Allen & Thurber · Pistol

Allen Pepperbox

Name: Allen Pepperbox
Brand: Allen & Thurber

Double action · .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball) · introduced 1837

Also known as Allen & Thurber Pepperbox, Allen pepperbox revolver, Pepperbox pistol

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About the Allen Pepperbox

The Allen Pepperbox is a six-barreled, muzzle-loading percussion pistol designed by gunmaker Ethan Allen and built around a rotating cluster of smoothbore .36 caliber barrels. Pulling its ring trigger rotated the barrel group, cocked the distinctive 'bar hammer', and dropped it in a single stroke, making it one of the first practical double-action repeating handguns sold in America. Affordable and quick to fire, it was the most popular multi-shot personal-defense pistol in the United States in the 1840s and early 1850s, before Samuel Colt's single-barrel revolvers displaced it.

Mark Twain mocked the pepperbox in 'Roughing It,' quipping that when it fired it might hit the intended target or, just as likely, any bystander standing to either side, owing to its notoriously poor accuracy.

Allen Pepperbox specifications

General

Type: Pistol
Action: Double action
Firing mechanism: Percussion
Trigger: Double action
Calibres: .36 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball)
Magazine capacity: 6 rounds
Magazine: Rotary magazine

Dimensions

Barrel length: 133 mm (5.2 in)
Overall length: 235 mm (9.3 in)
Weight (empty): 0.70 kg (1.54 lb)

Barrel

Rifling: None

Materials

Barrel: Steel
Receiver / frame: Steel
Stock: Wood
Finish: blued

Performance

Muzzle velocity (typical): 230 m/s (755 fps)
Effective range: 10 m

History

Introduced: 1837
Discontinued: 1865
Production status: Out of production
Country of origin: US
Designer: Ethan Allen

Features

Rotating barrel cluster
Six barrels
Ring trigger
Self cocking
Bar hammer
Percussion cap
Muzzle loader
Smoothbore

Ethan Allen patented his self-cocking ignition in 1837 (renewed 1845). The firm produced pepperboxes as Allen & Thurber across Grafton MA, Norwich CT (from 1842) and Worcester MA (from 1847). Barrel clusters of roughly 3 to 6 inches and four frame sizes covered calibers from about .28 to .36. The double-action ring trigger gave volume of fire at the cost of poor accuracy.