Unusually Large Caliber (?) Percussion Target / Dueling Pistols c1860

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

Very nice pistols Dana.

Very nice indeed. Nice twist barrels, nice fences, Nice engraving and lovely locks!
The bores are not unusually large. We do see bores of pistols of musket size quite often.
2 thoughts come to mind, or two possible uses;

1, Pistols carried by a British officer (And I hate that term, as it is used far too much!) But being the bore they are, they would take the standard musket ball, which would reduce the supply problem.

2, Possibly to be carried in the hunting field or in a Howdah as suggested by Fernando.
This last suggestion has my nod as the most likely, as pistols carried on military excursions were often fitted with a lanyard ring.
Also the high quality suggests sporting use, though many officer arms were also of V. high quality.
Could you show us the lock-work?

I wish we could go back and look at the photos whilst replying, but I would say these pistols are from the 1840's, with the flat sided cocks (hammers) as by the 1850's we see more cocks of rounded form. (of course this isn't cast in stone!)

Congrats on a lovely set!!

Richard.

Thanks for your comments Richard.

To me the barrels look like they have a faux damascus finish.

I have had a chance to own and see "a few" percussion pistols from the mid 19th century. Most have bores sizes around 1/2 (.5) inch, and a few were a little larger, but I've never personally seen one with a bore that is almost 3/4 (.75) inches. I've been looking on-line to see if I could find some. Can you point me at some examples?

I should note that J. D. Dougall & Sons seems to have been making shotguns with this bore size during the time these pistols were made.

I know that officers of the period often purchased pistols like these for their own use. I have a distant relative who was an officer in the United States Marines during the first half of the 19th century. He owned a nice pair not unlike these in some ways. https://plus.google.com/+DanaWilliams/posts/6nwERRQVJfE

The best way to look at the photos while replying is to open another browser window and then view the original post in that window simultaneously. It is helpful.

I agree with you about dating by style, but the information I have shows that J. D. Dougall didn't open a London office until the 1860s.

I'll consider photographing the lock internals for you.