Pedersoli Gibbs

About the Pedersoli Gibbs

The Pedersoli Gibbs is a modern Italian reproduction of the British Gibbs long-range percussion target rifle of the 1860s, named for the Bristol gunmaker George Gibbs whose rifles rivalled the Whitworth on the Victorian match ranges. It is a single-shot muzzleloading rifle fired by a percussion cap on the nipple of a case-hardened side lock, offered in .40 and .45 caliber. The .45-caliber version carries a 36-inch blued octagonal barrel with six-groove 1:18 rifling, a full walnut stock, a vernier Creedmoor adjustable rear sight and a tunnel front sight, and weighs about 4.9 kg, giving the long sight radius and heavy mass favoured for long-range black-powder competition. Built by Davide Pedersoli in Gardone Val Trompia, it recreates the type of high-precision muzzleloader used at Wimbledon and other long-range meetings of the era.

The original Gibbs rifles were built by George Gibbs of Bristol, one of the small circle of Victorian makers whose privately-purchased .45-caliber muzzleloaders duelled with Whitworth's hexagonal-bore rifles for supremacy at the National Rifle Association's long-range matches on Wimbledon Common.

Pedersoli Gibbs specifications

Modern black-powder reproduction, Pedersoli model S225 (codes 010S225400 for .40 and 010S225450 for .45); not an original antique. Two chamberings are catalogued: .40 caliber with a 835 mm (32 5/8 in) barrel, 1:16 (406 mm) 6-groove rifling and 1,250 mm overall length, and .45 caliber with a 915 mm (36 in) barrel, 1:18 (450 mm) 6-groove rifling and 1,330 mm overall length; both weigh about 4.9 kg (11.68 lb). Fitted with a Creedmoor-type adjustable rear sight and tunnel front sight. Effective and maximum range figures are approximate, reflecting the long-range target role of the original Gibbs rifles.