Hi Rajesh. As others will confirm, it's almost impossible to accurately date these guns. They were used over such a long period of time, and most (like the horse pistols) were unmarked. But the brass barrel tells me it is more likely from the first quarter of the 19th Century when brass barrels in Europe were more in vogue, and likely the barrel was European made.
Hi Estcrh. Thank you so much for these wonderful photos!! This is the first time I've seen these. I'll add these to my library. Great pics !!!! I've seen many of these Knee Pistols with either a belt hook or a single ring attached the the rear lock screw for suspension to either a waist belt or a shoulder sling, as the photos show. Then, there are others (like my own) that have no provision for a sling/belt attachement. I once saw a Knee Pistol with a section of leather simply wrapped and stiched around the breech area of the pistol with a leather loop for suspension to another belt/shoulder sling. It was obvious to me that the leather was original to the gun. But alas, it was not for sale.
The main purpose of the blunderbuss barrel design was the ease of reloading, and the ability of being able to use a variety of shot. I can say from practicle shooting experience, that the use of shot in a blunderbuss barrel does not spread the projectiles any wider than a typical shotgun barrel. These Knee Pistols would be a close range weapon. So I think that if they were loaded with shot that the multiple projectiles would not only hit the opposing rider, but his horse also. But I guess that probably happened too. LOL
Hi Coorado. The name on the lock plate is probably spurious. It was probably added while the gun was being assembled in the Ottomas. The letters just making use of any English letters to give the impression of Europen manufacture. This was done so often on guns of every quality in the Region. However, the lock does indeen look European made to me. It has both English and French styling cues. Not really surprising. The quality of the lock internals lead me to believe it's Europen origin. Looks well assembled.
Many of the Horse Pistols seemed to favor French pistol design of the mid-18th Century. While the locks on these Knee Pistols seem to be all over the place. The Knee Pistols, like the Horse Pistols, for the most part are unmarked as to the maker or origin.
Here is a pic of my Knee Pistol I posted here a while back. While I'm convinced that both the barrel and lock are of European origin, it's is unmarked.
Stu: Thanks for starting what turned out to be such an interesting Thread for us gun enthusiests. LOL And the great pics from Estcrh.
Rick
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