Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This unusual LeMat “Grape Shot” revolving carbine represents one of the rarest configurations from an already obscure firearms designer. While Dr. Jean LeMat’s distinctive nine-shot revolvers with secondary shotgun barrels gained some fame with Confederate officers during the Civil War, his postwar centerfire designs are far less known. After the South’s defeat, LeMat returned to France in 1868, where he continued refining his unusual firearms while also leading an American volunteer unit during the Franco-Prussian War. This centerfire carbine dates from that later European period, likely manufactured between the late 1860s and 1880s. What makes LeMat’s designs immediately recognizable is the distinctive dual-barrel arrangement – this carbine features a rifled .44 caliber upper barrel with a 20 gauge smoothbore lower barrel beneath it. The cylinder fires through the upper barrel, but a pivoting striker could be adjusted to fire a load of buckshot through the lower barrel – hence the “Grape Shot” nickname. This example features attractive scroll engraving applied by a period retailer (not factory) and has “COLONEL LEMAT PATENT” prominently displayed on top of the barrel, along with Belgian proof marks. The curly maple stock with a checkered wrist adds visual appeal to this mechanical curiosity. Production numbers for these carbines were extremely low – probably only a few hundred were ever made. LeMat’s revolving long guns were essentially obsolete even as they were being built, especially compared to the repeating rifles from Winchester and others during the same period.
“Engraved LeMat Centerfire ‘Grape Shot’ Revolving Carbine.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/220/engraved-lemat-centerfire-grape-shot-revolving-carbine. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Writer | TheFirearmBlog
Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.
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