Ethan Allen Brass Falling Block Rifle

[@blamb42]

It's videos like this that make me glad that I'm poking around in your older content.

[@bobbylee2853]

Me too!

[@lestermiller2717]

I have been collecting and researching Ethan Allen guns since 1970. I have only know two of these brass frames to exist. Very very rare rifle came from a famous collection. The center fire conversion was done 1890’s not factory. The one I use to have had a steel dropping block with brass frame. I still have my double barrel dropping block cased set with full octagon barrels.

[@rymanjones3]

what a piece. never heard of a double barrel falling block!

[@judgebigmansion3492]

Surprisingly modular and clever for such a simple action

[@ericsmith5919]

You gotta love the optimism of putting a 1,000 yard sight setting on a rimfire rifle.

[@electrecuted]

I am not into guns, never was, never will be, but hell, I am enjoying all of your videos. Your narration and the variety of info, reminds me the documentary narrators in the 70's (europe). Calm, pleasant, simple (cause life after all is simple) and not pretentious at all. You re good!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Greco Maskara Thanks!

[@IIDeCkArDII1]

Greco Maskara Hear Hear Greco, couldn't have put it better myself.

[@vguyver2]

+Greco Maskara you must be my long lost brother. Similar reasons as to why I enjoy these videos. Educational presentation in history and function. Very well researched. Simple and directly informative. Best of all, an appreciation to craftsmanship and mechanics. It's all an art of engineering and history when done so well. I'm not a major gun lover, but I finally found a channel that let's me enjoy guns without bias or some insane political doctrine.

[@bigbadlove842]

Gag!! gag! I think this guy wants to blow you! simple!

[@JorisKoolen]

+Greco Maskara Same! And this is a properly cool bit of technology

[@mcpheonixx]

Clever little rifle, that would be a great design for a modern small caliber rifle. Well done Ian.

[@kurtjensen7264]

Genius… amazing this rifle never grew more popular!

[@l70lover]

Wow, I`m impressed by the fireing pin solution. Very clever and simple. Thanks for all of the interesting videos, I enjoy all your "walktroughs" of the guns.

[@ShatnersToupe]

This is one of the coolest rifles i've seen in quite some time.

[@gregbilotta2472]

That rear sight is pretty clever for a rifle!

[@MadSpectro7]

greg Bilotta Definitely better than the ladder sight that for some reason was so popular in 19th Century America.

[@MrNedsaabdickerson]

That appears to have been a extremely versatile rifle. It is was in production today I would buy one.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Neat piece of history there. Elegant design for something so simple. And that rear sight is really cool.

[@johnharris1636]

You’re videos were just as good then as now Ian. This is a great little rifle!

[@AusiKifaru27]

These weird and wonderful actions never cease to amaze me. Usually for how impractical they are, but this is definitely an exception. And also just a really beautiful rifle to look at. But I could never own it and not shoot it. Great vid!

[@AusiKifaru27]

***** Oh, most definitely. That statement was purely made to oppose the previous statement. A lot of collectors by firearms just to look at it. I'd never buy something that doesn't go bang :-)

[@Trump985]

That tiny pin that holds the barrel into the receiver scares the hell out of me considering the breach block doesn’t lock on the barrel that pin takes all the pressure of firing!

[@lcl7wrkr]

Was thinking the same thing…that is quite a lot riding on that wee little pin there!

[@jasonr6273]

Thank you for making these videos. I always enjoy watching theses very informative videos.

[@ottoleisering7855]

Good video, short, succinct, and focused on the gun. No endless blathering on.

[@sergeantbigmac]

Thats a very elegant looking rifle. I love the looks of it. And surprised by the number of features it has. That sight might not be the greatest, but it sure looks damn cool! I feel like a modern reproduction of this would go over pretty well. I mean it appears to be fairly simple and not a lot of parts. Maybe in 357 magnum or something like that. Id be interested anyway. Cool video, thanks!

[@SgtKOnyx]

I'd buy one. especially with barrels in 44/5 or even 32

[@andrewince8824]

If they made it properly they could get some parts interchangeability between the reproductions and originals for anyone who perhaps wants their old Ethan Allen to shoot. A barrel and extractor kit in a customers chosen caliber could sell well.

[@sergeantbigmac]

Andrew Ince I dont know if it already exists (except for maybe spring kits) but a company making parts for old guns in general would sell well.

[@andrewince8824]

Indeed it would.

