Jarre Harmonica Pistol
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 70 mm
- Weight, empty
- 450 g
- Introduced
- 1862
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol is a mid-19th-century French repeating pinfire pistol built around a removable horizontal steel bar of chambers, made in six- and ten-shot forms, that indexes across a fixed barrel as the gun is worked. The breech bar is preloaded with pinfire cartridges, held by a spring-retained catch, and pushed from chamber to chamber left-to-right by an arm linked to the trigger. The action is a combined single/double-action arrangement, comparable to the Adams or Starr revolvers: a cocking lever through the trigger guard can thumb-cock the hammer, or the shooter can fire straight through in double action. Made in Paris by Alphonse Jarre, chiefly in 7mm pinfire, the gun took its name from the cartridge bar that slides sideways like the mouthpiece of a harmonica. An ingenious sliding hinge let the protruding barrel group fold in front of the frame for carry, reducing the width to well under an inch. Patented in France and the United States between 1859 and 1862, the breech-bar system was offered for pistols, rifles and even cannon, but was rendered obsolete within a decade by self-contained centrefire revolvers.
The horizontal cartridge bar slides across the barrel like the mouthpiece of a harmonica being played, which is exactly how the gun earned its name. Alphonse Jarre's 'breech-bar' system promised a real jump in firepower for the early 1860s, six or ten shots on hand where most pinfire arms managed five or six, and the bar could even be folded across the frame for carry. Jonathan Browning, father of John Moses Browning, had independently built American slide-bar harmonica long guns a generation earlier, tying this oddball French repeater to one of the most famous names in firearms history. A ten-shot example sold at Rock Island Auction for around 16,100 USD.
Inventor Alphonse Jarre of Paris (28 boulevard Poissonnière), recorded on guns and in catalogues as A. Jarre and J. Jarre. Auction and reference sources consistently give 7mm pinfire as the principal chambering; six- and ten-shot bars are the documented forms. Barrel is round with an octagonal base, roughly 2.75 in (about 70mm). The muzzle velocity (~229 m/s / 750 ft/s) rests on a single secondary source and is approximate. Dimensions vary by example. Closely related to the entry 'Jarre Harmonica Gun'.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Jarre & Cie
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- France
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1862
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 70 mm
- Overall length
- 178 mm
- Weight, empty
- 450 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Double action
- Firing mechanism
- Double action
- Trigger
- Double action
- Capacity
- 10
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 229 m/s
- Effective range
- 10 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Sliding chamber block- Pinfire
- Repeating
- Spring advanced block
Self cocking
Ring trigger- Folding carry mode
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 450 g | 794 g | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 178 mm | 196 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 70 mm | 102 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 10 | 8 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Jarre Harmonica Pistol
How much does the Jarre Harmonica Pistol weigh?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol weighs 450 g (15.9 oz) empty.
What caliber is the Jarre Harmonica Pistol?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol is chambered in 7mm Pinfire.
How many rounds does the Jarre Harmonica Pistol hold?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol holds 10 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Jarre Harmonica Pistol?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol is 178 mm (7.01 in) long overall, with a 70 mm (2.76 in) barrel.
Who makes the Jarre Harmonica Pistol?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol is made by Jarre & Cie (France). It was designed by Alphonse Jarre.
When was the Jarre Harmonica Pistol introduced?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol was introduced in 1862.
How does the Jarre Harmonica Pistol operate?
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol uses a double action, and its firing mechanism is double action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
Stockists
Where to buy
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No shop has listed this firearm yet
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Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/jarre-harmonica' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "jarre-harmonica", "name": "Jarre Harmonica Pistol", "manufacturer": { "id": "jarre", "name": "Jarre & Cie", "countryCode": "FR", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "fcef351515a9f0f1fbf64a31675abe71e7fb878cdc061cda0687c5235e32b55b" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1862, "barrel_length_mm": 70, "weight_empty_g": 450, "action_type": "double_action"}