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 breach 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 543 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 faintly marked with KENTUCKY, indicating that this was part of the Kentucky National Guard order.

The condition of this example is good, with the metalwork finish faded to a lovely patina, with just a bit of peppering. There is still some of the original case hardening visible on the rear receiver, 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 bright finish, showing very little wear of any kind. There are just a few spots of oxidation near the breech.

We checked the action, and it looks to be fully functional, though we have no way of testing it. The receiver breaks open and rotates correctly, with the ejector presenting and retracting. It moves the magazine door out of the way at full rotation, though the door sometimes does not close back up. The lock is functional, but will fire at half cock.

The stock is in good shape, however the rear stock is cracked in multiple areas near the receiver, as almost all examples are due to how weak the magazine makes the wrist area. The fore stock is also missing some wood on the left side forward of the barrel band. The rear sling swivel is present, though currently seized.

A very nice example of a rare late Civil War issue carbine. 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.