I Have This Old Gun: Maynard Carbine

On the eve of the American Civil War, there were a number of breechloading carbine designs available on the commercial market, and many were vying for military contracts. One such design was the Maynard carbine, developed by Maryland dentist Dr. Edward Maynard. Watch our "American Rifleman Television" I Have This Old Gun segment above to learn the history of the Maynard and see it in action on the range.

"Dr. Edward Maynard was an interesting chap. He was born in 1813 in Maryland, attended West Point for a short period of time, but he decided it wasn't really for him. He didn't do all that well," American Rifleman Field Editor Garry James said. "So he attended dental college and became one of the preeminent dentists of the 19th century in America. He was interested in lots of different things, and he took out a number of different firearms patents."

One of Dr. Maynard's well-known patents was for the Maynard tape primer, which used a roll of percussion priming tape in lieu of a percussion cap. A door in the side of the receiver retained the priming tape and also contained a gear that advanced the next bubble of priming compound up in line with the percussion nipple when the hammer was cocked. This provided the ignition for the Maynard's unique cartridge.

"The Maynard carbine was a wonderfully simple design, it was wonderfully robust. It worked well, and there were no complaints from anyone regarding its use," American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. "It's just that there were a number of designs in contention in the 1850s, and Maynard was a was in tough competition to gain contracts."

To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.

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