What are you currently reading?

[Charles]

BTW, the favored handgun of the Missouri Guerrillas was the .36 Navy Colt. Even the Redlegs favored them, such as "Wild Bill" Hickock. "Buffalo Bill" was a Redleg as well.

I've never read of anyone in Missouri ever carrying a LeMat. John McCorkle even complained about the .44 Dragoon not shooting to the point of impact.

A hit with a .36 is better than a miss with a .44.

Chas

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by d-ray657

Picked this up on a whim, and couldn't put it down: "In the Beginning" by Chaim Potok.
Regards,

D-Ray

"Every man who has shown the world the way to beauty, to true culture, has been a rebel, a 'universal' without patriotism, without home, who has found his people everywhere."
Chaim Potok

How did you discover him?

[Big_Bill]

The French LaMat Revolver is a very interesting weapon, having three models, and many different configurations. I believe that only approximately 3000 pistols were imported, and very few are known to exist today, about 600, I was told by a major collector.

The LeMat revolver was one of the most interesting weapon designs to be introduced in the civil war. This revolver was designed for the confederate forces and sold to the confederate army. This was most likely one of the only double barrel revolver designs ever produced. The revolver consisted of a 9 shot cylinder that fired thru a conventional .40 -.42 caliber rifled barrel. The central cylinder pin that would normally be used in a conventional revolver was replaced by a smooth bore secondary barrel of .60-.63 caliber. This central barrel would then serve as a cylinder pin as well as the secondary barrel. Grapeshot would then be loaded into the central barrel providing a devistating charge against the union forces. A removable ramrod for use in charging the shot barrel was inserted in the rammer's lever. The revolver was constructed of blued steel, with grips of polished walnut, and was a total of 13.25 inches long. The upper, rifled barrel was 6.75 inches long; most were octagonal , though some were round. The lower barrel was 5 inches long. An extension could be attached to the lower/center barrel to form a true shotgun. This 9 shot revolver, with an additional single shot barrel wound up being a headache to produce.

Designed by Col.LeMat and Gen.Beauregard this handgun was a favorite of General J.E.B.Stewart. The first models were produced by John Krider of Philadelphia.Later during the war they were produced in Europe by various gun manufacturers.Approximately 2900 of these revolvers were produced.The second or first over seas mfg of the revolver was done by Charles Frederic Girard and Son these were so poorly made that LeMat then moved to the Birmingham Small Arms Company in England.Shipments of the guns were slipped through the Union naval blockade that barricaded the Confederate coasts.

Originally, all LeMat revolvers came in one model --.40 caliber above a .60 barrel. Later on in the war a lighter .35-caliber pistol equipped with a 28-gauge .50 caliber shotgun barrel was produced. Again this .35 caliber was a non standard size bore.

A further very problematic issue was that the guns were designed in a non standard ammunition size. .36 or .44 caliber being standard sizes for both the Union and Confederate troops. The LeMat being in .40, .42 or .35 size was a problem until the final models which were developed in standard gauge sizes. A soldier in the field, would be limited to what the arsenals could provide, or he would be forced to make his own bullets. Modern reproductions of this revolver are designed with a .44 caliber bore.

Its users included General Beauregard, Maj. Gens. Richard H. Anderson and J.E.B. Stuart, and Colonel George S. Patton.
http://civilwarhandgun.com/lemats.htm


Bill

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by bhunter

"Every man who has shown the world the way to beauty, to true culture, has been a rebel, a 'universal' without patriotism, without home, who has found his people everywhere."
Chaim Potok

How did you discover him?

Great stuff.

I think I have some Potok books in a box in storage. The name sounds familiar. I'll have to dig them out and have a look. I got some of my Dads books when he passed, my sister got some and a truckload (literally) were donated to charity.

Dave

[Big_Bill]

I just received my e-copy of:

It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano examines the concept the government hates and fears the most: Freedom.

In this back-to-basics on freedom, Judge Napolitano addresses hard questions:
◦Do we still have a Constitution?
◦What are the limits to government power in a free society?
◦Why does the government attack, rather than defend, our rights?
◦If our rights are inalienable, how can the government take them away?
◦Do we really own any private property?

I have just downloaded this book, and have not yet begun to read it.

Bill

[BlueStreak]

Does he ask the question; "Has any of this really changed, since 1776?"

Because the answer is "no".

Dave

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Big_Bill

I just received my e-copy of:

It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano examines the concept the government hates and fears the most: Freedom.

In this back-to-basics on freedom, Judge Napolitano addresses hard questions:
◦Do we still have a Constitution?
◦What are the limits to government power in a free society?
◦Why does the government attack, rather than defend, our rights?
◦If our rights are inalienable, how can the government take them away?
◦Do we really own any private property?

I have just downloaded this book, and have not yet begun to read it.

Bill

If you print it out and pile it in the middle of the table and set fire to it I guarantee you you will get more light on the subject than by reading it.

[Big_Bill]

Originally Posted by merrylander

If you print it out and pile it in the middle of the table and set fire to it I guarantee you you will get more light on the subject than by reading it.

By that statement Merry,

I must assume that you have read this book already. If I had only known, I would have asked for your review before I purchased it.

Have you read any other of Napolitano's books ?

Bill

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Big_Bill

By that statement Merry,

I must assume that you have read this book already. If I had only known, I would have asked for your review before I purchased it.

Have you read any other of Napolitano's books ?

Bill

Bill I am 81 years old and very busy, if I wasted the time reading crap there would be none left for useful pursuits.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Big_Bill

By that statement Merry,

I must assume that you have read this book already. If I had only known, I would have asked for your review before I purchased it.

Have you read any other of Napolitano's books ?

Bill

No, but I've seen his show. Watch too much of that paranoid drivel and he'll have you pie-eyed, skittish, scared to death and building a bunker under your garage in short order. I pay as much attention to him as I do Beck, these days. Which is to say I pay NO attention to either one of them, anymore.

I also never understood why they stuck his show on the Fox Finance channel. He never talks about finance, he just rants about the shadow government and what-not. I go to the finance channel to see what's going on in the markets, not to be ranted at by some fearmongering, "The End is Nigh", partisan zealot.

Dave