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Colt lightning baby carbine Guns International #: 103523993 Seller's Inventory #: 09 Category: Colt Rifles - Lightning - Antique Rifles - Cartridge Seller's Information When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com Seller: Double Haul Member Since: 1/19/20 First Name: Jack Last Name: Thompson State: Oregon Zip: 97846 Country: United States Phone: (541) 263-2716 Seller: Private Seller Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns. USPS registered mail Payment Types Accepted: cashiers check, money order Description: Up for your review and consideration is a very interesting and rare Colt Lightning rifle in the .44 CLMR (Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle) caliber.  It was generated by the Colt factory in either late 1891 or early 1892 then shipped to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New York City.   From there it was transfered to the London Armoury Company as part of a shipment of 12 rifles via Winchester's robust international shipping infrastructure, which was used by both Colt and Winchester at the time by mutual agreement, and then secondarily shipped to Liege, Belgium.  This movement was an effort by the Colt Company to supply an example of their pump action rifle as a competitor for a large Belgium government contract for military rifles.  Unfortunately for Colt Belgium authorities decided to use Fabrique National's submission along with a portion of Winchester's lever action 92 rifles instead of the Colts.  According to a careful A.I. investigation some 10 Colt Baby Lightnings eventually made their way to the London office in 1886 and another 12 were sent there in 1892.  The rifle here under consideration was one of the latter weapons and according to the barrel markings it made it to Belgium for display in an effort to gain that government military contract.  Even though the records regarding the total number of rifes shipped seems to be a little literature blurry it was stated that only a total of around 100 were actually transfered into Europe during that time.  Some were actually proof tested in the London facility and a "smaller number" were tested in Liege.  These tests were carried out at the time due to laws requiring this testing before the guns could be sold in Europe.  Most of these rifles, after the government contract was lost, went to higher ranking military officers or more wealthy hunters who just preferred this rifle over other availables.  This would indicate that of the approxamately 90,000 Colt Lightnings ever produced only about one out of 900 made this intercontinental European trip.  How many of these actually arrived in Belgium as show pieces is still open to question.  This rifle's historical passage and proof there of is indicated by the markings on the left side of the proximal barrel easily seen in the pictures here presented. The stylized or squiggly symbol which is an "EL" on it's side is the Provisional Proof stamp designating that the barrel alone was pressure tested. The oval containing the letters ELG and a star (Epreuve de Liege) is proof according to inspector Gerard Ledent the rifle withstood black powder testing.  The tack like symbol called the Perron was stamped on the barrel after again pressure testing the completely assembled rifle.  The "T" with a star above it, marked on both the barrel and the reciever, was the mark indicating Ledent was indeed the rifle's inspector.  The 06 is either the bore diameter in milimeters or possibly the lot or batch number of the shipment of the 12 rifles from the Colt factory. The small "R" on the distal end of the lower tang on any of these shipped rifles would indicate they were especially chosen for "rework" in the finishing department for installation of the saddle ring for the specialized "Baby" carbine configuration before the European trip. Regardless of the preceeding commentary which may be of interest confirming the relative rarity of this rifle it presents itself as a historical piece that was most assuredly never used by hunters or military personel.  How it was returned to the U.S. is open to further study but the fact that it is here now confirms that it in some way made the trip.  It was most likely used to audition the features of this remarkable for its time Colt rifle which is the main reason for its residual excellent condition.  It has a mint bore with about 85-90 percent of its original bluing and an action that functions as new.  I can see no significant frosting or greying anywhere in the finish but the saddle ring has made its usual mark on the receiver with the course of time and is quite pronounced.  The wood fore and aft is in remarkable shape for its age.  Hopefully my pictures will further support this commentary.  Thanks much for taking a look at this most unusual rifle. SOLD Antique: Yes Rifle Caliber: .44-40 Winchester

Colt lightning baby carbine Guns International #: 103523993 Seller's Inventory #: 09 Category: Colt Rifles - Lightning - Antique Rifles - Cartridge Seller's Information When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com Seller: Double Haul Member Since: 1/19/20 First Name: Jack Last Name: Thompson State: Oregon Zip: 97846 Country: United States Phone: (541) 263-2716 Seller: Private Seller Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns. USPS registered mail Payment Types Accepted: cashiers check, money order Description: Up for your review and consideration is a very interesting and rare Colt Lightning rifle in the .44 CLMR (Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle) caliber.  It was generated by the Colt factory in either late 1891 or early 1892 then shipped to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New York City.   From there it was transfered to the London Armoury Company as part of a shipment of 12 rifles via Winchester's robust international shipping infrastructure, which was used by both Colt and Winchester at the time by mutual agreement, and then secondarily shipped to Liege, Belgium.  This movement was an effort by the Colt Company to supply an example of their pump action rifle as a competitor for a large Belgium government contract for military rifles.  Unfortunately for Colt Belgium authorities decided to use Fabrique National's submission along with a portion of Winchester's lever action 92 rifles instead of the Colts.  According to a careful A.I. investigation some 10 Colt Baby Lightnings eventually made their way to the London office in 1886 and another 12 were sent there in 1892.  The rifle here under consideration was one of the latter weapons and according to the barrel markings it made it to Belgium for display in an effort to gain that government military contract.  Even though the records regarding the total number of rifes shipped seems to be a little literature blurry it was stated that only a total of around 100 were actually transfered into Europe during that time.  Some were actually proof tested in the London facility and a "smaller number" were tested in Liege.  These tests were carried out at the time due to laws requiring this testing before the guns could be sold in Europe.  Most of these rifles, after the government contract was lost, went to higher ranking military officers or more wealthy hunters who just preferred this rifle over other availables.  