Peabody - Wessely 1870 internal hammer military rifle.

Shooting the rare, internal hammer, Peabody - von Wessely chambered in .42 Berdan Russian. Submitted to the 1870 Saint Louis trials board.

[@vidostuff]

Good to see you with another golden oldie. The Peabody is the best single shot action ever made in my opinion. I have 2 Peabody's A U.S. civil war 56/50 caliber carbine with a centerfire block in it and a Swiss contract rifle in 41 Swiss caliber. also converted to centerfire. Great shooting guns . Always enjoy your post.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Peabodys....., Strong, simple and efficient ! And containing a center fire block is better yet. Thank you Phillip......Doc

[@Dimwit_the_last_mountainman]

Very nice, Doc! What a wonderfull start to my morning. Very sleek gun indeed. Such a colorfull surprise in the end!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi John, Thanks for stopping by the channel. This gun is a missing link in the Peabody-Martini sequence, I found it very fascinating. ....Doc

[@daveclemons1225]

Hi Doc! Another great video on a real interesting firearm. I was impressed with the cocking indicator! That was pretty neat! Always admired the graceful lines of the Peabody. Mine shoots very well. Hope your spring is going great. Thank you for making this video for all of us to enjoy. Take care.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Good morning Dave, Hope your getting out to the range occasionally. Yes, I agree, that cocking indicator was clever. They extended the hammer past its pivot and came out the bottom of the receiver with it. All the Peabodys and Martinis were a great design. Which Model are you shooting? Best wishes....Doc

[@markcarew6724]

Another brilliant installment from your "operating theater", doctor. Your videos are very inspiring, thank you.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Good evening Mark. It was touch and go for awhile there but the patient pulled through and performed admirable after recovery. She's a stepping stone in the crossing between the Peabody and the Martini. Best regards....Doc

[@bgeipel]

Something else I need to add to my Peabody and martini collection. Thanks for the video!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Barry, It sure is a strand in the DNA sequencing of the Peabody progression. Peabody was such a great action, so many designers were just trying see if they could get any more out of it....and they did. Best regards...Doc

[@MrRedbeard762]

Another fine video. Thank You.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thank you Sir, A pleasure to have you along on the adventure.

[@mr.somebody1493]

Love the push cart.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thank you, It is really handy around the yard and I think it looks cool in video too.

[@HanstheTraffer]

Thanks for another great video. Never heard of this gun or cartridge.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Hans, thanks for the kind review. That was one of Hiram Berdan's cartridges. Regards ...Doc

[@Strongbuilt1]

Thank you for another great history lesson!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi All Service, Good to hear from you. Pleased to have you along in the Way-Back machine......Doc

[@Ken-sh3bu]

Thanks for sharing these wonderful oddballs👍👏

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hello Ken, Glad you could come along on the shoot......Doc

[@andrewcraig5292]

Thank you for the video and inside view, its a rifle i didnt know existed and fits nicely between the peebody and henri rifles. Lookks so much fun to shoot too

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Andrew, Pleased you found it interesting. This uncommon gun was a stepping stone in the development of the great Martini. Or one may say it was a parallel development, but all heading in the right direction. It was a pleasure to shoot. Regards....Doc

[@mikeharrell4222]

A very nice rifle Doc. I've never heard of the rifle or caliber. Learned things today.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Mike, Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It is an uncommon rifle, never really in production, but a great design. Best wishes for a pleasant summer......Doc

[@chrischiampo7647]

Thanks Again Doc For a Great Travel Back in Time 😊😀😊❤️ That Peabody Rifle 😀

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thanks Chris, The time machine needle got stuck on 1870 but everything worked out fine. .....Doc

[@richardsims1805]

Classic piece of hardware. I wonder if Mr. Pedersoli would entertain the possibility of reproducing this beautiful single shot rifle?

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Well he certainly has the resources, but not being a well known arm, the gamble is not knowing how many units one could sell.

