Firing an antique pistol

[tinbum]

Apropos of an earlier thread, I have a turn off barrel, 0.42" bore with a 3.75mm x 15mm (approx) powder well. It is a cheaply made, mass produced pocket pistol from around 1840 which has a smooth bore with some pitting but nothing deep, proof marks are matching and from Birmingham.

Question is, should I fire it?

I would like make it clear that it is perfectly legal to do so here, initial testing would be in a secure and safe rig and my middle name is Danger!

[loiner1965]

of course......

[tacfoley]

If it is the item that you showed in your post, then the load is designed to fit inside the hole exposed by removing the barrel and no more - else it will get blown away. Do you have BP to shoot it with?

Sure, shoot it, but remotely. Tie it to a fencepost and operate the trigger by mean of a piece of string. Got a ball? Then aim it in a safe direction and haul on the rope.

OTOH, is your MIL staying with you any time soon? I'm sure SHE'D love to help you test it.

Bonne chance!!!

[magicesperanto]

Depends what you want to achieve really, do you want to shoot it regularly?

If so, then by all means load full charge of powder, wad and ball and go the tree and string route.

At worst you destroy a (somewhat trivial) piece of history.

At best you will know that it didn't grenade (this time).

But a calculated risk would be to repeat the above at least once, and if it holds together, then shoot it with half charge.

Just to add, it's not a risk I would take, I value my eyesight quite highly.

[TA6319]

If it was me I would try it remotely a couple of times after I had tested the barrel.
What I have done in the past is to suspend the barrel on a piece of wire and tap it, if every where you tap rings the same.
No dull thud then you stand a good chance of it being ok.
Its a bit like tapping a glass/crystal to see if it has any flaws

[lew07]

You owe it to the forum to film this.I want to see the ball in slow mo

[tinbum]

If I were to fire it I would want to fire it often, else what's the point?
If I want to test it taking it to the club Tuesday is probably the best course of action, someone will want to test it for me and I can film the result from a safe distance.
As for the future, it will either go to fund a modern repro or just become an ornament.

[Abasmajor]

Apropos of an earlier thread, I have a turn off barrel, 0.42" bore with a 3.75mm x 15mm (approx) powder well. It is a cheaply made, mass produced pocket pistol from around 1840 which has a smooth bore with some pitting but nothing deep, proof marks are matching and from Birmingham.

Question is, should I fire it?

As you are probably already aware, it would need to be entered on a Firearms Certificate before it could be shot legally here in in the UK which puts off most original UK residents from shooting their original firearms if this isn't feasible on a regular basis.

As this isn't an issue for you, I would certainly consider shooting it at least once under the controlled conditions you describe.

Brian

[lew07]

I have a .41 rimfire Remington derringer and read that You can see the bullet go when fired if You watch carefully lol. It’s quite a lump of lead

[bighit]

If it was me I would try it remotely a couple of times after I had tested the barrel.
What I have done in the past is to suspend the barrel on a piece of wire and tap it, if every where you tap rings the same.
No dull thud then you stand a good chance of it being ok.
Its a bit like tapping a glass/crystal to see if it has any flaws

My boss used to use it for crack testing also.

[tinbum]

I have a .41 rimfire Remington derringer and read that You can see the bullet go when fired if You watch carefully lol. It’s quite a lump of lead

You can watch standard 9mm's from gun to target too, they'd still smart if they hit you!

[tinbum]

Well, that went well!

Finally took it to the club today, explained it was 180 years old and I was worried about firing it. It was wrestled from my grip and passed around by the members to much excitement, loaded and fired, then again, and again.

When I asked if this was dangerous I was answered with laughter. "Le pistolet est juste de le poudre noir!"

One of them was keen to stuff more powder down the bore, but to be fair he did the same with my Pedersoli Guardian first time he saw it. I stopped him just in time

[enfield2band]

I'm glad it went well. It sounds like you enjoyed it.

[helidave1]

I had to smile when I read your experience at the French club - its exactly the same approach at my local club. Got to give them credit, health and safety doesn't seem to have reached these lands yet!

[Turnup]

Depends what you want to achieve really, do you want to shoot it regularly?

If so, then by all means load full charge of powder, wad and ball and go the tree and string route.

At worst you destroy a (somewhat trivial) piece of history.

At best you will know that it didn't grenade (this time).

But a calculated risk would be to repeat the above at least once, and if it holds together, then shoot it with half charge.

Just to add, it's not a risk I would take, I value my eyesight quite highly.

Noooooo! These guns do not have anywhere to safely put a wad.