Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · III · 128

Quackenbush bicycle rifle

Section III: removed from the NFA, curio or relic under the GCA

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION III · VERBATIM · PDF P. 43 ↗

Quackenbush Bicycle Rifle with a 12”, cal. .22 barrel; skeleton/wire-type pistol grip; and a telescoping wire stock.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “with a 12””
  • ATF REQUIRESConfigured as the ATF wording states: “and a telescoping wire stock”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1896–1919.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States
Manufacturer
H.M. Quackenbush, Herkimer, NY²
Type
Rifle
Action
Other
Caliber
.22
Made
c. 1896–1919production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Commercial
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section III · PDF p. 43 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Maintenance and reference-link fixes) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. thefirearmblog.com ↗, years: Bicycle Rifle made 1896–1919, about 4,321 made, 12-inch barrel, wire stock
  2. Wikipedia, “Quackenbush rifle” ↗, maker: H.M. Quackenbush
  3. en.wikipedia.org ↗, reference article: Article on H.M. Quackenbush's .22 'Boys' rifle' line (1893–1920); its Versions section covers the Junior Safety rifle whose stock slid forward 'for use as a "bicycle rifle"'. Family: the article covers the whole line, not the bicycle rifle alone.
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

  1. Maintenance and reference-link fixesReference article: none → Quackenbush rifle. The article covers the Quackenbush rifle line and mentions the bicycle-rifle stock variant; Henry M. Quackenbush has no page
  2. Data-trust reviewEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  3. Data-trust reviewYears: 1884–1920 → 1896–1919. TFB: the Bicycle Rifle was made 1896–1919

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Patent drawing, U.S. Patent 336,586 (shown for Quackenbush bicycle rifle)
Shown: the patent drawing for H.M. Quackenbush's swinging-breech Safety Rifle (U.S. Patent 336,586), the action the bicycle rifle uses; not the bicycle rifle with its wire stock.

Image: U.S. Patent 336,586, “Breech-loading gun, sheet 1” by Henry Marcus Quackenbush, Public domain (US patent). Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Quackenbush rifle”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Quackenbush rifle, invented by industrialist Henry M. Quackenbush, is a clever but cheaply made "Boys' rifle" sold in large numbers in the 1893–1920 period, along with several models of air guns.