Allen & Thurber Pepperbox

[scooter748driver]

Although not a military sidearm, the Allen & Thurber Pepperbox was used as a personal pistol by troops on both sides. While not necessarily rare, finding one that is in good condition for a decent price is a little more difficult.

I was fortunate to find this little guy recently, and for the price I thought it'd be a nice addition.

 

[DixieRifles]

Woo!

"1857 CAST STEEL"

Did the cast all the barrels as one piece??!

 

[scooter748driver]

I think the date is 1837 as it's an earlier pepperbox. I believe they did cast them as one piece but am not positive. Maybe others with more knowledge on them will chime in.

 

[EHParks]

Although not a military sidearm, the Allen & Thurber Pepperbox was used as a personal pistol by troops on both sides. While not necessarily rare, finding one that is in good condition for a decent price is a little more difficult.

I was fortunate to find this little guy recently, and for the price I thought it'd be a nice addition.

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Beautiful! I had to be satisfied with a plastic model kit.

 

[scooter748driver]

Cool model kit! I'm not sure but I don't know if these pepperboxes actually came in "45" or not. It'd be a literal handful to shoot if they did.

 

[S.Isaacson]

The Allen & Thurber marking with the city Worcester would indicate it was manufactured c. 1847–1854.

 

[Pollaco]

I'm not real familiar with pepperboxes,what is the caliber?

 

[cannonjockey]

They were typically .31 caliber--all smoothbores. There were other makers in the US along with various models imported from Europe. However, those involving Ethan Allen with one partner or another in the US are the most commonly encountered. They did make some larger versions with barrels of 6 inches or greater in length in .36 cal. These are commonly referred to as Dragoons. They are a bit rarer and thus pricy.

I have one of the Allen and Thurber models with an 1845 patent date. It's very similar to the O.P.s although not quite as nice. It has a smooth fluted barrel rather than a ribbed style. The bores and nipples cleaned up quite well, so I wouldn't be afraid to shoot it. They were a favorite of the California gold rush forty-niners because they were so much more affordable than the new-fangled Colts.

Here's mine displayed with a California gold rush theme. The barrel is only 3.5 inches long. One occasionally sees a tintype or period photo of an ACW soldier with one in his hand.

Lastly, Mark Twain humorously described one being used by a traveling companion in his book "Roughing It"
Link: The wackiest gun in the west

Cheers

 

[S.Isaacson]

I'm not real familiar with pepperboxes,what is the caliber?

There is a fair amount of variety in these. Most seem to be .31 or .34.