The first of the first: the Miller brothers' drum-type rifle
Miller brothers rifle. As you can see, there was absolutely nothing superfluous in its design. Photo of the Bonhams auction house
“The young Dakota tapped his fingers on the table and said loudly:
“A repeating rifle and three hundred rounds of ammunition.”
"Tokei Ito." Liselotte Welsskopf-Heinrich
“A repeating rifle and three hundred rounds of ammunition.”
"Tokei Ito." Liselotte Welsskopf-Heinrich
History weapons. In one of the previous materials, we talked about percussion weapons based on the use of initiating capsules - brass or copper caps with a composition of fulminate of mercury inside. Such capsules are still used today, however, as we all know and remember, the first lock that operated due to “explosive powder” was the “flask” or “chemical” (as it was also called) Forsyth lock. Then they came up with the idea of pressing explosive composition into a copper tape, in the manner of a tape for caps for children's toy pistols from our childhood, and for hunting rifles, caps-cakes were very quickly invented - small-sized shellless “cakes”, which were simply inserted into the fire tube before firing. It was profitable to use them, as well as to produce them. Only the chemical components of such a “cake” were needed, but there was no need to stamp the caps themselves for them. They even invented capsules made from straws with an explosive composition inside, and all in order to reduce the cost of production of guns with a new ignition system as much as possible and, if possible, of course, make them as convenient for use as possible.
And this is what the gun made by Benjamin Bigelow looked like. A faceted barrel, an archaic wooden ramrod, a cutout on the butt, typical for sporting and target shotguns, as well as a case for capsules in the butt, closed with a brass lid - these are its characteristic features. Photo of Poulain Antiques and Auctions, Inc.
Another very important circumstance immediately became clear - the new system for igniting the charge in the barrel made it possible to finally create the first truly reliable revolver guns and pistols, that is, weapons with charges inside a rotating cylindrical magazine, which at the same time served as both a chamber for a powder charge and bullets.
This is a close-up of the gun. Right view
But for the USA, capsule systems at first turned out to be not very convenient. The fact is that the same hunter or trapper, leaving “on business,” usually took gunpowder, bullets and flints with him, although he could, in principle, chop them himself. For capsule weapons, capsules were also required, which at first were expensive, and in addition, they could be easily lost and thereby render your weapon unusable. This is why percussion cap weapons spread rather slowly in America at first. And since its advantages were still obvious, if not to everyone, then to many, there were people who wanted to improve the first samples of capsule weapons to make them more user-friendly.
This is a close-up of the gun. Left view
This is how the so-called “pill lock” (“pill lock”) was born between two brothers, John and James Miller, who lived in the city of Rochester in New York. They patented their design in 1829, and this was a truly important step towards both revolvers and revolving carbines of Samuel Colt.
The Miller brothers' gun was very simple. It just couldn't be simpler. Suffice it to say that although it had a seven-shot drum, it was turned manually. That is, the brothers did not think of a mechanism for turning the drum, and they had to turn it by hand. But they came up with a spring latch underneath that had to be pulled back every time you needed to turn the drum.
Miller rifle. The roughly processed surface of the drum is clearly visible, with a carved trigger and a keyplate. Also to the right of the trigger in front of the drum, the vertical pin for fastening the drum axis is clearly visible. By carefully knocking out this pin, the gun could be easily disassembled into two parts. Under the drum at the front you can see a latch with a protrusion for your finger. Photo "Forgotten weapons"
They also left the old ramrod loading system on their gun! That is, if gunpowder could still be poured into the chambers of the drum directly into their holes by rotating the drum, then the bullets had to be driven into the chambers of the drum, as before... through the barrel. And this was not so easy to do, since the barrel of this gun was rifled. But the Miller brothers’ rifle did not require the use of percussion caps, although it was a percussion weapon! The fact is that instead of fire tubes protruding from the drum for capsule caps, the drum of their guns had small seed holes into which “pills” formed from mercury fulminate and coated with wax were inserted. The wax protected them from water, and in addition, kept them in the recess of the drum from falling out. True, such “capsules” also had to be produced and… purchased, but they were simpler and therefore cheaper. Moreover, any pharmacist could make them, and what a pharmacist - almost anyone with at least a little knowledge of chemistry. And this required only three components: mercury, alcohol and nitric acid.
This photo clearly shows the drum itself, the cutouts on it for the locking latch, as well as its threaded axle for screwing together the back and front of the rifle and the protrusion on the axle for the fixing vertical pin. Photo "Forgotten weapons"
The only thing the brothers could come up with in order to speed up the process of reloading the rifle was a bevel on the frame in front of one of the chambers - it was into it that gunpowder was poured during loading, after which the drum was rotated, and the next chamber fit under this bevel. By the way, the outer surface of the drum was not specially polished. And all because it was more convenient to turn it by hand!
The Miller brothers quite successfully traded both their copyrights, selling them to everyone who wanted to start producing new weapons, and the rifles themselves. However, the arms business did not bring them much income, so they even dispersed to different states. But in the same Rochester, their rifle began to be produced by a certain William Billinghurst (who studied weapons making in the workshop of the Miller brothers), who later became famous for making weapons even for the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I himself.
Interestingly, he even managed to make a 16-shot .66 caliber (16,76 mm) drum rifle, although the Millers themselves never attempted a caliber higher than .44, and the capacity of their drums did not exceed six or seven charges.
The stock of a Miller rifle with a metal (brass) buttplate. The round lid of the capsule case is also made of brass. Photo "Forgotten weapons"
In California, Benjamin Bigelow, who had studied with Billinghurst for 12 years, continued to make rifles based on the Millers’ patent. Moreover, Benjamin came to California in 1849, at the height of the gold rush, and until his death in 1888 he was engaged in the production of weapons. He also made Miller rifles, which over time people even began to like for their... simplicity and availability of equipment. Inertia of thinking and force of habit – what else can you say! As a result, the Miller-Billinghurst rifles, which produced them in much larger quantities than his brothers, which is why they were often called after him, began to be produced throughout the country. And not only that, they were produced until the 60s, that is, when unitary cartridges were already used in the USA, and even Spencer carbines with a magazine in the butt appeared.
Interestingly, many of these rifles were stamped with “B.” BIGELOW, Marysville, California" and the "Millers' patent" was not even mentioned. But the cylinder with manual rotation and ignition using “explosive pills” was still the same - Miller’s. It is also interesting that the rear of the cylinder was numbered 1-7 for each chamber, although it is not clear why the manufacturer needed to number them. In any case, this weapon is an interesting example of a transitional type from flintlock to capsule, simple to the point of primitiveness, but quite functional and even satisfying the needs of shooters-buyers!
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