Extremely Rare U.S. Military Trials Serial Number 5 Colt-Franklin Gravity Fed Bolt Action Rifle with John R. Hegeman Jr. Marking
This is the fifth of only 50 Colt-Franklin rifles manufactured in the late 1880s for trials by the U.S. Army and Navy. It utilizes a distinctive gravity fed, detachable, nine-round box magazine. The magazine fits on the top of the receiver on the left, and the receiver has a cut-off to allow for single loading between shots in order to keep magazine ammunition in reserve. These rifles were the brainchild of Civil War veteran and Colt Vice-President General William Franklin (1823-1903) and patented in 1884. He retired from Colt in 1888 and was the U.S. Commissioner-General for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The rifle action itself is basically a French Gras. During trials in 1887 and 1888, over four thousand rounds were fired with no apparent failures to feed or fire, and the rifles were determined the design to be simple, reliable, and safe and thus satisfactory for military service, but none were ordered. Ultimately, the trapdoor Springfields were replaced by the Springfield Krag-Jorgensen bolt action rifles which had more robust and easier to load built in magazines. The rear sights, barrel bands, barrel, ramrod and buttplate are all similar to the Springfield Model 1884 trapdoor rifles. The barrel has the standard government “V/P/eagle head” proofs and an “A” is stamped on top in front of the receiver. The upper left of the action is marked “COLT.” “5” is stamped in a tiny numeral on the bottom of the bolt and inside of the trigger guard tang and handwritten in the trigger guard mortise. A leather sling is included. “J.R.H.JR” is marked on the top of the receiver ring, left side of the stock, and bottom of the butt indicating the rifle was previously in the collection of John R. Hegeman Jr. who was a dedicated Colt collector in 1885-1925. He appears to have acquired several of these incredibly scarce Colt-Franklin rifles.
