One of the things I’ve been trying to figure out is just how “practical” a true pocket pistol would be in the pre-percussion era. I mean, if all you had to choose from were flintlocks, obviously people made them work for carry, but it always seemed like it would be pretty chancy as far as having it work when you needed it after bouncing around on your person all day.

Well… Got this little guy, and I am now thinking more of a strong “maybe”, at least for this design.



About a .45 caliber, and a trim 6 inch overall, it should count as a reasonably effective defensive tool, and small enough to fit in a pocket of the day.

As far as the “practical” aspect, it has a very cool safety design that works to lock the frizzed down, sealing the pan that makes me think you likely could drop it in a pocket and have the priming powder still there when you needed it.



The safety slides forward to engage from the half cock position, and there’s a pin that engages a hole in the frizzed, locking it down. When you pull it to full cock, the safety is automatically disengaged.

I could see this design actually being a fairly reliable carry piece. As long as it was still a couple hundred years away from the Sig 365 being a thing!

Bill R

Neat. Belgian made of the Queen Anne screw barrel design. Entry level model, very simple lines, no engraving.

Super cool. FYI for those wanting a less-authentic and less-expensive cap-and-ball version, Pedersoli makes a similar one.

I like this guy's videos:
https://youtu.be/TvaUJWCl3lM?si=Ct_7egDb6Ryxfout

How was the metalurgy back then?

Even in the mid-20th century, some surprisingly high-end guns made use of surprisingly soft steel.

Curious how things had evolved from the early 1800's.

quote:

Originally posted by metric:
How was the metalurgy back then?

Even in the mid-20th century, some surprisingly high-end guns made use of surprisingly soft steel.

Curious how things had evolved from the early 1800's.

It’s definitely not up to today’s standards, or even what Colt was putting out by the 1860s or so!

Bill R