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Five hundred patents on breechloading mechanisms were filed between 1860–71 in the United States alone.

Chassepot, shas′po, n. the kind of bolt-action breechloading rifle adopted by the French army in 1866.

He would sally forth alone, with no other armament than a breechloading rifle, and endeavour to slay the wild rabbits which infested the Baronet's domains, and sometimes he had the good fortune to slaughter one or two.

I picked up an Evans rifle—we had two on board—filled the magazine, handed it to Ni�bon, told her to lay it down in the little cabin, out of sight, with the other arms—three Snider carbines, my breechloading shotgun, and three of those rotten pin-fire French service revolvers—the Lefaucheux.

Tematau and Tepi each fired two or three shots in quick succession, but missed, and then a very heavy bullet struck the side of the coaming of the steering-well in which I was seated, glanced off and ploughed along the deck, and the second boat now began firing into us with breechloading rifles of some sort.