[RyanM]

It's not often I make this kind of post, but I just found something crazy, and had to share.

http://www.horstheld.com/0-Confederate.htm

I think the gun speaks for itself, and no comment I could make would add to it.

[22LRFan]

I like how 8 trigger pulls = 4 shots. It's like the predecessor to double action.

[Ginormous]

Har, no wonder we lost the War of Northern Aggression. Our weapons were as dangerous to us, as they were to the opposition. :)

[krs]

I think it would work, but God help you if the rear primers fell off and the first shot started a chain fire.

[alemonkey]

Looks like an engine with the valve covers pulled off.

[Odd Job]

I have to ask a noob question: how does this get loaded, and what mechanism ensures that only one powder charge goes off at a time?

[husker]

are you sure it not a old flute? LOOK A WAY LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY DIXIE LAND. and make sure your friends are looking the other way to. before you pull trig on that thing

[MCgunner]

Just a little ahead of it's time, that's all.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1281426.html

http://media.popularmechanics.com/images/tb_1-21.jpg

[bigbadgun]

That thing just looks plumb dangerous

[theotherwaldo]

That's the first time that I've seen a pistol that doubles as a music box!

[Smokin_Gun]

Kool Guns Both of um... I'll take the four hammer one though... :O)

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Well, if ya'll don't mind I think I'll just stick to my Walkers and my '58's. I agree with Bigbadgun. That thing just look's totally and completely plumb dangersome....

[messerist]

I betcha that a photo comes with the flute pistol. A photo of a one-armed man.:uhoh:

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Messerist..You reckon?!!

[scrat]

YOU COULD NOT PAY ME ENOUGH TO PULL THE TRIGGER. Talk about a chain fire

[crazyjennyblack]

That's the weirdest thing I've seen in quite a while. I suppose you'd load it by putting in the last charge first, then a ball, then the third charge, another ball, second charge, etc....

Would you have to put a bit of lube between the bullet and the next powder charge? Also, there doesn't seem to be enough space between the hammers of the gun to allow for much of a charge or bullet inside the barrel for each shot.

Anyhow, I'm exceedingly intrigued (and also terrified) by this piece and the thought of how it worked and performed, if it ever did either at all.

[kBob]

Goes not look any scarier than earlier flintlock guns with a sliding lock to fire stacked charges or a Roman Candle gun.

Felt greased wads between the charge of the powder and over the bullet of the next load would likely prevent blow by and a roman candle effect.

I wonder why this gun is attributed to a "Confederate" gun smith. It would seem to fit right in with the whole early multi shot handgun fad around abot Colts time and may have been a proto type for a competitor to Colts early revolvers.

I imagine lots of folks were like the older John Browning and spent a good bit of time in the 1850's & 60's trying to find aome way easier machining tolerence wise to make a gun shoot more than once without a revolving cylinder.

I think it is a rather neat application of the trip hammer technology of water mills from late Roman times forward.

-Bob Hollingsworth

[RyanM]

Just a little ahead of it's time, that's all.

The original smith is probably rolling in his grave, over Metalstorm getting more press than he ever did.

----

Would you have to put a bit of lube between the bullet and the next powder charge? Also, there doesn't seem to be enough space between the hammers of the gun to allow for much of a charge or bullet inside the barrel for each shot.

Lube would seep into the powder and quickly deactivate it, I imagine. And then how the holy heck would you unload the thing? Probably naught but a tight-fitting ball and faith in the almighty was between the shooter and disaster. Though I guess people do put lubed wads over their powder in revolvers, without disaster.

For capacity... I'm not that good at eyeballing distances, but it looks like 3/4" to 1" between hammers. Let's compromise and call it 7/8". With .55 caliber balls, you'd have a volume of... a .55" diameter x .875" height cylinder, minus the volume of a full .55" sphere (the front half of one ball and the back half of another). That adds up to... 30.5 grains volume. Probably a bit less than that, as powder couldn't fit into 100% of that space. A modest charge, I suppose.