Pietta Revives Its LeMat Revolver Reproduction

[shanneba]

Since the 1960s, Italian firearm manufacturers have brought back to the market some of the most famous and iconic firearms from the black powder and Old West eras. One gun that fits squarely in that description is the LeMat “grapeshot revolver,” originally introduced in reproduction form in the 1980s by Pietta Firearms. After an absence from the market, Pietta is reintroducing its LeMat reproduction in 2025.

Pietta’s version uses a .44-cal. rifled barrel and 20-ga. smoothbore barrel. The shotgun barrel gave the LeMat the nickname “the grapeshot revolver.” During the Civil War, the LeMat was popular with Confederate officers, and its impressive profile means that its appearance in film, television, video games and novels is more pronounced than its historical presence ever was on the battlefield.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Pietta Revives Its LeMat Revolver Reproduction

Following a hiatus from the reproduction market, Pietta Firearms announced that it has officially reintroduced its LeMat revolver, which replicates the famous Civil War-era design, down to its centrally located shotgun barrel.

www.americanrifleman.org

 

[ex13F]

J.E.B. Stuart carried one.

 

[PieterCoetzee]

I wanted a LeMat for years. When I finally bought one I so wanted to love it...but I was disappointed. The gun was well made and about as "correct" as you can expect for a modern gun. Its just the design isnt as good as I had been hoping. The hammer throw is sooo long, that it makes its difficult to cock. Thats because it has to have a longer arch to be able to hit the shotgun barrel. The gun is huge, as in Walker huge.

I cant imagine using it in actual war. Its kind of like carrying a Broomhandle when Lugers are available

Im sure my experience wont stop anyone from buying one and it shouldnt if you really want one. As a "historical" piece it IS cool; but I would have rather carried two 1860s.

 

[Recusant]

J.E.B. Stuart carried one.

The Battle of Yellow Tavern and Stuart’s Mortal Wound​

Late in the afternoon of 11 May 1864, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, the famous Confederate cavalry commander, was mortally wounded on Old Telegraph Road while rallying the left of his line during the Battle of Yellow Tavern. As three Michigan regiments of Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s brigade fell back after an unsuccessful frontal charge, Pvt. John A. Huff, 5th Michigan Cavalry, fired the shot that struck Stuart in the abdomen. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee assumed command of Stuart’s forces, as Stuart was carried by ambulance to Richmond. There, in the home of his brother-in-law, Dr. Charles Brewer, Stuart died on the evening of 12 May. The monument was erected by veterans of Stuart’s cavalry in 1888.