What is this gun

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > What is this gun

Isaac: Aug 3, 2006; Fun Shoe

My stepdad has this old looking gun. Anyone know anything about it?

I can upload more if needed.

# ? Feb 23, 2015 22:20

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 23:41

Slo-Tek: Jun 8, 2001; WINDOWS 98 BEAT HIS FRIEND WITH A SHOVEL

Looks like a percussion cap derringer.

Might ask the gun-people sub.

# ? Feb 23, 2015 22:30

chairface: Oct 28, 2007; No matter what you believe, I don't believe in you.

Whether you take this to TFR or stay here with it: Get more pictures, get closer-up pictures, and especially take pictures of any markings, designs, emblems, numbers or words on the gun.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 02:53

Mattavist: May 24, 2003

It's a Sharpie, they're made by Sanford.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 04:10

bongwizzard: May 19, 2005; Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"; Grimey Drawer

Slo-Tek posted:

Looks like a percussion cap derringer.

Might ask the gun-people sub.

chairface posted:

Whether you take this to TFR or stay here with it: Get more pictures, get closer-up pictures, and especially take pictures of any markings, designs, emblems, numbers or words on the gun.

Yep, it is either with like $20 or maybe $20k. Old guns are a special breed of fussiness.

# ? Feb 24, 2015 15:56

Isaac: Aug 3, 2006; Fun Shoe

I can't see any clear markings except some symbol on the underside.

Isaac fucked around with this message at 07:55 on Feb 25, 2015

# ? Feb 25, 2015 07:51

Sixgun Strumpet: Feb 17, 2009; Heh, yeah, 'round here I call myself The Enabler. I suspect pretty much everyone wishes they could be me -- I'm kind of a big deal, you see.

Hard to tell from those pictures, but I'd wager you have a Belgian made (probably in Liege) percussion cap pistol. It's really hard to make out what that marking is, but it will be what tells you a bit more about the gun. There should be others on it too, maybe an oval with the letters LEG in there somewhere.

Pretty cheap guns, usually no more then $200 on the high end, with the fit issues on the grip there and the overall condition you certainly wouldn't want to shoot this gun, it's just a wall hanger now, good decorative piece.

As far as age goes its really hard to tell with the Belgian guns. There was a cottage industry in Liege for many many years, could be made any time in the mid 1800s-early 1900s. Often impossible to tell with these guns.

# ? Feb 25, 2015 16:31

HappyCapybaraFamily: Sep 16, 2009; Roger Baolong Thunder Dragon has been fascinated by this sophisticated and scientifically beautiful industry since childhood, and has shown his talent in the design and manufacture of watches.

Isaac posted:

Very carefully unscrew this screw here (use a hollow-ground screwdriver; I want to help you avoid damaging that lovely screw

) to remove the grips, and see if you can find any more markings on the grip frame and maybe even on the underside of the grips.

HappyCapybaraFamily fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Feb 25, 2015

# ? Feb 25, 2015 16:38

banned from Starbucks: Jul 18, 2004

looks like a desert eagle (Deagle if your a SEAL)

# ? Feb 25, 2015 23:43

Zig-Zag: Aug 29, 2007; Why don't we just start shooting tar heroin instead?

HappyCapybaraFamily posted:

Very carefully unscrew this screw here (use a hollow-ground screwdriver; I want to help you avoid damaging that lovely screw ) to remove the grips, and see if you can find any more markings on the grip frame and maybe even on the underside of the grips.

I wouldn't try to unscrew anything. Either see if you live by some antique shops that have lots of old guns or even your local gun stores. I did that with an old pistol and they told me what it was.

# ? Feb 27, 2015 02:47

Not Nipsy Russell: Oct 6, 2004; Failure is always an option.

It's a 19th century boot pistol. It was made for private sale/ownership rather than military use. It's loaded by unscrewing the barrel. It has no trigger guard. Instead, the trigger is supposed to pop out when the hammer is cocked. The square plate on the back may be covering a small compartment in the grip for spare caps/ball/etc. It should be about the same size as the bore, or a little larger. "Boot Pistol" as it was meant for concealing in a boot or other hidden place.

The mark you've spotted is hard to make out. It looks most like a factory proof mark from Birmingham, England. Specifically, this one:

This mark was used from 1813 through 1904, among others. That doesn't mean much without some other corroborating evidence, though.

