The Coolest Volcanic Ever: A Vintage Scoped Pistol-Carbine

Lot 1011 in the RIA September 2020 Premier auction.

The “Pistol-Carbine” was a pattern offered by the Volcanic Arms Company combining a 16 inch rifle-length barrel with a pistol grip and detachable shoulder stock (it could also be had with an 8 inch barrel). This is the rarest major variations the Volcanic, with only about 300 examples made. This particular one was set up with a telescopic sight around the time of its purchase, although we have no information on who did the work or who owned the gun.

13 Comments

    • Allan, it’s legal to turn a pistol into a rifle as long as the barrel is 16″ like this one.
      An amazing piece of history and it’s almost new condition tells me how useful (Not) it was.
      Very cool.

    • Well, one could get away with sticking a scope on a modern Mare’s Leg pistol. And then, as far as loopholes go, there’s the Henry .410 lever-action Axe gun, which is not bound by NFA restrictions as it cannot be stuck in any restricted category! Since it’s a 26.4 inch smoothbore weapon (with the barrel length under 16 inches) designed without a shoulder-stock, it doesn’t count as a short-barrel-rifle or as a sawed-off shotgun, therefore the Feds can’t stop you from owning one unless you’ve been a bad boy. I could be wrong.

  1. With more powerfull rounds, I bet that would have been more usefull… In the period that followed; who knows maybe it was just enough usefull, I wouldn’t like to be shot by it in the head at 80yrds eh, he he. “Underpowered as it is; can’t be healthy, and I bet they’d hit at 80 with this”

    • Few officers nappas like… Sly shot. Feign injury or such, surrender. Couple of shots; kamikaze like task, probably. Give the General a serious headache… At the least. Then get behind a stonewall.

  2. It just occurred to me that if you had a failure to fire, what would keep you from avoiding a double feed when you were trying to clear the unfixed rocket? I guess you could release the magazine spring pressure and dump the loaded rounds

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