18th CENTURY PIRATE FLINTLOCK PISTOL by DENIX
This rugged flintlock measures 13 1/2" and features real wood stock adorned with skull & cross bones and steel finish barrel. And the action works! Position the striking plate, cock the hammer and pull the trigger. Comes fully assembled and ready for display in your home or office.
Note: You must 18 years of age or older to purchase this pistol. These handsome collector model guns are made of antique finished zinc cast metal and polished European hardwood. The screw heads are molded into the metal and cannot be removed. These models cannot withstand misuse or excessive dry-firing. Cannot be made to fire real ammunition.
FLINTLOCK PISTOLS
"Flintlock" pistols were so called because the lock uses a flint to strike sparks into the priming pan when the trigger is pulled. A small amount of gunpowder in this pan is ignited, which in turn ignites the main gunpowder charge in the barrel, firing the lead ball. Both the main charge and the ball were loaded from the front, or muzzle, of the barrel, after which the priming charge was poured into the pan – all very time consuming! Often the priming charge would burn but fail to ignite the main charge – whence the expression "flash in the pan"! Pirates of the 18th century carried pistols similar to this French flintlock in their raiding exploits. As such skirmishes rarely included time-outs for reloading, a cutlass would accompany the pistol.
The pistols came in long and short barreled versions, approx 9 inches and 12 inches long, with a bore of about 0.56 inches. The butt had a rounded and sometimes metal base (known as a skull crusher butt cap) so the pistol could be used as a club once fired. Issued either singularly or in pairs, the sea pistol had an effective range of only 3 or 4 yards. It would be fired and then thrown away to hopefully be retrieved after the fight.
Decorated with a skull and crossbones, this non-firing replica is great for the piratically inclined!
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