KNEE PISTOL for COMMENT

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Sorry to appear so thick but would you mind explaining to me why it is called a knee pistol, it looks like a blunder us to me but then I have scarcely any knowledge of firearms hence my question.
Miguel

Hi Miguel,
These, I suppose could be called a "blunderbuss pistol". They are not designed to be fired from the shoulder as the stock is far too short, so are not a true blunderbuss. When fired from horse or camel back, the knee would be the most useful part of the body to rest the stock against.....hence I guess the term "Knee pistol".
If you have a look at the old postcard of the Sheiks kindly posted above by Rajesh, you will get an idea of the relative size of these weapons.
Hope this clarifies your question.
Stu