This would indicate that of the approxamately 90,000 Colt Lightnings ever produced only about one out of 900 made this intercontinental European trip.  How many of these actually arrived in Belgium as show pieces is still open to question.  This rifle's historical passage and proof there of is indicated by the markings on the left side of the proximal barrel easily seen in the pictures here presented. The stylized or squiggly symbol which is an "EL" on it's side is the Provisional Proof stamp designating that the barrel alone was pressure tested. The oval containing the letters ELG and a star (Epreuve de Liege) is proof according to inspector Gerard Ledent the rifle withstood black powder testing.  The tack like symbol called the Perron was stamped on the barrel after again pressure testing the completely assembled rifle.  The "T" with a star above it, marked on both the barrel and the reciever, was the mark indicating Ledent was indeed the rifle's inspector.  The 06 is either the bore diameter in milimeters or possibly the lot or batch number of the shipment of the 12 rifles from the Colt factory. The small "R" on the distal end of the lower tang on any of these shipped rifles would indicate they were especially chosen for "rework" in the finishing department for installation of the saddle ring for the specialized "Baby" carbine configuration before the European trip. Regardless of the preceeding commentary which may be of interest confirming the relative rarity of this rifle it presents itself as a historical piece that was most assuredly never used by hunters or military personel.  How it was returned to the U.S. is open to further study but the fact that it is here now confirms that it in some way made the trip.  It was most likely used to audition the features of this remarkable for its time Colt rifle which is the main reason for its residual excellent condition.  It has a mint bore with about 85-90 percent of its original bluing and an action that functions as new.  I can see no significant frosting or greying anywhere in the finish but the saddle ring has made its usual mark on the receiver with the course of time and is quite pronounced.  The wood fore and aft is in remarkable shape for its age.  Hopefully my pictures will further support this commentary.  Thanks much for taking a look at this most unusual rifle. SOLD Antique: Yes Rifle Caliber: .44-40 Winchester

Colt lightning baby carbine Guns International #: 103523993 Seller's Inventory #: 09 Category: Colt Rifles - Lightning - Antique Rifles - Cartridge Seller's Information When emailing or calling sellers direct, please mention that you saw their listing on GunsInternational.com Seller: Double Haul Member Since: 1/19/20 First Name: Jack Last Name: Thompson State: Oregon Zip: 97846 Country: United States Phone: (541) 263-2716 Seller: Private Seller Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns. USPS registered mail Payment Types Accepted: cashiers check, money order Description: Up for your review and consideration is a very interesting and rare Colt Lightning rifle in the .44 CLMR (Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle) caliber.  It was generated by the Colt factory in either late 1891 or early 1892 then shipped to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New York City.   From there it was transfered to the London Armoury Company as part of a shipment of 12 rifles via Winchester's robust international shipping infrastructure, which was used by both Colt and Winchester at the time by mutual agreement, and then secondarily shipped to Liege, Belgium.  This movement was an effort by the Colt Company to supply an example of their pump action rifle as a competitor for a large Belgium government contract for military rifles.  Unfortunately for Colt Belgium authorities decided to use Fabrique National's submission along with a portion of Winchester's lever action 92 rifles instead of the Colts.  According to a careful A.I. investigation some 10 Colt Baby Lightnings eventually made their way to the London office in 1886 and another 12 were sent there in 1892.  The rifle here under consideration was one of the latter weapons and according to the barrel markings it made it to Belgium for display in an effort to gain that government military contract.  Even though the records regarding the total number of rifes shipped seems to be a little literature blurry it was stated that only a total of around 100 were actually transfered into Europe during that time.  Some were actually proof tested in the London facility and a "smaller number" were tested in Liege.  These tests were carried out at the time due to laws requiring this testing before the guns could be sold in Europe.  Most of these rifles, after the government contract was lost, went to higher ranking military officers or more wealthy hunters who just preferred this rifle over other availables.  This would indicate that of the approxamately 90,000 Colt Lightnings ever produced only about one out of 900 made this intercontinental European trip.  How many of these actually arrived in Belgium as show pieces is still open to question.  This rifle's historical passage and proof there of is indicated by the markings on the left side of the proximal barrel easily seen in the pictures here presented. The stylized or squiggly symbol which is an "EL" on it's side is the Provisional Proof stamp designating that the barrel alone was pressure tested. The oval containing the letters ELG and a star (Epreuve de Liege) is proof according to inspector Gerard Ledent the rifle withstood black powder testing.  The tack like symbol called the Perron was stamped on the barrel after again pressure testing the completely assembled rifle.  The "T" with a star above it, marked on both the barrel and the reciever, was the mark indicating Ledent was indeed the rifle's inspector.  The 06 is either the bore diameter in milimeters or possibly the lot or batch number of the shipment of the 12 rifles from the Colt factory. The small "R" on the distal end of the lower tang on any of these shipped rifles would indicate they were especially chosen for "rework" in the finishing department for installation of the saddle ring for the specialized "Baby" carbine configuration before the European trip. Regardless of the preceeding commentary which may be of interest confirming the relative rarity of this rifle it presents itself as a historical piece that was most assuredly never used by hunters or military personel.  How it was returned to the U.S. is open to further study but the fact that it is here now confirms that it in some way made the trip.  It was most likely used to audition the features of this remarkable for its time Colt rifle which is the main reason for its residual excellent condition.  It has a mint bore with about 85-90 percent of its original bluing and an action that functions as new.  I can see no significant frosting or greying anywhere in the finish but the saddle ring has made its usual mark on the receiver with the course of time and is quite pronounced.  The wood fore and aft is in remarkable shape for its age.  Hopefully my pictures will further support this commentary.  Thanks much for taking a look at this most unusual rifle. SOLD Antique: Yes Rifle Caliber: .44-40 Winchester