The Farquharson Rifle is a single-shot hammerless

falling-block action A falling-block action (also known as a sliding-block or dropping-block action) is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon and is actuated by a lever. Descri ...

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

designed and patented by John Farquharson, of Daldhu, Scotland in 1872. George Gibbs, a gun maker in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, became a co-owner of the Farquharson patent in 1875 and was the sole maker of Farquharson rifles until the patent expired.Kirton, Jonathan: ''The British Falling Block Breechloading Rifle From 1865'' (1997). Fewer than 1,000 Gibbs-Farquharson rifles were made, the last one being delivered in 1910. A few years after the original Farquharson patent expired in 1889, many English gun makers began producing their own versions of Farquharson rifles utilizing actions made by Auguste Francotte in Herstal, Belgium. These actions were essentially exact copies of those used by Gibbs to build his military target Farquharson rifles, which had a solid combined lower tang and trigger guard. The actions had "PD" stamped on the receiver, which stood for "public domain," indicating there was no patent infringement in utilizing the design. W. J. Jeffery & Co. produced most of the "PD" Farquharson rifles, with the first ones being sold in 1895 as their Model 95 Falling Block Rifle. In 1904 Jefferey introduced a larger version of this action called the Model 1904 and chambered in the

600 Nitro Express 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. The Model 95 and Model 1904 were listed in the Jeffery catalogs right up until 1927. However, beginning in 1912 the advertisements for the falling-block rifles carried the notation "Now made to order only, having been superseded by the Magazine Rifle."

Legacy

Because of their rarity, original Gibbs-Farquharson rifles are highly prized collector pieces today. The "PD" Farquharson rifles by Jeffery and other makers are less rare, but are still generally considered collector pieces rather than working weapons.

Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Presco ...

introduced their No.1 single-shot rifle in 1967,Ruger No. 1 press release at http://www.ruger.com/ a falling-block design loosely styled after the Farquharson rifles, and it remains one of their best selling firearms. Several other gunmakers offering bespoke single-shot rifles more or less based on the Farquharson, including Soroka Rifle Co. in New Zealand,

Dakota Arms Inc. Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesot ...

in Sturgis, South Dakota and Sturtevant Arms Company in Pueblo, Colorado.

References

External links

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.Soroka Rifle Co.Dakota Arms, Inc.
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Sturtevant Arms Company
Early rifles Falling-block rifles Hunting rifles