Make: Tippmann Arms Company

Model: 1862 Gatling Gun

Serial Number: 005

Year of Manufacture: Modern, ca. 1975

Caliber: .38 Special

Action Type: 6-Barrel, Hand Cranked Magazine Fed Gatling Gun

Markings: The plate on the left side of the gun behind the magazine hopper is marked “MODEL 1862 No. 005 / TIPPMANN ARMS CO. / NEW HAVEN IN.”.

Barrel Length: There are 6 barrels, each of which is 19 1/8”.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a tall brass Patridge style blade held in a slotted base which is dovetailed to the semi-circular brass bracket at the front of the barrel assembly. The rear sight assembly is missing.

Frame and Construction: The barrel and receiver assemblies are bolted to a rectangular shaped frame that holds the shaft through the center of the barrel assembly at the front and is open at the rear, where it’s bolted to the sides of the receiver. The breechblock/magazine support is attached to the left side of the frame and pivots over the top chamber assembly at the rear of the barrels. There are 0.625” steel rods attached to each side of the frame about one third of the way along its length from front to back. They are clamped into the bronze clamps on the front of the adapter plate of the mount. The frame is about 27” long. The entire gun is 33 ½” long from the front of the center shaft in the barrel assembly to the back of the large brass knob on the rear of the receiver.

Type of Finish: The barrel assembly, including the chamber assembly, is blued. The receiver and magazine support are brass, and the crank handle is finished in the white. The frame looks very much like unfinished hot rolled steel, or it could have had a very thin coating of bluing applied.

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bores are bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion. In this writer’s opinion, the bores rate a 10 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This Gatling gun retains about 80% of its metal finish. The frame shows very light pitting which may be its original finish. There are a few spots of pinprick surface erosion along the top left side of the frame, with a small compression mark on both the top inside and outside edge near the mounting bar. The top surface of the frame on the right side shows a large mark through the finish. The barrels show a sprinkling of pinprick surface erosion. The receiver is developing a mustard colored tarnish and has a compression mark on its left side. There are several tiny compression marks on the top edges of the magazine support, and its inside surfaces are dark with tarnish. The crank handle shows tiny dark spots of erosion and a few tiny compression marks, and its shaft is partially covered with small dark spots of erosion. The screw heads are sharp and the markings are clear. Overall, this Gatling gun rates in about Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly, and the three legged mount swivels smoothly and locks up tightly. We have not fired this Gatling gun. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This Gatling gun comes with two mounts and two oak ammunition boxes.

The first mount is wheeled and designed to be towed. It has two 28” steel clad oak wheels with 16 spokes. The axle is oak with steel collars on the wheels. The tongue is a 34” long piece of oak that is 2 ½” in width and 2 ¾” in height, supported along its bottom surface by a steel plate. There is a large crack in the upper portion of that oak tongue near where the gun is mounted. The front of the tongue has a steel hitch assembly with a 1” hole in it for slipping over a pin on the towing rig and a threaded coupling for attachment of a wooden handle, and two steel handles bolted to each side for maneuvering the mount once it’s uncoupled from the towing rig. There is a large bronze plate in the center of the axle for mounting the gun, with teeth on its rear curved edge for locking the gun into position, to which an adapter plate is attached. The adapter plate swivels, and can be locked into position with a steel gear and handle assembly that is attached. The adapter plate also holds the coupling to which the gun is clamped. The adapter plate can also be used on the second mount, and is used for traversing the gun while firing or locking it in position to fire at a fixed position. Included with the mount is a two foot long oak handle with a threaded brass end for attaching to the hitch at the front of the tongue. This mount is in Good condition.

The second mount is a three legged mount. The oak legs are 30” long with steel feet. They are 2 ½” square at the top and become rounded near the bottom. The legs fold together for carrying and storage, and are independent, allowing the mount to be leveled. There is a steel toothed plate mounted to the top of this mount. This mount is in about Very Good condition.

The two very nice oak boxes of accessories include 5 blued magazines, dozens and dozens of cartridge sleeves, several wrenches, and various portions of cleaning rods.

Our Assessment: The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. Invented by Richard Gatling, it’s known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat. Later it was used in the Boshin War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and still later in the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. This is a ¾ size replica of the Model 1862 Gatling gun. It’s a magazine fed 6-barreled gun chambered in .38 Special. Its barrels are blued and the receiver is brass. It comes with a two wheeled carriage which was originally designed for towing, a fixed three legged mount, and two very nice oak boxes of accessories including 5 blued magazines, dozens and dozens of cartridge sleeves, several wrenches, and various portions of cleaning rods. On the two wheeled carriage, there is a large crack in the upper portion of the oak “tongue” near where the gun is mounted. The gun is missing its rear sight assembly. The gun doesn’t seem like it has seen a lot of use, and has probably just been displayed for most of the last nearly 50 years. It shows a few marks in its finish, tarnish on the brass parts, and a few scattered spots of pinprick surface erosion on the barrels. This Gatling gun comes with a host of accessories, and would be great for a party at your shooting club, for Civil War reenactments, or for just setting up in your gun room as a conversation piece.