Since the 1960s, Italian firearm manufacturers have brought back to the market some of the most famous and iconic firearms from the blackpowder and Old West eras. One gun that fits squarely in that description is the LeMat “grapeshot revolver,” originally introduced in reproduction form in the 1980s by Pietta Firearms. After an absence from the market, Pietta is reintroducing its LeMat reproduction in 2025.
The original LeMat revolver was designed by American Dr. Jean LeMat and manufactured primarily in Europe. A single-action blackpowder revolver, the LeMat’s original dual-barrel design has a nine-shot (a 50-percent advantage over most of its contemporaries) .42-cal. cylinder that rotates around a smoothbore .63-cal. barrel, with a selector on the hammer that can fire either one. Pietta’s version uses a .44-cal. rifled barrel and 20-ga. smoothbore barrel. The shotgun barrel gave the LeMat the nickname “the grapeshot revolver.” During the Civil War, the LeMat was popular with Confederate officers, and its impressive profile means that its appearance in film, television, video games and novels is more pronounced than its historical presence ever was on the battlefield.
Though Pietta began manufacturing LeMat reproductions in 1985, it and many other of the company’s models were discontinued during the manufacturing slowdowns caused by COVID. Just like the original, Pietta’s newly reintroduced LeMats have blued and case-hardened steel components, checkered walnut grips and a lanyard ring. With a 6.75” .44-cal. barrel, the LeMat is 13.4” overall and weighs a hefty 3 lbs., 7 ozs.
The Pietta LeMat is available in four versions. They are the “Cavalry” model, with distinctive spurred triggerguard and lanyard ring, the round triggerguard “Navy” and “Army” models and an “Old West” model with a “distressed” antique finish. Standard finish models have an MSRP of $1,361, while the Old West finish version retails for $1,461. For more information, see the company’s website.
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