THE PISTOL FROM A WESTERN STANDPOINT. 



DR. E. F. CONYNGHAM. 



The desire to carry missile weapons 

 seems almost universal, and this desire 

 has had attached to it the specifications, 

 portability, compactness and the production 



Fig. 1. DRAW. 



of a lethal effect, this to be obtained 

 quickly. With these was joined a fifth, 

 that the weapon could be fired more than 

 once in as short a time as possible. On ac- 

 count of these various desires we see on 

 the old-time, single shot, muzzle loading 

 pistol, a dagger, or 3-edged bayonet, folding 

 alongside the barrel. That, however, was 

 a clumsy contrivance. It was succeeded 

 by the double barrel, and that by other 

 plans, until from a flintlock weighing 3 to 

 4 pounds and firing one shot we have ar- 

 rived at a weapon weighing about 2^4. 

 pounds, shooting 8 or more times, and ac- 

 curate at 200 yards. 



The first pistol I ever used was a flint- 

 lock dueling pistol. The butt was shaped 

 something like a saw handle, and came 

 down almost at right angles to the axis of 

 the barrel. The square end that projected 

 below the little finger was covered with 

 a large silver plate with the family crest 

 engraved on it. The sides of the butt 

 were nicely checkered ; the back and under- 

 part were not. In front of the trigger was 

 a screw whereby the pull could be regu- 

 lated. The wood of the stock extended 

 within a short distance of the muzzle and 

 had 3 silver headed oush pins that extended 

 clear through to hold the barrel in place. 

 There was no groove for a ramrod. The 

 barrel was made of what we to-day would 

 call London twist, and it was slightly 

 grooved The case contained another pis- 

 tol exactly the same, a cleaning rod, ram- 

 rod, vent pick, loading mallet, bullet mould, 

 i space for bullets, 16 to the pound, pow- 

 der horn, space for sand paper for smooth- 

 ing bullets, and a copper bottle for holding 

 oil. The whole outfit was made by a gun- 

 smith on Dame street, Dublin, Ireland, and 

 the pistols were beautiful weapons. I never 

 saw modern arms that came up to them in 

 finish. Harkom, of Edinburgh, Scotland, 

 has a pair of gold and enamel, once the 

 property of some Highland chief, valued at 

 80 guineas, over $400 of our money. They 

 are truly Scotch. No wood enters into 

 their construction. They were worn at 

 the coronation of George IV. I regard 

 them as the handsomest pistols in existence. 

 Between my first and last pistol I have 

 owned many, of all makes, calibers and de- 

 scriptions, with all sorts of shapes and 

 weights of bullets. My advice to anyone 

 thinking of buying a pistol is the same 

 Punch gave about matrimony, "Don't;" but 

 if you must "pack a gun" buy a cannon and 

 carry it in a scabbard, like a man, not a 

 • small thing concealed in your pocket, like 



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