pretty neat, with the right technique you could probably get pretty fast with that type of system