[@wbriggs111]

For shooting black power ,This design was well thought out and has advangances over a lot of other CW carbines as far as simplicity, repairing and cleaning.

[@eggsaladsamich7396]

wow what an amazingly simple yet functional rifle :)

[@311jbknight]

Good to see. I started converting a old single shot 32 rim fire to be able to use 32S&W shorts. Much easier to reload. It came with a 32 rim fire shotgun barrel. I couldn't find any info on that round let alone ammo.

[@elektro3000]

That's a clever design, I like it.

[@forge52100]

Now that's a cool little rifle! Wouldn't mind having something like that in a modern caliber with steel frame.

[@bendynamic2150]

Personally i would like one that fire's 45 ACP with a brass frame

[@forge52100]

@@bendynamic2150 45 ACP with a bronze frame? I'd go for it. And it'd be fun to load a few with black powder now and then.

[@bendynamic2150]

@@forge52100 exactly there's nothing stopping you from loading black powder round to us smokeless rifle you just need to clean it a bit more

[@forge52100]

@@bendynamic2150 True, and one thing I've found shooting black powder loaded cartridges is that when you've got the load dialed in and lube and alloy right, it can be easier to clean than smokeless. Especially smokeless and copper jacketed.

[@bendynamic2150]

@@forge52100 true true only wish i could have a fire arm like that even the old Springfield trap doors are up to about $850 give to take for a rack grade.

[@larryfuller9444]

I love forgotten weapons Most Best gun history videos on KZbin keep on making them very proud subscriber

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Larry Fuller Thank you!

[@outerspace9392]

I wish Uberti would reproduce it for modern 44 magnum or 45 colt

[@bryanc2262]

Or 45-70, but the breech block is probably not up to stuff at that pressure.

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

@@bryanc2262 thats the most solid of all actions...its just not used anymore because it have to be single shot...but in term of high pressure you are 'bullet proof' lol

[@slaughterhound8793]

@@bryanc2262 It would have to be made out of steel for modern cartridges, the brass frame wouldn't be strong enough. But one made out of steel would be able to handle the pressures, just wouldn't look as good as that brass.

[@alexsis1778]

@@slaughterhound8793 Perhaps a nice case hardened finish?

[@allangibson8494]

Slaughter Hound The brass would handle the pressure - the barrel retention pin would be another question. I can see the barrel going down range after a very few shots. (Good quality Brass has the same tensile strength as mild steel - but ten times the price).

[@Corrupted355]

At the beginning of the video (0:35), we caught a glimpse of what appeared to be some sort of trap door in the buttplate. Was that used for anything special?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Andrew B Cleaning rod, I believe.

[@lestermiller2717]

It used to have a special take down tool specially made by Ethan Allen only for this rifle. This rifle was very scare only 2 made in brass frame. Only this one and another one had the brass dropping block. Most dropping block rifles where made in steel frame. Roughly 6,000 of them where made 1858-72 period. I have a cased set with two full oct barrels 38 cal and 44 cal. There was over 20 different versions of this gun.

[@henkeH2]

As always, utterly interesting! Does this information come with the guns you show or do you research all this stuff up yourself? Greetings from Sweden.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

henkeH2 Glad you like it! I do all my own research for these videos.

[@CaptBinoyVarakil]

Very useful video 👍👍

[@andrewboore3899]

That's a really cool rear sight design, so user friendly.

[@sneeuwwolf1176]

Amazing rifle. Wel thought of. Pitty that nowadays it's AR15 & standard run of the mill gun designs that dominate. Such nice and intrecate firearms were made in the past.

[@andfranky8963]

Fascinating, always looking forward to your videos Ian. Studying these old designs and oddities is a great way to get real depth in knowledge...

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

Very cool. Thanks, Ian.

[@cariboupetepeterson3711]

Very interesting! I have never seen on of these before. Thanks.

[@MarkLasater]

Why rim fire? What as it about rim fire rounds in a variety of calibers that made them so popular in that era. I've just read an article about how difficult it is to set up a rim fire manufacturing plant and how there hasn't been a new rim fire plant built in the use in at least 30 years.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+Mark Lasater Rimfire cartridge were invented first, before people figured how to make standalone reliable primers.

[@andrewince8824]

Would I be right in assuming that Ethen Allen would manufacture multiple [cloned] receiver/stock pieces and leave the varied barrels more to order/quota that way reducing the costs associated with having to make different recievers for different calibers, instead offering small parts swaps to change calibers for different customers?

