LeMat questions

[voodoo child]

do any of yall know about the use of the lemat revolvers after the war between the states & if there ever was a conversion of this weopon?

also does the GAF have any specific rules regarding the shotgun barrel & does it count as a single action in the scout classes?

[Drydock]

There are some weapons for which a hard an fast rule will not work.  The Lemat is one such. It is an SA revolver, it can be used in Scout.  How it may be used is at the Match directors discretion.  He may tell you to load 5, say 4 ball  and one shot, and engage pistol targets only.  That would be my guess for most stages.  Have a 2nd revolver charged and ready to cap for a reload.  He may tell you to load 10 and blaze away.  It may depend on the stage configuration.  Inform the match director ahead of time so that he may consider how to accomodate it.

[pony express]

Maybe cap the last 5 on the clock, instead of a reload?

[voodoo child]

thanks 4 the help.    would any of yall be able 2 answer the historically relevant questions?

[St. George]

The LeMat saw very limited use during the Civil War - there simply were better revolvers available that effectively superseded it in performance.

As to post-war use - 'maybe' a couple were carried and used, but when there were Colts and Remingtons available - all combat-proven weapons - then I'd imagine a LeMat was carried because of personal attachment.

I've never seen a converted one.

By War's end - percussion handguns had reached a point of excellence - but that was short-lived, once the use of the self-contained cartridge came about.

First, the various Conversions - then the ubiquitous Colt Single Action Army, the various Smith & Wessons, the Model 1875 Remington and all the others were filling the catalog pages and the shelves and subsequently - the holsters of those who needed them.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Cowtown Scout]

Hi VC
I'ved got the book "The Confederate LeMat Revolver" which covers the history of that unique handgun.  In the next to the last chapter it states that with the end of the civil war the only substantial market disappeared and Girard who ran the factory in France tried to sell the patent rights to Colt and then tried to sell the left over LeMats to Egypt.  None of this worked, the factory was closed and he was put in the French debtor's prison.  Lemat got him a pardon.  Lemat went on to develope centerfire versions of the LeMat pistol as well as a carbine.  All total between 1866 and 1889 he filed over 15 firearm related patents in 4 countries.  He died in 1895.
Scout