E. · Rifle
Remington Cane Gun
Breech loading · .32 Rimfire · introduced 1858
Also known as Remington Rifle Cane, Remington No. 1 Rifle Cane, Remington No. 2 Rifle Cane
About the Remington Cane Gun
The Remington Cane Gun is a 19th-century single-shot concealed firearm disguised as a gentleman's walking cane, produced by E. Remington & Sons. Patented by Remington's master mechanic John F. Thomas in 1858 as a .31-caliber percussion arm, it was redesigned in the mid-1860s to fire self-contained metallic rimfire cartridges in .22 (No. 1 Rifle Cane) and .32 (No. 2 Rifle Cane). The steel firing tube is hidden inside the cane shaft, the curved gutta-percha or horn handle unscrews or pivots to load a single cartridge, and a concealed internal hammer or firing rod is released by a trigger below the grip. Roughly 4,500 were built before production ended in 1888.
Marketed to the well-dressed 19th-century gentleman as discreet protection against footpads and stray dogs, the Remington cane gun let its owner carry a firearm in plain sight. Its introduction touched off a small arms race among American, English and French makers of disguised cane guns.
Remington Cane Gun specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Breech loading
- Firing mechanism
- Internal hammer
- Trigger
- Single action
- Calibres
- .32 Rimfire, .22 Short
- Magazine capacity
- 1 rounds
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 203 mm (8.0 in)
- Overall length
- 902 mm (35.5 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 0.45 kg (1.00 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Smoothbore
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Gutta percha
- Finish
- blued
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 275 m/s (902 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 200 J (148 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 25 m
History
- Introduced
- 1858
- Discontinued
- 1888
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- US
- Designer
- John F. Thomas
Available calibres
Features
- Concealed firearm
- Walking cane disguise
- Unscrewing breech
- Internal hammer
- Detachable handle
Loaded by unscrewing the cane handle to expose the breech; the handle doubled as a rudimentary buttstock for aiming. Early rimfire examples used an internal hammer, later replaced by a rod-driven firing pin. Both smoothbore and rifled barrels are known. Considered the first metallic-cartridge long gun made by Remington.
