Today we have one of the oldest guns we’ve looked at, a Lorenzoni repeating flintlock pistol. The system was designed by an Italian gunmaker in Florence name Michele Lorenzoni. They were made in very small numbers, and the workmanship is stunning, especially considering that they were first manufactured in the 1680s.
Instead of using a revolving cylinder pre-loaded with multiple shots, the Lorenzoni system utilizes powder and ball magazines in the frame of the gun and a rotating breechblock much like a powder throw tool used today for reloading ammunition. But the video describes it better than a written explanation:
To see more along these lines, check out the NRA Museum’s Cookson rifle, made in America in the 1750s using the same system.
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Wouldn’t You need to charge the pan before firing?
Nope, it did that automatically. I didn’t think to point it out in the video, but the central cylinder has an extension that holds a slamm amount of powder for the pan. If you go to about 1:08 in the video you can see it turning.
You lucky bastard. What caliber was it?
I didn’t make a note of the caliber, but I believe it was around .50 .
Wow, never seen that before, did it also work?
Wow Ian,
You surely have unusual firearms for sore,I wonder where you get all of them??
We regularly travel to see private and museum gun collections, and so the majority of guns we have videos on aren’t our own. This Lorenzoni, for example, is probably worth more than my whole gun collection, my house, car and all my other possessions put together.
Truly awesome! I’ve been researching the Lorenzoni. I’m looking forward to seeing the video tonight after work.
Nothing really relevant to add, but that is WAY cool!
It was great to see not one but two on the trip.
I really appreciated your demonstration of the weapon’s action. There is/was a smiliar 9-shot weapon at Christie’s going for about $30,576.
See http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4833569
[...] Link [...]
I discovered the reference to this pistol in a Louis L’Amour Sackett novel, “Jubal Sackett” published in 1985. Page 17 in the Bantam paperback edition describes its origin and use. L’Amour was noted for his historical accuracy so I believe it functioned as well as it was portrayed.
I’m surprised that the barrel isn’t rifled. (After all the effort the gunmaker put into this thing, you’d think he’d take that small extra step. Especially considering how this is a breechloader…)