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| | From:  Flashman8 (Original Message) | Sent: 1/16/2008 7:07 PM |
I get very annoyed when I see this charicature as a representation of a blunderbuss. There are 3 myths: - The wider the muzzle the wider the shot dispersal the more effective the weapon
- You loaded them with any old cr*p; nails, glass, pebbles, scrap iron and they worked wonderfully for years
- Even T-Dog could hit something
In fact - The muzzle flare was minimised to enable a man's palm to cover the aperture
- The best spread was obtained by a narrow muzzle and a wider breach, but then you lost the quick loading facility of the muzzle flare
- Nails etc would cross and catch in the breech, scoring the barrel walls or blowing out the breech plug.
- Pistol balls, of say .55" as opposed to .75 musket balls, maybe 4-6 to the charge were favourite.
- An oversize powder load was usable, as the barrel and breech were wider. There were some double barreled versions.
Peter |
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 In the 1800's, a "fowler" was a smoothbore gun that today we would call a shotgun. These fowling pieces were intended for birding and wildfowl shooting. Generally, they were long slender guns. The specimen illustrated is over five feet long and has a 50" barrel of about 20 gauge. The average shotgun today has a 28" or 30" barrel. Long barrels were considered necessary to give the indifferent black powder of the day more time to burn to full strength and hence, it was thought, shoot farther and harder. Clark and Lewis made note of more than 130 species of birds during the course of the expedition. Most of these were shot, examined, measured and described. Lewis did not mention his "fowler" in the journals. Not until 1807 do we learn that he had a specific bird-shooting gun, when he documented the financial records of the expedition and asked for reimbursement for "one Uniform Laced Coat, one silver Epaulet, one Dirk & belt, one hanger & belt, one pistol & one fowling piece, all private property, given in exchange for Canoe, Horses &c. for public service during the expedition." |
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Jim, your No 10 is a boxlock (note centre cock) cheap and happy, Birmingham made. The whole barrel unscrewed and a shot of powder was dropped into an exposed cup, and then the ball on top. No need to ram the ball, as the barrel was just screwed back so they were very tight and therefore more powerful and accurate This is one step further  note fixed trigger. This is 3 barreled, and is a tap action. To the right (as we see it) of the lock is a tap, which when turned 120 deg exposes a fresh charge of powder. each powder chamber was routed to one barrel. The charges could fire simultaneously if the pistol had been carelessly maintained or loaded. These barrels were often rifled. |
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| Jimbert this to me is the most beautiful of the "Turn-off" pistols. It is the full Queen Anee cannon barreled pistol, probably rifled, so enormously powerful and accurate. Note good quality side lock; and this is the only one I've ever seen converted to percussion. say about 1812. I think some of these were used in the Napoleonic wars; powerful waterproof, and if you kept the key, fast to repload. One of the Sharpe books mentions a percussion model, about 1814. What is interesting is this is a shape going back to the late 1600s. Crown Prince Rupert put a ball through a weathercock (an enormously long shot, about 1200 yd) at Newbury in 1640-odd. So turn off pistols had a very long innings. 180 years. !640s to 1815. |
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"What is interesting is this is a shape going back to the late 1600s. Crown Prince Rupert put a ball through a weathercock (an enormously long shot, about 1200 yd) at Newbury" Sorry, 100 yds. |
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I think, Mark, unless of course Tiger wishes to correct us, you might be right and it's Stafford not Newbury. The pistol would have looked similar to the one above, except it would have had a "dog-lock" i.e. a metal hook as a safety catch on the lock, and a wooden front stock. You think of the skill of piercing a pivoting target necessitating the recoil of a heavy powder load. Not many modern shots could have done it. The shot would have had to be at enough range for the ball to be flying near enough at right angles to the target body, otherwise it would have ricocheted. (Soft lead on wrought iron) |
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| This message has been deleted due to termination of membership. |
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I would say it was a one-off. Still, we never know. But we have Tiger to pronounce on everything. |
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I was watching Antiques Roadshow this evening, and a rather pretty young woman turned up with a boxed pair of pocket pistols, like the one I posted. There was a psalm sized powder container in the box, which the reporter was fascinated with. The woman looked a little non-plussed, when he told her her balls should be carried in her pocket, and the container held sufficient black powder to fire 50 balls. Jimbert |
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| This message has been deleted due to termination of membership. |
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I was wrong to allow this argument to continue to #20 here, Management allow me to run this site with the aid of Jimbert, Lew, Hobbs, T-Dog, Mark and I try to avoid the argument side, regarding this as a hobbyists' site. Which is again why I try to avoid posting weapons and equipment orientated discussion on say "War" or "American History" sites. However, since I transgressed you are entitled to see the links regarding Japanese worsening of crash casualties in the world's worst single aircraft disaster, and aslo another one naming the 5 nations involved in the 5 worst. | It remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in history and the .... The worst crash in Japan's aviation history. Retrieved 2 March 2007. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_123 - 47k - <NOBR>Cached - Similar pages</NOBR> <NOBR>Top 5 worst air disasters in history « Sick Crashes - car, train ... | Top 5 worst air disasters in history. These are the top 5 worst plane ... The wreckage of a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 that crashed on Mt. Osutaka, Japan. ...
crazycrashes.wordpress.com/2007/<WBR>12/24/top-5-worst-air-disasters-in-history/ - 48k - </NOBR><NOBR>Cached - Similar pages</NOBR> <NOBR></NOBR> <NOBR></NOBR><NOBR> | </NOBR> | If you want to continue the argument please do it on another site, maybe the anniversary site at use at the moment |
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| This message has been deleted due to termination of membership. |
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JimBert Love to know if it was a cased flintlock or percussion. Before the days of factory made cartridges, your pistol buff had to have loads of accessories. Your .5 double action Adams (far tougher than a Colt) has (on case) a bullet mould, 3 lubricated cut wads, 3 bullets and (I believe) a wad cutter. Below the case, a cleaning rod, a cylinder pin lock, and a nipple wrench. Spare cylinders would be carried, with caps fitted. |
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