Flintlock pistol

“ The locks and the large and numerous mounts on the stock are elaborately chiseled steel in strong relief with designs of animals, monsters, and semi-human figures against a background of floral arabesques.
Not all flintlocks were on firearms. The same mechanism was used on tinder boxes, alarm clocks, and gunpowder testers. The powder tester (Fig. 49) was like a pistol with a friction cover closing the mouth of the barrel. It was loaded (of course without a bullet) and fired. The force of the explosion blew the cover away from the barrel against the friction of a heavy spring ”

“ The flintlock musket ignited the powder in the external pan by striking flint against steel when the trigger was pulled, and it was a concealable weapon which could also be used in rainy weather, since it did not require a burning cord. A flintlock cost three or four times as much as a matchlock and required almost constant maintenance by a skilled gunsmith. Morris suspected that whereas a few of the rich royalist exiles on Barbados might own flintlocks, most of the poorer planters probably had nothing more than cheap matchlocks. ”

“ Even the possibility of gaining a spoon applies to only a few shooting clubs. The shooting galleries in black cellars, do not give prizes. You are supposed to be fully compensated, after being deafened by a man with a full charge revolver or automatic pistol blazing away into the darkness beside you, by paying for your targets, ammunition, and hire of a greasy revolver with a trigger-pull hard enough to break your finger and a report like a cannon, whilst you strain your eyes to see a black front sight in the darkness. ”

“ Many makes of revolvers and automatic pistols have the stock much below the level of the barrel, which consequently is above the hand. This makes shooting more difficult; you are apt to cant the weapon to one side, and the recoil is more severe on your wrist. A man who holds a pistol properly does not need a big stock, even if he has a big hand. ”

“ In the first place, the firing mechanism's a flintlock. So when you pull the trigger, the piece of flint there in the hammer strikes against the steel wing on the cap of the powder pan, opening it and firing the powder in a single action. Also, the powder pan loads automatically when the barrel's primed. It's faster and better than a matchlock."
"That's lovely. But flintlocks have been around for some time, or hadn't you heard?" She looked at the guns and took a sip of sack, amused by his endless fascination with pistols. ”

“ When it gets up to ranges of twenty-five or more yards, or to hitting a smaller object at closer range, his sense of direction must be aided by aim.
Almost all makers of pistols make the sights of their pistols wrong; the only proper sights are those on French duelling pistols (see Plates 2 and 10) .
The reason is obvious; for duelling a man has to snap shoot. All other pistol shooting, with very [Pg 63] few exceptions, is very artificial and has been done in deliberate shooting at small black bull’s-eyes just as rifle shooting was spoilt. ”

“ But it requires a man who has shot for many years to be able to do this; even an average shot goes very wide and wild in his shooting with such a short barrel.
These very short barrels are therefore useless for the general public for self-protection, except when the pistol actually touches the opponent.
Even the short police pistol requires a lot of learning. Most people imagine it is merely necessary to buy a little pistol “which I can put in my waistcoat pocket,” to become burglar proof.
[Pg 49] ”

“ The brainless have one perennial joke. This is to take up a firearm, aim it at someone, say “I’ll shoot you,” and then pull the trigger.
Even an unloaded pistol should never be left about. Someone is sure to “snap” it and ruin the lock, lugging at the hammer and pulling at the trigger at the same time, just as people rip out the teeth of the gear of an automobile by altering gear without first taking out the clutch.
If the pistol is loaded, someone is sure to get shot by a fool. ”

“ Nowadays, with the wax bullets driven by fulminate out of a duelling pistol, shooting off the heads of assistants can be done with very little risk except to the eyes, whereas with a leaden bullet a bad shot means the death of the assistant unless provided with a steel skull cap under a wig. ”

“ Rooks and rabbits are shot with miniature rifles but the rooks are shot when young and unable to fly, sitting on the branches of the trees near their nests, and the rabbits also when sitting outside their holes.
In England the general public never shoot rifles in sport, except those who shoot sitting shots at rooks and rabbits.
The idea has therefore arisen that the rifle and [Pg 155] pistol are not weapons to use in sport but merely implements at the game of bull’s-eye shooting, and that the shotgun is the sporting firearm. ”

“ This practice can be made still more difficult if as many man targets as your magazine holds cartridges are placed at various distances; hit all of them in the shortest time, taking them, not in rotation, but at random.
At “go” you turn and in so doing unbutton the holster flap, drawing the pistol, taking off the safety, and firing—all in one movement.
Occasionally, instead of firing all the shots, slip in the safety, and return the pistol to the holster after one shot. ”

“ The cocking by trigger action in this revolver is so arranged that it can, with a little practice, be held at full-cock whilst the aim is taken, instead of the cocking and firing being a continuous action, as in other double-action revolvers. As to its accuracy I can put all the shots in a “man” target at twenty-five yards with it.
Carrying the pistol in the hip pocket is in my opinion a mistake, as the movement of putting back the hand to draw will instantly put an adversary on his guard and most likely draw his fire. ”

“ No automatic can have the delicate touch of a single-shot pistol. It has to withstand such rough handling by the mechanical loading of the explosion.
A thing to be especially remembered is that one who is not expert, trying to put the pistol to half-cock, ruins the trigger-pull and renders it unsafe.
The point of the seer can be broken off or distorted by someone fumbling with the trigger and hammer.
Do not let people touch the hammer or trigger of your pistol, any more than you would let them jerk your horse’s mouth. ”

“ The holder pulls against the front of the stock to avoid its being taken from his hand, he does not squeeze the back of it. The result is that the pistol cannot be discharged, except by a voluntary effort. He can pull the trigger as much as he likes, but as long as he does not grip, but merely uses the front of the stock as a handle to pull against his adversary, the pistol is safe against accidental discharge. ”

