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SMALL ORIGINS

The rimfire or Flobert cartridge was invented in 1846 by France’s Louis Nicholas Auguste Flobert (pronounced flow-BARE) and consisted of a primed brass cup topped with a round ball, loaded without powder. These little cartridges were made in several sizes: 4mm, 5mm, 6mm (.22), 7mm, 8mm and 9mm. The rimfire cartridge is Flobert’s biggest and most enduring contribution to the gun world. Using his case and priming design, the 6mm/.22 was developed further in the U.S. by Smith & Wesson and others by lengthening the case and adding gunpowder. The resulting cartridge, the .22 Short, quickly became the most common and widely distributed cartridge in the world. Flobert’s rimfires were originally used in handguns for indoor or “parlor” shooting and soon became extremely popular. Shortly after use of the ball loading became common, ammunition manufacturers started loading Flobertstyle shotshells. These used the ball loadings’ brass cap as a cartridge head but also incorporated a cardboard tube of varying length loaded with shot. Other rimfire cartridges in the 6mm-12mm range were developed during the first fifty years of fixed ammunition but only the .22/6mm and 9mm remain in widespread use.