very long barrel percussion pistol

Mel H · 2nd January 2019, 03:33 PM

Having had a long time interest in antique arms and armour I have to say that I've only seen in passing, a couple of these 'turn off' box locks with barrels of such length, having said that, the pistol itself, is very similar to what is probably the most common product of the Belgian gun makers of the early/mid 19th C.
Seeing the photographs I realise that it is not merely a standard pistol body fitted with the extra length barrel, as I had assumed.
With those, the breech where the powder and ball is contained (they were loaded after removing the barrel) is less than an inch long and the powder capacity was limited to quite a small volume with the ball in a spherical seat on top. The first thing that I notice with this one is that the length of the breech is much greater, probably intended for a quantity of shot on top of the powder, rather than a ball.
Is the inside diameter of the breech parallel all of the way to the nipple or stepped down to a smaller powder chamber?

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2nd January 2019, 03:33 PM	#17
Mel H Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: North East England. Posts: 107	Having had a long time interest in antique arms and armour I have to say that I've only seen in passing, a couple of these 'turn off' box locks with barrels of such length, having said that, the pistol itself, is very similar to what is probably the most common product of the Belgian gun makers of the early/mid 19th C. Seeing the photographs I realise that it is not merely a standard pistol body fitted with the extra length barrel, as I had assumed. With those, the breech where the powder and ball is contained (they were loaded after removing the barrel) is less than an inch long and the powder capacity was limited to quite a small volume with the ball in a spherical seat on top. The first thing that I notice with this one is that the length of the breech is much greater, probably intended for a quantity of shot on top of the powder, rather than a ball. Is the inside diameter of the breech parallel all of the way to the nipple or stepped down to a smaller powder chamber?