“ A person not accustomed to a revolver cannot, however, fire it; in fact, if a man not an expert revolver-shot wrested the revolver from you, it would be harmless in his hands against you. Indeed, the pistol could without danger be given, loaded, to a small child to play with, as it requires a stronger grip than a child’s to discharge it.
Most revolver accidents occur either from the hammer receiving an accidental blow, slipping from the thumb, catching in something, or from the trigger being touched unintentionally, or the revolver being left at full-cock. ”

“ The single-shot pistol is the most accurate of any, there being no escape of gas.
The automatic has not only a much longer range than the revolver (although the popular idea that it can be shot accurately at a thousand yards or more is nonsense) but it cocks itself instead of having to be cocked by the thumb, or trigger finger.
Cocking by trigger-pull is such a strain on, not only the trigger finger, but the whole hand, that, after a few shots, good shooting cannot be made. ”

“ On the Continent most men of the upper classes have at least a rudimentary acquaintance with the foil and duelling pistol, but in the English-speaking nations a man has rarely ever handled or even seen a duelling pistol, or the few who have done pistol shooting have never shot except at a stationary bull’s-eye target. ”

“ They will, without doubt, disarm me, and I shall have to depend on my ingenuity to keep the pistol for the purpose of warning you.”
“If you hear the pistol shot, it will be the signal for you to attack; but do not attempt that under any circumstances, unless you get that warning from me. Each one must be provided with two of the guns, for this purpose, and the six of you can, no doubt, strike terror into them.”
“There is one thing we must consider,” said Blakely, “and that is the attitude, and probable action, on the part of the Berees.” ”

“ I said impetuously, for he had led me on so that I was thoroughly interested. “The carbine would only be in the men’s way.”
“Ah! What, then—pistol?”
“No,” I said; “artillerymen want no pistols. They have their guns, which can deal with their enemies a mile away.” ”

“ A good fencer is known by the small circle his point makes when fencing. In the same way a good pistol shot is known by the small circle his muzzle makes when raising it and firing.
I have seen men shoot revolvers at stationary targets, raise their pistol till it pointed vertically at the sky, aiming all the time, and then slowly bring the muzzle down till it was horizontal, and then begin to fish for the bull’s-eye, straining their eyes for nothing and not learning anything of the very essence of pistol shooting which is “lightning speed with accuracy.” ”

“ I opened the revolver, and a thin shred of lead fell out, showing the bullet had been deformed as it entered the barrel.
A bad shot from such a cause cannot happen to an automatic or a single-shot pistol.
A near-sighted man is at more disadvantage in pistol shooting than in rifle shooting.
With a rifle the hind sight can be fixed to the barrel nearer, or further from the eye until it is at just the right distance to suit the shooter. ”

“ If you want a hunter, buy an English hunter; if a harness horse, buy an American trotter. In the same way, for whatever purpose you want a pistol, buy one, if by any means you can do so, especially for that purpose. Anyhow, it is useless to compete with a short-barrelled pocket automatic against target pistols. This class of pistol is intended only for self-defence at short range, and has no pretensions to accuracy. ”

“ Going to my shelf of books I took thence the silver-mounted pistol she had brought with her, and balanced it in my hand. "To-morrow I will take this to Cranbrook, and buy bullets to fit it."
"Why, there are bullets there—in one of the old shoes, Peter."
"They are too large; this is an unusually small calibre, and yet it would be deadly enough at close range. I will load it for you, Charmian, and give it into your keeping, in case you should ever—grow afraid again, when I am not by; this is a lonely place—for a woman—at all times." ”

“ Knocking a chair over, throwing something past or at him, with your non-shooting hand, or calling out to some imaginary, or real, person behind him may often have the desired effect.
If he is a really “bad” man, and armed, the worst thing you can do is to take a pistol in your hand—or even make towards it—unless you mean to shoot instantly; it will only draw his fire, or he may unexpectedly disarm you in the way described below.
[Pg 125] Supposing you are unarmed and your adversary has a pistol, you may be able to render his weapon harmless by ejecting his cartridges. ”

“ It is especially suitable for ladies to defend themselves with, as they have, as a rule, steadier hands than men, and there are certain pistols, just suited for ladies, which give no recoil, and yet are practical weapons. “U. M. C.” gallery ammunition in a big .44 calibre Smith & Wesson Russian Model gives practically no recoil, and I have seen a lady do very good target shooting with it. With this revolver and load I have killed three rabid, or alleged rabid, dogs, so it is a practical killing load. I use the same revolver and ammunition for shooting park bucks. ”

“ The barrel must be aligned towards the butt. Most beginners think that, if they see the muzzle of the pistol against the butt, it is aimed at the [Pg 31] butt. That is not so. You can hold a pistol almost vertical like a candle in its socket, and think the muzzle covers the centre of the target, but if it is fired in this position the bullet will go straight in the air.
To aim a pistol, the breech (the part nearest the butt of the pistol) must be aligned with the muzzle on the target. ”

“ Gee! There's somebody on this side with a rifle. And, by Christopher, there's another rifle in the village shooting back!"
The flintlock trade guns roared out at intervals, and every now and again there came the sharp bark of smokeless powder, and its clean whop-whop of a bullet from a modern rifle. By careful watching Carter decided that there was only one rifle on each side, and he further made out that one was bombarding the other to the exclusion of all lesser interests. ”

“ The heavy recoil from a military rifle (which gives the bullet a speed of some thirty thousand feet a second) would shatter the recoil mechanism of a small pocket pistol, though the latter can quite safely operate under the slight recoil of its weak cartridge.
With a magazine rifle or revolver, the shooter uses just sufficient manual force to operate the mechanism, and even then pistols and rifles may get damaged by a clumsy man using too much force to wrench the weapon open or slam it shut. ”