[@militaryhistoryIG]

That's a really neat sight!

[@Glaswalker1001]

This is such a cool and simple design.

[@Ratrazor]

Yeah that is a cool little rifle, That's kind of worried about the ball brass receiver but it actually has a steel barrel that goes all the way through so it can hold up to probably pretty good pressure.

[@californiacowboy3936]

I love old guns from the Civil War. Just because they tried to cram a so many features and so many random things into them like the rifle stock for the Colt revolvers that had a canteen built into them or the rifles that had coffee grinders built in weird quirks like being able to change from Rimfire to Centerfire and the entire Barrel to just come out like that

[@newdefsys]

Damn, this gun is beautiful.

[@iandoodle]

What a fantastic weapon, i would love to own one of these and try to track down other barrels in different calibers for it. Like always a great video!

[@jonlennon3348]

I love that rifle, very cool and Bill ruger should of patterned the number 1 rifle so you could swap barrels so easily.

[@revueltas28jr]

a very interesting rifle

[@douglasfulmer5483]

Very neat gun, thanks for showing it to us.

[@kosmxrankin1526]

Ive watched alot of you videos, and I always wonder how the rock island auction house just lets you take apart guns and stuff, do you know them or something? (I dont know the gun trade so I dont know if thats a common thing or not)

[@SgtKOnyx]

The rifle looks beautiful

[@SgtKOnyx]

Still does

[@andymandyandsheba4571]

lovely looking piece

[@e.kent.d9561]

As you said, very interesting features.

[@ion_force]

how do you look through the sights when it is raised all the way up like that?

[@anshilal9045]

It is located with a ZD rifle or a nearby one with the stamp of the year of manufacture 1910

[@Emdee5632]

One thing I never understood about these ancient weapons. Why is the barrel of most of them only covered by wood on the underside?

[@sickboy703]

I'd like to see someone recreate that sighting system on a bolt or lever action .22

[@blamb42]

I'd like to see someone recreate that entire rifle in .22LR (assuming that the action made of steel would be strong enough).

[@Kazuko20]

Saw an 1882 Protector Palm Pistol from France. Pre Chicago patent buy out and it was in incredible condition! Like the nickel had been plated yesterday. Thought it would be an ideal gun for Forgotten Weapons!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Dr Mantis Toboggan Indeed it would! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKeXlp6wpbyXfM0

[@Kazuko20]

Forgotten Weapons Ha! Love it! Haven't been subbed long since most firearms are illegal here but these popped up and are legal for sale since the ammo isn't readily available. Keep up the awesome work.

[@peterhouser3761]

this is my favorite rifle yet too cool!

[@mrgabest]

I don't know exactly why it is, but I find this rifle to be very striking. Would be happy to own one, even in reproduction.

[@BIG-DIPPER-56]

What was that small hatch in the butplate for? ? ?

[@danilonakazone386]

What is the difference between rinfire and "not rinfire" for ny lack of the other kinds of ammo

[@burtvhulberthyhbn7583]

as always. fascinating

[@DoctyrEvil]

Is that a floating hammer? Looks like the firing pin connector is spring loaded by it's hard to tell.

[@lestermiller2717]

DoctyrEvil It is missing a special tube and spring that completes the dropping block mechanism. And Ethan Allen only made this in gun in rim fire. A competent gun smith did the conversion. Only two brass frame Allen’s are known too exist. I have never known of one with a brass dropping blocking before. I’m not sure if it is a factory job. I have collected and done a lot of research on the subject of Ethan Allen firearms since 1970.

[@kenhelmers2603]

Pretty slick! Thanks Ian

[@remigusker6024]

I love brass guns, very pretty.

[@AFpaleoCon]

Ian, how can this have linear notches for the rear sight when bullet drop is not linear? Shouldn't the space between the 10 and 9 be far greater than the spar between the 1 and 2?

[@willybee3056]

xXxBlackwaterXxX Good observation, I was thinking that too. But the sight travels in an arc, and you sight across the tangent of that arc. This is just a guess, but that may have something to do with that perceived anomaly. ..

[@markc1234golf]

@@willybee3056 Ammo and rifle receiver too weak to shoot much past 200 yards anyway... its a marketing ploy! beautiful design though....

[@willybee3056]

@@markc1234golf Totally agree.. and that gets us to Affective Range. Is AF where , if you do hit something, you get the desired results? Or, should it be , you hit the bullseye's, first time every time? If you only need to hit a pie plate at 50 yards. Then the requirements of your rifle and ammunition and sights are going to be different than if you need to hit a golf ball at 200 yards. Thanks for the reply.