[@user-wg2sf7vg6h]

Звук выстрела просто жуткий, непонятно как раньше стреляли, это же уже после первого выстрела оглохнуть можно было 😎 Традиционно качественное видео 🧐👍

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Спасибо, сэр, за вашу постоянную поддержку канала. С наилучшими пожеланиями из США.

[@oldscoutgp]

A handsome rifle to be sure. I'm glad I found your channel. I would go to Forgotten Weapons for this type of content, but lately there is nothing of interest for me on Ian's channel. I like your research, not just repeating what is easily available. No reloading tips for this unusual caliber? Is it because of Google's restrictions? Those .42 Russian's look good in your Mills belt. Must be springtime down at the pond. Thanks for posting. Gp

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Morning Gp, and thanks so much for the kind critique. You know the time involved in making a video, the research and assembling, etc. Ian is a great fellow with an in depth channel, but what was missing for me was the ammo development and firing. And now he's mostly off on another tangent, like you say. This cartridge was Berdans baby when the world was consumed with its .43 caliber phase of evolution. Every country prided itself by developing their own version, but they were basically all the same. .43 Spanish, .43 Egyptian, .42 Russian, .43 Mauser, Gras, Werndl, .43 Reformado, the US .433. This rifle is exceedingly rare as they never went into production. Martini really had a ( less sleek ) better design. Isn't that duck pretty, I was lucky to get that shot, they are very spooky. Best regards....Doc

[@453421abcdefg12345]

Excellent detail in this video, your research is impeccable. Nice use of the water cart! Odd that Peabody should choose a spring striker rather than use an angled solid striker, I suppose it is easy now to see the shortcomings of this design, but nice to see the evolution of this icon, the only real problem with it is that it will not accept a "normal" (for the time) 3 1/4" cartridge, but it is a fast action to use. Is that a Carolina Duck? Chris B.

[@robertrobert7924]

It is a Wood Duck.

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Chris, glad you enjoyed the program. Yes, another small step in the development of a superior action. So many designers knew there was something special in the basic design and kept picking at it. The cartridge was leading edge for the day as we were trying to free ourselves from the chunky .50-70. As for the duck, my friends down south do call them Carolina Ducks, but in the north east we always called them Wood Ducks. They are very skittish and secretive, a perching duck, it's humorous to see them sitting up in trees. I was privileged to get the footage. Best regards...Doc

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thank you , Robert.

[@richardsims1805]

Doctor Shepard, I've never seen one of these Martini - Wessley rifles before. How many were made? Calibers? This is a great weapon for the military but the advent of repeating magazine fed rifle probably limited their popularity. But, I'd still like to own one!!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Hi Richard, Unfortunately for us today, very few of these were produced. It is a logical link in the chain of Peabody-Martini-Henry evolution. The 1870 catalog I show at ( 6:42 on timeline ) displays another rifle too, called the "Peabody self-cocking". It acted somewhat like the Roberts but with internal striker. Both the "Wessely" and "self-cocker" were built for trials guns to get the US government interested, but they stayed with the trapdoor. I think they were all chambered in .42 Russian - Berdan. I only know of maybe four, and they all have slightly different features, so the tool room was experimenting as they went. Best of luck in your quest.....Doc

[@uncoolsticcboi]

Nice

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Thanks so much !

[@richardsims1805]

Well, I can wish can't I!

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Absolutely Richard, It keeps us sane.

[@csorgb05]

Hey Doc, I was wondering, out of all of your collection of BP single shot cartridge rifles, what would you consider your top 5, and your bottom 5?

[@dr.durellshepard398]

Bullard is right on the top of the list along with Stevens 44 1/2 and Ballards, Maynard 16 and Borchardt and Sharps '74. Trapdoors and Rolling blocks always preform well but typically aren't as stylish being mostly military arms. The one brand that consistently gave me trouble was the Hopkins & Allen falling block. Just my humble opinion....Doc