Perrin 1865/69 Revolver

[Aragorn243]

I have the opportunity to pick one of these up at what I believe to be a reasonable price. The problem is, I can't verify they were ever used militarily and that's one of my requirements for collecting.

I have numerous references from auction sites stating these were private purchase by French officers in the Franco Prussian war.

I know this revolver lost out to the officially adopted revolver of the time even though it looks like a better design, probably more expensive.

All my firearms books that cover French arms begin at 1900.

Everyone says they are rare. The few examples I've found for sale online are anywhere from $1200-$2400. For the price they have it at, I'm considering getting it anyway if it at least has an interesting history behind it.

It's too late for the Civil War, Perrins were used by the Confederates, but it was the model preceding this one, the 1859. Too early for WWI.

The seller even says they were used by French officers from the 1870's to 1880's.

Some links with photos I've found:

Perrin Model 1865 D.A. Revolver | 1898andB-4.com

Révolver PERRIN modèle 1865-69-renforcé. D2 | Aiolfi G.b.r.

Information

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[Aragorn243]

I have been able to confirm these were private purchase revolvers for French officers. I had a French collector tell me this and the clincher, it's included on the photo cover of a French book of early military and private purchase revolvers called "Les Revolvers Militaires Francais". Will check today to see if it is still available.

[Aragorn243]

Got it. Will get photos up sometime when I have some time.

[Aragorn243]

Here it is. I only found the two serial numbers, one on the inside frame and one on the cylinder. Someone put it together so the single action wouldn't work. I fixed that. Interior didn't look bad, no excessive wear I could see. The French collector seemed impressed. I guess these are somewhat uncommon. I wish I knew more about it but $90 for a book I can't read is a bit much. Hopefully they will offer an English translation at some point.

What little I know is these were private purchased by French officers and used in the Franco Prussian war. This one appears to be in 11mm Perrin which is of course impossible to find. I think there are ways to make it but I'm not too concerned with that at the moment. I just find it amazing it's a self-contained cartridge this early.

I'm going to give it a light cleaning, they came in the white but I'm not planning to polish it.

[browningautorifle]

11mm Perrin

I'd be looking to make it from something. Here's a thread with ideas. Giant thread: Old French Revolvers Pt. 1 | Gunboards Forums

[Aragorn243]

This is at least what it looks like. Kind of a weird little thing. Thick rim, no visible primer although some supposedly do have visible primers.

[browningautorifle]

no visible primer

But...centerfire?

[Aragorn243]

But...centerfire?

Yes, it’s center fire but it has a larger striker than a firing pin. Its a half moon about an 8th inch long.

[Aragorn243]

So I read the French 11mm was close to 45 caliber so I tried putting a 45acp in it and it didn't fit. But I had a 45-70 handy and it did fit in all the way up to the shoulder area.

I'm almost a complete novice when it comes to reloading so my question would be can I cut down the 45-70 cases to fit in the chamber using the case mouth to headspace and fire light loads out of this? Probably a little more complex than that but just investigating right now.

[browningautorifle]

45-70 cases

The link I provided suggested 44-40 cases. If 45/70 fits, then you're good. Casting a bullet shouldn't be hard. You could even use a round ball but it may leave lead streaks. Your case is rimmed so it will stop against the cylinder that way. They just have to stay inside the front. A few grains charge of Pyrodex or FFF black should be fine. The link I provided has some discussion. It's going to be stumpy.