C&R · IIIA · 027
“Merveilleux” squeezer pistol
Section IIIA: removed from the NFA, classed as an antique (outside the GCA)
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IIIA · VERBATIM · PDF P. 80 ↗
Merveilleux, squeezer pistol, cal.’s 6mm and 8mm short.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1898 or earlier (ATF’s dates)
- INFOAn antique under federal law, outside the GCA.
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IIIA · PDF p. 80 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. web.archive.org ↗, maker: Rock Island Auction lot (Wayback copy): "J. Rouchouse & Co. Le Merveilleux Palm Pistol", "designed by Frenchman Jacques Rouchouse in the 1880s", marked "LE MERVEILLEUX" on the barrel and "JR & CIE" and "PL/BREVETE" on the action
- 2. web.archive.org ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): "designed by Frenchman Jacques Rouchouse in the 1880s"; the 1898 end is the Section the Section IIIA date limit (1898); a second RIA lot (Wayback) says only "Manufactured in the late 19th century"
- 3. web.archive.org ↗, action: Rock Island Auction lot (Wayback copy): "the weapon is fired by squeezing the bar, which pulls the barrel back, chambers a round, and then releases the firing pin": a manual squeezer, action Other
- 4. web.archive.org ↗, country: Rock Island Auction blog (Wayback copy): the Gaulois, "Another palm pistol invented in France", "competed with similar designs like the J. Rouchouse & Co. Le Merveilleux"; RIA lot: designed by "Frenchman Jacques Rouchouse"
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 3 changes · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
- Evidence passYears: 1879–1898 → 1880–1898. The only dated source puts the design in the 1880s, so 1879 lay outside it
- Evidence passMaker: Not stated → J. Rouchouse & Cie. ATF names no maker, but a Rock Island Auction lot (Wayback) credits the design to Jacques Rouchouse and reads the "JR & CIE" marking
Historical context
NO VERIFIED IMAGE AVAILABLEWe show only freely licensed images verified to depict this model. None has been found yet.