[@excurrahee]

Ian, if your talking about an obscure round like "42 rim-fire" you should try and put it in context. Is that a small game round? target round? combat round?

[@EuropeYear1917]

Early metallic cartridge. It was designed to be multi-functional. When designing it, they probably figured it to be used for both hunting (any & all sizes of game) and military combat purposes like the muzzle-loading muskets before it. I've never seen an actual .44 Rimfire round (also called .44 Henry) in person, but having grown up around a Civil War historian (my dad), I've been told it was essentially a standard .44 Caliber pistol Minié ball placed with black powder in a brass foil (and later extracted brass) casing in rimfire configuration (which existed long before centerfire cartridges). The casing and Minié ball together would be similar in length to modern military pistol cartridges. For instance, in European cartridge nomenclature for the .44 Rimfire (.44 Henry) would be listed as 11x23mmR. That is comparable in size to the modern .45 ACP (European/Metric: 11.43x23mm), and others such as .45 Colt (European/Metric: 11.48x33mmR), and the British .455 Webley (European/Metric: 11.55x19.3mmR). The big difference is the aforementioned pistol cartridges are all smokeless powder cartridges , whilst the .44 Rimfire (.44 Henry) is black powder, meaning it will have dramatically less stopping power than those more modern pistol cartridges which use smokeless powder (which is 2 to 3 times more powerful/"hotter" than black powder), and modern style bullets instead of lead Minié balls. And even for the time the Henry and the Ethan Allen rifles would have been in production/regular use, the .44 Rimfire (.44 Henry) would have likely been considered underpowered compared to it's muzzle loading counterparts such as the .58 Caliber M1861 U.S. Springfield Rifled Musket and .577 Caliber Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifled Musket (the British Army's musket, which was quite commonly used by the Confederate Army). Those older muskets had advantages in killing power due to the larger ball (.58 & .577 Caliber respectively), and the fact that you could create "hotter" charges by simply increasing the amount of powder you poured down the muzzle (if you were using a powder horn instead of tear-open paper cartridges that you'd pour into the musket). And Ian can correct me if I'm wrong on any of this... since I don't want to steer anybody off track with possible wrong information. I'm going off of a mix of sheer memory of what I've heard my dad talk about, and the always fast (but not so reliable) Wikipedia... so if I am off on anything, I'd gladly let the pro correct me (because Ian knows WAY more on these old guns than I do... I'm just a mere enthusiast who knows some very basic information).

[@MadraktheRed]

When is it a shell and when is it a cartridge? Are the words interchangeable? Lovely gun though

[@ForgottenWeapons]

MadraktheRed They are pretty much interchangeable, although cartridge is typically used for rifle or pistol ammunition and shell for shotguns and larger weapons like cannon.

[@MadraktheRed]

Thanks, that was how I always used them

[@thatguybrody4819]

the rear sight has rifle mode and artillary mode.

[@notme4526]

Just discovered the falling block action seconds ago(drop breach as you called it which is probably the proper name knowing you lol) I should of bet money you had a video on atleast 1 of them.

[@daveweller9579]

I would love to see a reproduction with polished brass good looking rifle

[@runkurgan]

This is one cool gun! I'd like to be able to afford one... But also I'd be interested in a modern version of this. With bigger cartridges perhaps?

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

ruger No 1 ... falling block single shot it is chambered up to elephant hunting caliber ...but also in more regular one like 7mm 243 etc

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_No._1 here you go from 22 hornet to 450 nitro express and everything in between, have fun =)

[@abergethirty]

I hear the name and don't associate it with Firearms, but the Furniture store chain.

[@shanetrogdon9549]

From a survival stand point i could be every gun you need

[@prayfortruejustice]

Anyone else wonder about head-spacing problems after changing barrel? I guess if you owned multiple barrels each one could be turned to work with the breachblock in the gun.

[@andrewramsey6730]

Is this the Ethan Allen fall collection, or spring collection?

[@MrShadowpanther3]

At 0:35 there is a round door in the butt end of the stock. What was the purpose for this?

[@LIV3backwards]

MrShadowpanther3 Most likely is a place to keep a cleaning rod.

[@darthhodges]

I assume these would have been dramatically cheaper than an 1860 Henry or any similar lever gun. The ease of changing barrels or even moving the gun between rimfire and centerfire would be quite the selling point in that era when the metallic cartridge was new and centerfire was not the de facto choice of new calibers.

