The Chichester Rifle Company (actually of Jersey City, NJ) was one of many small firms that sold branded guns made by the Hopkins & Allen company. In particular, Chichetser sold a “pocket rifle” which was really an XL No. 5 revolver fitted with a long barrel and detachable shoulder stock. These are in period catalogs that survive, and appear to have been made form about 1880 until 1890. In addition, Chichester appears to have also made a small number of “pocket shotguns” by fitting 28 gauge smoothbore barrels to the .38 rimfire (and centerfire) XL No. 5 frames. Both the rifles and shotguns were fitted with an interesting small shield, which was intended to accommodate the fact that the user’s eye would be much closer to the gun than a revolver held at arms length. The shield protected the users from escaping gas or debris, and also functioned as a sort of aperture sight.
VIDEO HERE (11 minutes)
Bond Arms makes a two-shot .410 derrigner, so there still is a pocket shotgun, of sorts, out there.
ReplyDeleteAnd i own one, a fantastic derringer love it! It is a 410 and 45LC, the 45 shoots just fine but the 410 has a kick that feels like it is breaking your fingers and it is a fine gun, check out their web site at Bondarms.com they have them from .22 to 410!!! grayman
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