However, later in the series, The Man in Black is shown reloading his LeMat, and it is clearly a reproduction that uses cartridges, not black power cap and ball:
However, later in the series, The Man in Black is shown reloading his LeMat, and it is clearly a reproduction that uses cartridges, not black power cap and ball:
They are a Delicate pistol,
An American designer might
See a more Robust version.
“...The LeMat. How many movies has That Pistol been in?” [Big Red Badger, post 12]
“That photo appears to be a genuine LeMat, as you can see the percussion cap nipples at the back of the cylinder...” [Yo-Yo, post 26]
Many thanks to Yo-Yo for the sharp close-up of Ed Harris and his character’s LeMat.
Another LeMat appeared near the end of the 2015 film “Forsaken,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Demi Moore, and Brian Cox. Kiefer’s character discards it at the end of the final gunfight scene, in favor of a Colt Single Action, asserting the heavier LeMat would unfairly disadvantage him in a quick-draw confrontation.
The first image Yo-Yo posted probably doesn’t show a pure percussion LeMat: the heavy line in the cylinder wall, just forward of the nipple partitions, gives it away. The rear face of the cylinder is actually a plate containing individual firing pins, which take the place of cap nipples and are hit by the hammer. In the second photo, the plate has been removed and viewers can watch the chambers being loaded with cartridges.
Conversion of percussion revolvers to take self-contained metallic cartridges dates back to the end of the percussion era; manufacturers had gotten stuck with large stocks of unsold percussion guns, and devised a number of conversions that would increase sales of the obsolescent sidearms. Colt’s and Remington designed and made their own versions; aftermarket modifications were widely undertaken, including some by backwoods and frontier gunsmiths.
Modern-made conversions for replica cap-and-ball revolvers have been offered by a number of accessory makers, and the models available have been increasing. Some drop in.
Replica LeMat revolvers have been sold for 20 years at least. Fascinating, but pricey.
Filmmakers do not like true percussion guns for props, and will go to great lengths to avoid using them. They are slow to load, difficult to check for load status, and cannot be unloaded easily. Adds up to safety risks, which film crews prefer to avoid.
This does introduce historical inaccuracies, but film crews minimize them by skipping closeups and the like. In his film “Pale Rider,” Clint Eastwood used cartridge-converted Remingtons, which look a great deal like pure percussion revolvers. He can be seen swapping out an emptied cylinder for a loaded one.
Modern replica revolvers are not terribly strong. If any forum members decide to use a cartridge-conversion cylinder in their cap-and-ball replica, it is strongly advised that they fire only low pressure rounds, like those for cowboy action shooting. No high-velocity nor plus-P stuff.
Variants
Muzzle Loader – The first variant of the LeMat.[8]
Pinfire Cartridge – Second variant, can be recognised by cylinder.[7]
Centerfire – The centerfire variant came with a distinctive grip.[3]
Carbine – A rare variant with extended barrels and a rifle type stock totalling 20” in length.[8]
Baby LeMat - The rarest variant of the LeMat is a reduced size version with a 4 3/4” barrel and the revolver chambered in .32 caliber and the shotgun chambered in .41 bore. Only 100 were produced.[8