In practice, the Model 1854 was regarded as an effective, no frills system by most - in the American Civil War, the weapon gave up some power when compared to the competing Colts. The metallic cartridge was proving a revolution at the time and came about during a period when breechloading weapons were coming into their own, replacing the aging lines of muzzle-loading firearms and their complicated, time-consuming loading/reloading processes. The pinfire cartridge now allowed operators to quickly load their weapons in a safer manner as all required ammunition components were not handily contained in the metallic cartridge - no percussion caps or separate powder supplies needed.
The senior Lefauchaux died in 1852 to which his son continued in selling the world on his father's pinfire system. As such, many more revolver designs - and even some shotgun types - all followed, often times being handed the Lefauchaux name in the family's honor. With the arrival of "rimfire" and "centerfire" self-containing metallic cartridges - these not requiring the integral pin of the pinfire cartridges to actuate ignition - the age of the pinfire soon came to a close.
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