The Remington Zig-Zag Derringer - or "
Pepper Box", originally termed "Elliot's Pocket Revolver", was made 1861-1862 with fewer than 1,000 manufactured.
Design
A 6 shot 22
rimfire short, Remington's first firearm designed for metallic cartridge.
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
patented the rim fire cartridge on August 8, 1854 patent number 11496. The patent was reissued in 1860. Six-Shot 3-3/16 barrel cluster with ZigZag grooves at the breech end working with diamond-shaped key extending in the interior from the ring trigger to provide the revolving mechanism of the barrels.
The Remington Zig-Zag Derringer is a double action
derringer
A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver nor a semi/ fully automatic pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. ...
with a concealed
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
which is contained within the grip frame. The lever behind the ring is lifted to return the ring without firing and pushed down to release the barrel group to allow loading through a port in the breech of the frame. The grips are made of hard rubber (
Gutta percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ' ...
) and
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
being the only known other original. Blue or Silver finish (not nickel) or combination of both. Blue with silver frame or blue being most common and silver barrels more scarce. Screws can enter from either the left or right, mainspring
set screw
In American English, a set screw is a screw that is used to secure an object, by pressure and/or friction, within or against another object, such as fixing a pulley or gear to a shaft. A set screw is normally used without a nut (which distingu ...
, none, or hole without threads present, throughout the serial number distribution with no apparent continuity. Serial number is on the frame under left grip.
Extensive study has identified approximately 140 known examples, being that this model has quite a delicate mechanism and was replaced by the Remington-Elliot Derringer "New Repeating Pistol" even before all were assembled, the survival rate of this model is expected to be quite low.
Markings
*Elliots Patent August 17, 1858 - May 29, 1860 (left)
*Manufactured By Remington's Ilion, N.Y. (right).
References
External links
Photographs and patent drawings
{{USCWWeapons
Derringers
Pistols of the United States
Guns of the American West
Remington Arms firearms
1861 introductions