1 review    
Item:
ONJR22RGAB03

Original U.S. Civil War M1864 Triplett & Scott Kentucky Contract Repeating Rifle by Meriden Mfg. Co. - Serial 1509

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. Developed by LOUIS TRIPLETT and WILLIAM SCOTT of Columbia, Kentucky and manufactured under contract by the Meriden Manufacturing Company of Meriden, Ct. This is a Repeating Carbine enclosing a 7 Shot tubular magazine inside the wood butt. It is loaded from the front once the swivel breech of the action is fully opened. These were all chambered for the .56-50 Spencer cartridge, referred to a .50 caliber. The serial number on this example is 1509 out of a total production of about 5000.

The Triplett & Scott guns were made in two lengths; a short 38 inch carbine with a 22 inch barrel, and a rifle such as this, which is just under 46 inches long with a 30 inch barrel. 2,000 carbines and 3,000 rifles were ordered January 2, 1865, all delivered by April 1865.

This is a very nice example of the Kentucky National Guard contract rifle, and the breech tang is still marked with the patent information:

TRIPLETT & SCOTT
PATENT DEC. 6, 1864

The left side of the rear action is marked with the manufacturer information, which is still clear:

MERIDEN MAN'FG. CO.
MERIDEN CONN.

The left side of the breech is clearly marked with KENTUCKY, indicating that this was part of the Kentucky National Guard order.

The condition of this example is very good, with the metalwork showing much of the original blued finish on the barrel and swivel hinge area. There is still some of the original case hardening visible on the rear receiver, especially the left side, and the original markings are all still present. Early breech loading firearms were notorious for having a poor gas seal, which resulted in powder fouling around the breech, however there is only a small amount on this example. The bore is actually quite nice, with crisp lands and grooves and a mostly bright finish, showing very little wear of any kind. There is jus at a bit of overall oxidation speckling inside the bore, and it shows very light signs of having been actually fired much.

We checked the action, and it looks to be functional, though we have no way of testing it. The receiver breaks open and rotates correctly, however the ejector on this example is completely missing. The magazine door is properly pushed out of the way, and quickly closes back up correctly. The lock works correctly, holding at half cock and firing only at full. The breech lock is fully functional.

The stock is in good shape, however the rear stock does have a crack on the left side over the magazine, as almost all examples are due to how weak the magazine makes the wrist area. The fore stock shows some wear from service, and there is some denting and chipping on the nose in front of the barrel band. The rear sling swivel is missing, and looks to have been removed quite some time ago.

A very nice example of a rare late Civil War issue rifle with a very interesting reloading system. Ready to display!

Specifications-

Years of Manufacture: 1864 - early 1865
Caliber: .56-50 Spencer Centerfire (.50 Spencer Carbine)
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30 inches
Overall Length: 46 inches
Action: Rotating Action with Manual Hammer
Feed System: 7 Round Tube Magazine

History and overview of the Triplett & Scott "Kentucky" Carbine-

The Triplett & Scott was a rather unusual piece during its era, as virtually all of its contemporaries were single shot firearms. The Triplett & Scott, on the other hand, was a repeating carbine holding seven shots in the magazine. The design itself consisted of a two parts, where the entire barrel, breech etc. would be attached to the stock (and other components) via a revolving hinge, which allowed the barrel to be twisted clockwise in order to allow the spent cartridge to be ejected. When this cartridge was ejected the barrel would be twisted further towards clockwise, releasing a spring latch which loaded the next cartridge. The barrel was then twisted anti-clockwise, locking the barrel in position for firing.

This design required the magazine, tubular in design, to be mounted within the buttstock. This presented two problems: firstly that the magazine could not be removed, meaning the shooter would have to reload the magazine with each cartridge one at a time; and secondly this design severely weakened the buttstock. The area around the wrist of the stock was almost entirely taken up by the magazine, leaving little wood joining it to rest of the stock, often causing the stock to snap under little stress.

Otherwise the Triplett & Scott was rather uniform to any other carbine of the era, with a blued, five groove rifled barrel and basic iron sights. The action resembled the familiar percussion lock design, although it had been modified so that the hammer would strike a firing pin, meaning that the Triplett & Scott could use metallic rimfire cartridges instead of the more familiar paper cartridges.

Records show the initial customer was the Kentucky National Guard but quickly followed by a 5,000 gun contract from the U.S. War Department. All 5,000 of these carbines were delivered before the War ended in April 1865. According to the records accessed on the Internet most of the initial Government delivery were issued to General Sherman's troops for their Campaign through the South when they burned ATLANTA.

Sadly interest waned once the Civil War concluded making this most interesting forward thinking Repeating Carbine hard to find today. In nice condition ready to display. An extremely interesting piece!

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

  • This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey

    This product is available for international shipping.
  • Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Cash For Collectibles