Pistols: An Illustrated History of Their Impact by Jeff Kinard

Show description

Traveling pistols, sometimes known as overcoat pistols, were relatively large weapons at about 10–12 inches and were often fitted with metal belt hooks. Although somewhat deadlier than their dueler cousins because of their rifled barrels, traveling pistols served something of a dual role as fashion accessories to gentlemen of leisure. For this reason such pistols often featured finely checkered, high-quality wood stocks and engraved metal fittings, often inlaid with gold or silver. The finer pistols were sold in cased pairs with the usual loading and cleaning accessories, including a small hammer for driving the slightly oversized bullet down the rifled barrel.

Acting on the same principle as the firework, one pull of the trigger set off a chain reaction of multiple discharges that was, at worst, highly intimidating. The Kalthoff and Lorenzoni Pistols Two brilliantly conceived multishot weapon designs that relied on internal magazines—the Kalthoff and the Lorenzoni— emerged during the early seventeenth century. The origins of both weapons are obscure—the names of their inventors were lost, and their current names originated with the two prominent gun-making families that seemed to have advanced the designs.

Still, innovators such as Nock continued to improve the pistol’s design. Nock’s pistols during the first two decades of the nineteenth century retained the simple lines of his Pattern 1796 with its 9-inch barrel. Significantly, the new-style pistols were fitted with a rammer permanently attached by a swivel device under the muzzle to prevent loss during use. Later, the new swivel assembly was added to older pistols. The locks, theoretically interchangeable with the issue carbine, originally were fitted with a sliding flat safety behind the hammer, which was abandoned in later pistols.