Carabine à tige

The carabine à tige (sometimes called a "stem rifle") was a type of black-powder, muzzle-loading rifle invented by Louis-Etienne de Thouvenin. The method was an improvement of the invention of another Frenchman, Henri-Gustave Delvigne. Delvigne had developed chambered carbines and rampart rifle-muskets so that when forced against the chamber rim by ramming (with three strokes of a heavy ram), the bullet would become deformed and flatten, so as to expand in diameter against the inside of the bore, allowing the bullet to press against the rifling grooves. When fired, the bullet accompanied the rifling and spun. This was an early attempt to work around one of the greatest hindrances to the use of military rifles; in order for a rifle to impart the proper spin to a projectile, the projectile must fit snugly inside the barrel to engage the rifling grooves. However, with the universally-used black powder of the day, weapons would quickly build up a thick layer of fouling when fired. After only three or four shot, a typical rifle would be impossible to load without using a mallet to force the bullet down the fouled barrel. Designing a projectile that was smaller than the bore of the barrel, to allow easy loading, but which could then be expanded to fit snugly into the bore before firing would allow for the accuracy of rifles, but without the very slow and painstaking reloading procedure necessitated by the heavy fouling.

Thouvenin induced the deformation of the bullet by placing a steel stem inside and at the center of the powder chamber, around which powder was inserted, and on top of which the bullet was dropped. When hit by the ram, the bullet expanded radially against the rifling grooves and at the same time wrapped around the stem, giving it a more efficient and aerodynamic shape. Thouvenin published his invention in 1844.

This system, although an improvement over Delvigne's method, still did not allow for a perfect engagement in the rifle, rendering the ball's trajectory rather erratic. The French Army, however, adopted the improvement in 1846. The Chasseurs adopted the system in 1853, as did the Prussian Jägers corps, where marksmen skills were essential.

The rifles were known as Thouvenin tige rifles ("carabines à tige Thouvenin"). The weapons used a 600 yards sight and a hair trigger. The barrels were rifled with eight grooves, making a turn every 36 inches.

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