Double Barrel Percussion Pocket Pistol
 

A recent impulse purchase at auction.
Catalogue description:
Mid 19th Century Double Barrel Percussion Pocket Pistol. 50 bore 3 1/4 inch sise by side octagonal barrels. Lower rib fitted with asteel swivel ramrod. Action frame sides and topwith floral engraving. Pecusion dolphin head hammers with matching engraving. Polished wooden bag shape grip with brasspommel and white metal escutcheon.

My Stats:
Weight: 1lb 4oz
Bore: .45 inch (11.6mm), 50 bore?
Length overall: 7 3/4 inch (19.8cm)
Barrels : 3 1/4 inch (8.3cm)

Floral engraving on hammers, top frame, lock sides and trigger guard. Small amount of engraving on muzzel ends. Two proof marks on underside of each barrel. No makers marks or signature. Silver escutcheon not marked or marks/engraving worn away.

Small repairs to sides of wooden grip by the lock platres. One of the hammers has been rep[laced and is slightly mismatched. It has a slightly simpler form of engraving and differently shaped hammer spur.This gives the pistol a rather cock-eared look :)
I assume this is an English pistol from about 1850 but there is no makers mark so I cannot tell for sure. Can anyone decypher the proof marks? They are not very clear. Any insights anyone can offer would be welcome.

These are as far as I can see the Birmingham/GB view- and proofmarks
corrado26

I would agree.

Thank you both. Does 1850 seem about the right date for this?

Rifled barrels, or smoothe bore?

Smooth bore. Would that indicate an earlier date?

Hi Robert,

Nice little pistol!

Proof are Birmingham as mentioned above, from 1813 to 1904.

Likely the date is close to what you suggest. Maybe a shade earlier with the flat hammers.
Smooth or rifled does not suggest earlier or later, as both were used for many years prior to this.

Richard.

Rifled barrels side by side make imho no sense without a suitable sight System.
corrado26

Not sure if it qualifies as a ''sighting system'' but thr pistol does have a simple fixed fore and rear sight.

This sight is outsite of the barrel's length axle and so totally
useless
corrado26

I must admit that with 3 inch smooth bore barrels I would think any sight pretty superfluous. I suspect it was thare to show the user that he was holding it the right way round :D

I am no shooting expert but, i don't think these sights are completely useless; they may not provide the best of precision, but are always a point of reference, no matter how long barrels are.
On a (only partly) different perspective comes to mind that, two side-by-side barrel shot guns only have a central sight set :o .

Quite a lot of very short muff pistols and such when made on the Continent had rifled barrels. I do not know if this was thought to give more penetration to the ball, but may be the reason.
As most defense pistols are made for close quarters, say within a few feet, sights are not really needed and not used, Except when maybe trying a pistol to see where it shoots.
With a shotgun, the head position is the 'rear sight', with a bead at the muzzle, which is ignored/not seen in spontaneous shooting anyway!

Richard.

As i said ... just references ;) .

I remember being told once a lot of these pistols were rifled because the rifling was thought to 'hold' the ball better, i.e. there was less chance of the ball being shaken down the barrel.
Regards
Richard

I hear that, Rifling has an unequivocal purpose; improve projectile stability and precision. All other effects, being the case, would be resulting phenomena.


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