Duelling Pistol - Design

Design

Standard flintlock pistols have a noticeable delay between pulling the trigger and actually firing the bullet. To fix this and other disadvantages, purpose-built duelling pistols featured various improvements to make them more reliable and accurate, such as longer, heavier barrels, a spur on the trigger guard, saw handles, platinum-lined touch-holes and hair triggers. All component parts were manufactured, hand-finished and then adjusted with great care and precision, which made duelling pistols very costly when compared to conventional firearms of the period. Similarly, special care was taken when moulding the lead bullets in order to ensure that there was no hollow part in them, which would harm accuracy. The loading of duelling pistols was also carefully undertaken. Given that duels were generally fought at short distances (30 to 40 feet (9.1 to 12 m) was typical) between stationary opponents, accuracy was not a major problem.

Duelling pistols had long barrels (typically 10 in (250 mm)) and fired large, heavy bullets. Pistols with calibers of 0.45 in (11 mm), 0.52 in (13 mm), 0.58 in (15 mm) or even 0.65 in (17 mm) were common. The bullets loaded in them could weigh half an ounce (214 grains (13.9 g)) in .52 caliber, or more in larger calibers. Additionally, bullets fired from duelling pistols had a muzzle velocity of approximately 800 feet per second (240 m/s), which, with a .52 caliber bullet, gave it a lethality which compares favourably with more modern automatic pistol cartridges such as .45 ACP. Duelling pistols were therefore capable of inflicting very severe gunshot wounds. These injuries, coupled with the primitive state of emergency medicine at the time, meant that pistol duels frequently resulted in fatalities, either at the location of the duel or some days afterwards from complications such as blood loss or septicaemia. This was the fate of Alexander Pushkin, a highly experienced pistol duellist who had previously fought 29 duels before being mortally wounded in the stomach by Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès on February 8th 1837. Pushkin managed to return fire, slightly wounding d'Anthès, but died two days later after sending a message to his opponent, pardoning him.

Most duelling pistols had smooth bores, though some had scratch rifling, a subtle form of rifling which was difficult to see with the naked eye. Pistols with rifled barrel spin-stabilise the shot when it is fired, resulting in much improved accuracy. As a result, duelling pistols with rifled barrels were considered unsporting by many.