I've had a Le Mat for 15 years. They're made by Pietta and they seem well-made. The hammer is checkering rather than the parallel striations that Pietta normally uses. Mine is pretty accurate.
Two downsides I've noticed:
(A.) For me, the way the loading lever/plunger is arranged isn't as ergonomic as the Colt/Rem/others design. Pulling
up just seems odd, to me.
(B.) The lever is somewhat bendable. I bent mine a little. No big deal. In fact I think either Navy Arms or Dixie Gun Works carries replacements due to this.
Keep in mind, of course, it will take longer to load 9 chambers
than 6.
The revolver has a adjustment on the right side of the frame that, IIRC, times the locking bolt, which on mine needs minor adjustments from time to time. The bolt on this gun protrudes from the rear of the frame into a hole in the heel of the cylinder (just so you know it does have one).
They are interesting revolvers and I believe they were favored by Jeb Stewart's Cavalry during the Civil War. Didn't help ol' Jeb against George Armstrong Custer, much...though