Mounted pioneer carbine of the 1808 model

The rarest example of Russian weapons in excellent condition. The barrel is steel, 5-sided in the breech visible part, further circular, reinforced in the bed with a screw in the breech mounted on a special tide and one brass clip. Sighting devices consist of a front sight and a rear sight. The mark "P" is punched on the breech of the barrel. The lock is flint, French battery type. This type of lock was created in 1610 by the French gunsmith from Lisieux (Normandy) Marin Le Bourgeois (1550-1634). It was an order of magnitude more reliable than the wheel lock, thanks to which it spread throughout the world for the next three centuries as the main mechanism of hand firearms. To prepare such a lock for a shot, the shooter had to (having loaded the weapon itself, that is, having hammered a powder charge, a bullet and a wad into the barrel) put the trigger on the safety platoon; open the shelf lid; if necessary, clean the seed hole; pour a small portion of gunpowder onto the shelf; close the lid; put the trigger on the combat platoon. The date of manufacture of the product and the name of the manufacturer are marked on the key board with a needle, made in the form of an inscription "Tula 1818". The keyhole is brass, L-shaped, reinforced with two screws, the upper of which also fixes a steel bracket designed to mount the rifle on the saddle. The second end of the bracket is fixed to the barrel using a steel clip. The bed is wooden, the forearm is up to the middle of the trunk. A steel ramrod was originally embedded in the forearm. The butt is wooden, smooth. The back of the butt is brass, L-shaped, reinforced with 2 screws. On the upper part of the back is a pierced image of a Russian three-headed eagle. The keyhole is brass, oval in shape. The date of manufacture of the product is punched on the bracket – 1830. A round stamp with the inscription "BAPT (?) Tula 1841" is punched on the butt. Guarantee of authenticity.

Cavalry-jaeger teams designed for reconnaissance and mounted fire combat existed in the Russian army since 1788; by the time of their liquidation in 1797, there were 4 cavalry-jaeger regiments in Russia. But the war of 1812 against Napoleon showed the high combat effectiveness of the French cavalry units, and Emperor Alexander I came to the idea of reviving similar regiments in his army. Moreover, the rearmament and re-equipping of dragoons into huntsmen turned out to be simpler, cheaper and faster than re-forming them into hussars or lancers. In terms of weapons, it was only necessary to change the broadswords to sabers, leaving the shelves with the firearms they already had. The basis of the cavalry chasseur uniform was the same double-breasted green dragoon uniform, on which it was only necessary to change the collar (all cavalry chasseurs were prescribed a green collar with a regimental color edging) and sleeve cuffs (in light cavalry they had a pointed shape). The external transformation of dragoons into huntsmen was completed by replacing white pantaloons with long green ones with colored stripes, and a Hussar-type shako (sample 1812) instead of dragoon helmets. As a result, by the beginning of 1813, 8 cavalry-jaeger regiments appeared in the Russian army, which took an active part in the Foreign campaign of 1813-1814. With completely green uniforms and pantaloons, Russian mounted chasseurs had edging, shoulder straps, cuffs and stripes of colors approved for each of the regiments; the same colors had the layout of green valtraps on their horses.

As for armament, the first samples of handguns in the XIX century were introduced by a personal decree of Emperor Alexander I dated September 13, 1805. It prescribed that the weapons intended for reserve should be manufactured at the Tula and Sestroretsk arms factories according to new models, "Most highly tested by His Imperial Majesty: a soldier's rifle with a bayonet for grenadier and musketeer regiments so that rifles for non-commissioned officers of those regiments and a jaeger fitting with a bayonet were made against it." The State Military College was asked to seal the weapon with its own seal and "immediately by courier" send one copy of each type of weapon to Tula and Sestroretsk to fulfill the highest command. Judging by the reports of the heads of the Tula and Sestroretsk factories, such samples, together with a personal decree, were received by them on September 14, 1805. The decree was preceded by the Highest order given to the Minister of Military Land Forces on May 7 of the same year, on the preparation of weapons in reserve for peacetime states "according to new models that will be given." Probably, samples of new weapons were already being developed and were ready by September 1805.
And already on January 18, 1806, a personal decree announced the production of weapons according to the states of wartime, and newly approved samples were sent to the factories: one soldier's rifle, one rifle rifle, a jaeger fitting and a pistol. At the same time, the fittings should be put into service by non-commissioned officers and 64 rank-and-file rangers in the jaeger battalions.

The jaeger fitting had a caliber of 6 1/2 lines (16.2 mm), a barrel length of 2 feet 1 inch 91/2 lines (649 mm); weight – 10 pounds 94 spool (4400 g.). The cost of the jaeger fitting for the treasury was determined at 9 rubles, 23 and 1/8 kopecks.

The war of 1812 revealed a number of shortcomings in this type of weapon: heavy weight and a short barrel, which was an important indicator for a cavalryman. However, the new model of weapons was adopted only on March 2, 1817, when the mounted huntsmen received guns of a new type. Their distinctive feature was a short forearm, which was especially typical for French cavalry rifles, and a longer (63-65 mm) barrel. Due to the lightening of the wooden component, the weight of the gun decreased to 3.1 kg instead of 4.4 kg in the 1805 model.