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.
Desc ...
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 status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
, 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.
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in 1912 the advertisements for the falling-block rifles carried the notation "Now made to order only, having been superseded by the Magazine Rifle."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 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. 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