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While the design for the Roper rifle and shotgun originally came from Sylvester Roper, Christopher Spencer played a very significant role in its production. When sales of the Spencer lever action rifle dissolved at the end of the Civil War, Spencer needed something new to work on, and Roper recruited him into his company. Roper’s design was for a shotgun that used a 4-shot rotary magazine and reusable steel cartridge cases.
By late 1868, however, sales of the Roper shotguns had not reached a profitable level (most likely because the price of the guns began at $60, making them very expensive for the time) and the company was put up for sale. Spencer was able to put together enough money to purchase it himself, and he moved the machinery to Hartford CT and set up a new production line. In addition to shotguns, Spencer also made a .40 caliber rifle version of the gun. The prices remained too high, though, and could not sustain the company’s operations. In response, Spencer began taking on contact forging work, and that proved to be a much more profitable and sustainable business model. The company was reformed in 1872 as Spencer & Billings, and would leave the gun business behind.
Spencer would go on to invent the automatic screw machine, and make a not insignificant fortune on that idea – which is still widely used in the manufacturing industry today.
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At Forgotten Weapons I think the most interesting guns out there are the most obscure ones. I try to search out experimental and prototype weapons and show you how they work, in addition to more conventional guns that you may not have heard of before. You’re much more likely to find a video on the Cei Rigotti or Webley-Fosbery here than an AR or Glock. So, do you want to learn about something new today? Then stick around!
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The History of C.M. Spencer, Syl H. Roper, and Their Pump Shotgun Designs: Part 1 of 3 (1833-1889)
Introduction to, and Identification of, The Siamese Mauser
The History of The Spencer Shotgun. Part 2 of 3, The Bannerman Years(1890-1902)
History of the Spencer Shotgun. Part 3 of 3, Model differences, Breakdown, Myths, and Pictures.
Foreign Rifles of the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939
The Winchester Model 1893 Shotgun