Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have an exceptionally rare J.G. Dachtine enclosed lock, waterproof flintlock sporting gun from around 1780. This gun is based on a 1775 British patent by Henry Nock, William Jover, and John Green for a completely enclosed flintlock mechanism that promised to eliminate flash, smoke, and weather issues.
The British patent claimed the design could be left in the rain for an entire day and still fire without re-priming. The lock mechanism is completely hidden inside the action – press a stud on the right side, and the top cover pops open to reveal the flintlock inside. The dished rear sight is built into that cover and slides to engage the top edge of the frizzen when closed. From the outside, there’s no visible indication this is even a flintlock. No pan, no frizzen, no external mechanism at all.
The concept was brilliant for the era. Flintlock ignition systems were notoriously vulnerable to weather, and the flash and smoke from the pan could obscure your target at the worst possible moment. An enclosed system solved both problems while also protecting the mechanism from dirt and damage. Continental makers like Dachtine in Aachen recognized the value and created their own variations, though this example lacks the patented gas escape tube that the British designers incorporated.
What’s unusual is the rifling: straight grooves running the length with some narrower grooves only at the muzzle. That’s an uncommon approach, possibly an attempt to balance accuracy with ease of loading. The two-stage barrel construction, where the breech section forms part of the action, shows sophisticated manufacturing.
The enclosed lock design never caught on widely despite its advantages. The mechanisms were complex, expensive to produce, and difficult to maintain compared to conventional flintlocks. By the time percussion ignition appeared in the 1820s, the whole concept was obsolete. These guns remain fascinating examples of late 18th century innovation – elegant solutions to real problems that were simply too complicated to compete with simpler, cheaper alternatives.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
Unique/Unusual Scarce Engraved J.G. Dachtine “Waterproof” Enclosed Lock Flintlock Sporting Gun From the Famous Henk L. Visser Collection | Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1049/480/jg-dachtine-waterproof-enclosed-lock-flintlock-sporting-gun. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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