I'll look into it more this evening. You really would do well to at least take the grips off to see what's under it. If you do, use a very well fitted hollow ground screwdriver, as someone suggested above. However, I'd understand if you don't want to. In which case, enjoy your possibly English 19th-Century boot gun.

# ? Feb 27, 2015 16:27

Isaac: Aug 3, 2006; Fun Shoe

Not Nipsy Russell posted:

It's a 19th century boot pistol. It was made for private sale/ownership rather than military use. It's loaded by unscrewing the barrel. It has no trigger guard. Instead, the trigger is supposed to pop out when the hammer is cocked. The square plate on the back may be covering a small compartment in the grip for spare caps/ball/etc. It should be about the same size as the bore, or a little larger. "Boot Pistol" as it was meant for concealing in a boot or other hidden place.

The mark you've spotted is hard to make out. It looks most like a factory proof mark from Birmingham, England. Specifically, this one:

This mark was used from 1813 through 1904, among others. That doesn't mean much without some other corroborating evidence, though.

I'll look into it more this evening. You really would do well to at least take the grips off to see what's under it. If you do, use a very well fitted hollow ground screwdriver, as someone suggested above. However, I'd understand if you don't want to. In which case, enjoy your possibly English 19th-Century boot gun.

The marking looks just like the one you posted, the handle is almost definitely hollow as well. I'm not sure if it has been decommissioned or something as the hammer only moves a cm and everything else seems locked tight. I don't think I'm game to unscrew it at the moment. Thanks for the info.

Edit: apparently the original owner was a British merchant captain, i imagine this was the kind of thing they would use for self defence.

# ? Feb 28, 2015 02:17

Rent-A-Cop: Oct 15, 2004; I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!

Isaac posted:

I'm not sure if it has been decommissioned or something as the hammer only moves a cm and everything else seems locked tight.

It's likely just rusted solid.

# ? Feb 28, 2015 05:06

Isaac: Aug 3, 2006; Fun Shoe

Rent-A-Cop posted:

It's likely just rusted solid.

Can I WD-40 it or would that be irresponsible

# ? Feb 28, 2015 08:18

Not Nipsy Russell: Oct 6, 2004; Failure is always an option.

If you decide to use anything to free up frozen parts, you should remove the wood first. I'd hesitate to pour something down in the works without first seeing what's going on inside. I guess it depends on what you want the end state of this pistol to be. And your own capabilities (tools, skills, comfort level).

Just to look at: 100% guaranteed to not do any sort of damage. Just appreciate it for what it is. No action required!
Non-Firing, working action: Take the grips off, maybe even have to carefully remove internal components, depending on their condition. Given the outside condition, my guess is that you don't have a severe rust issue: the outside has a nice patina, and shows no signs of severe rust. More likely something inside has broken or shifted and is blocking the hammer, possibly intentionally as you say. If parts are broken, you will be very, very unlikely to find replacements as these parts are hand-fitted. If done carefully, disassembly and reassembly of this pistol should be non- or minimally destructive.
I'ma Shoot It!: this would involve restoring the action, finding some way to get the barrel to unscrew reliably, and is a very bad idea for a host of reasons. If you want to shoot a Black Powder pistol, there are lots of replicas for sale that are a lot of fun.

My recommendation? Try the grip screw with a properly fitting hollow ground screwdriver and see what's going on inside. If it's stuck, decide for yourself what you want to do. Me, I'd very very carefully mask off the wood around the screw, apply a few drops of Liquid Wrench, let it soak in, then try another turn using my hollow ground purpose-built gunsmithing screwdriver. I might give a very VERY gentle rap on the head to shake loose any rust keeping the threads from turning. If that didn't work, I'd stop there.

Eh, you're probably best off just leaving it alone. You should research as far as you can into who owned it when and why. That's really the best part of these old guns - finding out their history, if you can!

# ? Feb 28, 2015 18:31

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 23:41

Isaac: Aug 3, 2006; Fun Shoe

Im back at home now and I don't think anyone else is going to tinker with it. Just keep it as an ornament. My folks were really stoked at the info in this thread thanks all.

# ? Mar 1, 2015 07:59

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > What is this gun