Arms, Armor and Militaria

.40 caliber. 30.5" double-keyed hook breech octagonal barrel with underlug. NSN. No finish, iron furniture, walnut half-stock with German silver nose cap. Single shot percussion ignition muzzleloading sporting rifle. Engraved single screw percussion lock is stamped H.E. DIMICK in small letters, the same mark as found on the Dimick marked derringers and on some other Dimick marked locks. Equipped with double set triggers. Barrel marked in two lines H.E. DIMICK & Co/ST LOUIS. Heavy barrel with German silver bands at breech, an exaggerated snail shaped bolster and a long wasp-waisted two-screw tang. Barrel measures 1" across the flats at the muzzle. Scroll shaped triggerguard with two finger rest extensions, crescent iron buttplate and toe plate. Two piece iron patchbox in obverse stock. Breech, tang, lock, triggerguard, patchbox, buttplate tang and toe plate are all nicely engraved with foliate scrolls and some geometric patterns. Elevation adjustable Buckhorn rear sight, dovetailed German silver Rocky Mountain front sight blade has been moved back from the original dovetail cut near the muzzle and is probably a period of use replacement. Wood ramrod with brass tip is secured by two plain iron thimbles. A very attractive example of a higher grade Plains style rifle by one of the most notable of the St. Louis makers that would only need to be a larger caliber to be an official "Plains Rifle".

Horace E. Dimick (1809-1874) was probably the most prolific of the famed St. Louis makers of Plains Rifles. A direct competitor with the famous Hawken shop, Dimick produced his variation of their famous plains rifle, as well as smaller caliber sporting and hunting rifles, target rifles and even delivered roughly 1,000 rifles that were used to arm Birge's Western Sharpshooters (14th Missouri Volunteer Infantry) which was later redesignated as the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Those Dimick rifles did yeoman's service during the first 12-18 months of the Civil War in the Western Theater, in particular at battles like Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Dimick also imported large numbers of guns from England and Belgium and offered these guns with his retailer mark on them along with American produced guns like Metropolitan Navy percussion revolvers and derringer style pistols. Next to the Hawkens, Dimick is probably the most famous and collectible of the St. Louis Gun makers.