[@foivosapostolos1211]

Α very smart design

[@deathreaperlove1]

Hey look I can comment again. Anyway, this was interesting. Converting between Centerfire and rim fire that is. Was this because the Centerfire cartidges were becoming more common, and the company wanted to keep the same design without having to change a whole lot of the tooling or just someone decided one day they wanted their rifle to fire Centerfire and everyone else thought it was kinda cool?

[@PA_tunnel_rat23]

what do you think the biggest caliber it can go up to

[@bigbadlove842]

Great!!!! thanks again!! AWESOME!

[@ganosgal]

I would always say, falling block rifle are easy to reconvert for different calibers, in fact more easily than bolt action and lever action.

[@troy9477]

What a great rifle. I love the field stripping and takedown- wish more modern rifles were that simple and well thought out. I had heard of these in a state militia context somewhere along the way, but i knew verylittle about them. Does anyone know if this Ethan Allen was related to the famous patriot militia leader of the Revolution? From Vermont, thus the name Green Mountain Boys. As a historical note, Col Paul Revere fell at Gettysburg. He was the grandson of the patriot and silversmith of fame and legend from the Revolution. Great video. Thank you

[@Adam.whitney]

Troy Ortega same Ethan Allen

[@arrlmember]

It would be nice if someone would start making theses in .22 RF.

[@AJ-170SkyStriker]

I want a falling block rifle. Like something like the Panzerbuche 38

[@МихаилЖуравлев-ы9ъ]

какой боеприпас используется с этой машинкой?

[@Rick1885]

I wonder if you can use .44 special loaded with black powder in this.

[@VicariousReality7]

Neat I have wanted a .44 brass rifle for a long time

[@jamesranger6283]

Very nice. Looks very well thought out. Must have made a nice hunting rifle for deer.

[@Elvis68spec]

Very interesting Rifle!

[@JennyAmazing]

why can't you keep two firing pins?

[@wrenchinator9715]

Why are old single shots so much cooler than modern ones (and some modern repeaters)? Most modern single shots are either bolt action or break open. I guess that makes manufacturing easier, since some of the tooling could be reused for/from magazine bolt actions and break open shotguns, but still.

[@peterhouser3761]

this is my favorite rifle yet too cool

[@glennelson8017]

I love the design and it was dang old rimfire 👍

[@patrickcrosley6179]

So could you reload ammo and shoot this since it can use center fires?

[@HellYeahCorp]

patrick crosley As long as you don't make the cartridges too powerful.

[@Olafmikli]

Kalzone_kat Yeah, this weapon could probably handle .44 Special but .44 Magnum would blow it apart I figure.

[@reddevilparatrooper]

Very clever design indeed.I wonder if any of these rifles were made in a steel frame?

[@almartin4159]

I had an Ethan Allen .22 single shot from the turn of the century and sold it for 75 bucks. Wish I kept it.

[@Jesses001]

That would had been useful. During that time all kinds of different rounds were being developed.

[@KowboyUSA]

The same Ethan Allen who was behind the famous furniture? It wouldn't be surprising considering up until recently furniture makers were often involved in firearm manufacture. For that matter, when I was young the wood portions of long guns were often referred to as "furniture."

[@slowhand1198]

John Ratko The furniture outfit was started in the '30s, and named after the Revolutionary war figure that captured Ft. Ticonderoga. He was no relation to the firearms maker, or the furniture people.

[@KowboyUSA]

slowhand11 Well, now I know.

[@slowhand1198]

John Ratko Not trying to spout, but you asked.

[@AusiKifaru27]

The word "furniture" to describe the stocks has not gone away.

[@halifax4345]

Does it come in 300 Blackout?

[@Crlarl]

That's a lot of Lugers behind you.

[@unclebob540i3]

Another great video! So are you working for RIA at this point? You seem to spend a lot of time there!!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Bob Azadi Nope, I am not an employee (and I do work with the James Julia auction house as well) - but I do want to make the most of a great opportunity there!

[@unclebob540i3]

Forgotten Weapons Well I do appreciate your videos and all your research into the obscure! I share your fascination with old and oddball firearms, and your channel has become my favorite of all "gun porn" channels! Keep up the good work!

[@MattsInTheBelfry]

What's with the tube inside the spring?

[@MattsInTheBelfry]

MattsInTheBelfry oh extractor spring. neat