Дуэльдік тапаншалар: Тарихы мен ерекшеліктері

Type of pistol

A duelling pistol is a type of pistol that was manufactured in matching pairs to be used in a duel, when duels were customary. Duelling pistols are often single shot flintlock or percussion black powder pistols which fire a lead ball. Not all fine, antique pairs of pistols are duelling pistols, though they may be called so.

Until the mid 18th century, duels were typically fought with swords. In London, the first recorded pistol duel was in 1711,refn|group=Note|This resulted in the death of a Member of Parliament, Sir Cholmeley Dering

Unless precisely tuned, standard flintlock pistols can have a noticeable delay between pulling the trigger and actually firing the projectile. Purpose built duelling pistols have various improvements to make them more reliable and accurate. Duelling pistols have long and heavy barrels – the added weight helps steady aim and reduce recoil. The barrels on earlier guns were cylindrical, while later ones tended to be octagonal. The barrels were given a blued or browned finish to reduce glare. Spurs on the trigger guards began appearing after around 1805 to provide a rest for the middle finger to improve the shooter's grip. All component parts were manufactured, hand finished, and then adjusted with great care and precision, which made duelling pistols much more costly than standard firearms of the period. Special care was taken when moulding the lead bullets to ensure that there were no voids which would affect accuracy. In some duels, the pistols were carefully and identically loaded, and each duellist was offered his choice of the indistinguishable loaded pistols. Although sometimes the duellists would use their own pistols so the weapons would be different. As duels were generally fought at short distances which were paced out, typically , between stationary opponents, extreme accuracy was not required. The bullets loaded in them could weigh in .52 caliber, or more in larger calibers. Injuries from such bullets, coupled with the primitive state of emergency medicine at the time when duels were commonplace, meant that pistol duels frequently resulted in fatalities, often some hours or days afterwards. Most English 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 barrels spin stabilize the shot when it is fired, resulting in much improved accuracy. As a result, duelling pistols with rifled barrels were considered unsporting by many, although there was no unfairness so long as the pistols were identical. For some in the eighteenth century, duelling with less accurate, smooth bore weapons was preferred as they viewed it as allowing the judgement of God to take a role in deciding the outcome of the encounter. A pair of rifled pistols often included a small hammer or mallet as an accessory; they used slightly oversized bullets and a hammer was needed to drive the bullet down the barrel when loading. Pairs of duelling pistols can be easily confused with holster pistols and travelling pistols. These types are similar to duelling pistols in that they were muzzle loading weapons that were sometimes expensively made and sold in matched, cased pairs with a set of accessories. Travelling pistols, also known as overcoat pistols, were intended for use by travellers to protect themselves from highwaymen and footpads; unlike duelling pistols, they were commonly rifled. Holster pistols, or horse pistols were used on horseback and carried in pairs in a leather holster slung across a horse's saddle. Although best suited for military use, they were often owned by civilians. Although their purpose was combat or self defense, holster pistols were used on occasion to fight duels. There were various forms of pistol duel. In Britain, the favoured type was for the duellists to stand still at an agreed distance and shoot when given the signal. The rules of the "French method" of duelling required the duellists to begin back to back, walk a set number of paces before turning and firing. A further type of duel, known as a barrier duel or a duel à volonté (at pleasure), had the duellists walk towards each other. As the distance closed they could fire at will. But if the first to fire missed, he was required to stand still and wait for his opponent's shot. In 1837, Alexander Pushkin was fatally wounded while fighting this form of duel. For an eye witness account of such a duel see Reynolds (1839). Participants wore heavy, protective clothing and a metal helmet, similar to a fencing mask but with an eye screen of thick glass. Pistol dueling was an associate (non medal) event at the 1906 and 1908 Olympic games (see Olympic dueling). The Fauré Le Page company of France made special pistols for sport duelling. These were break action, single shot weapons that were fitted with a shield in front of the trigger, to protect the hand holding the pistol.

The use of pistols in duels became popular in the United Kingdom, France, and colonial America during the mid eighteenth century. Initially standard holster or travelling pistols were mainly used, but by the end of the century special purpose duelling pistols were being made by craftsmen in England, France, Germany, Austria, and the United States. Pairs of duelling pistols were often supplied in compartmentalised wooden cases along with a powder flask, rods for cleaning and loading, spare flints, spanners and other tools, and a bullet mould.