Colt Franklin Magazine Rifle,Designed by Benjamin B. Hotchkiss in 1876, this was a bolt action rifle
Colt Franklin Magazine Rifle,Designed by Benjamin B. Hotchkiss in 1876, this was a bolt action rifle chambered for .45-70, then the standard US Army cartridge. Perhaps its most interesting feature was its 5 round magazine located within the stock. The rifle was loaded with the action open into the receiver, placed back end first into a loading port below the bolt. When the bolt was worked, a mechanism would work a spring which drove a cartridge forward and upward until it caught the bolt and was pushed into the chamber. Sent to the US Army for testing, the army decided not to purchase the rifle, opting to use their large stocks of Trapdoor Springfields instead. Around 500 would be produced for the US Navy, and another 10,000 would be purchased by China. 6,000 were manufactured for civilian and commercial use. -- source link
#guns#firearms#rifles#antiques#rare#winchester