Lincoln Derringer cal 45 at 25 meters

[flibuste]

Hello,

Here is the result of 8 shot at 25 meters, 2 hands hold with rest. No more shot because I seated the 9th ball without powder and had no adequate material at the range to fix it !!!!
The pistol is the basic ARDESA kit with additional inlet (from TOW) and a dovetailed rear sight.
15gr of BP, 15gr of "semoule" (Wheat powder ?),a wet patch and a 0.445 cal ball.

The barrel could probably do better but the problem is rather with the lock which is poorly designed with a weak coiled spring. I have to pull the trigger very strongly otherwise the hammer would stop at the safety notch, hence some move at the start.

Anyway, there is an expression like "does not hit the door of a barn" (by the way how is it exactly ?)which could be reconsidered in this case...

http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=10&u=11021458

 

[Bad Flynch]

BTW, them man who originated that little pistol spelt his name Deringer.

 

[Pancho]

I've got a lot more respect for that little pistol now. It would even be better if you could fix the trigger. Pulling hard must pull you off the target. I don't know what's wrong but someone on the forum will know.

 

[Tru Griff]

I hope you get help with the hard trigger pull as well. I have a Dikar .45 that basically looks the same only 12"s in length and it too has the hard trigger pull. So badly that you cannot get off a descent shot without pulling to the right. Your target shows this problem in some of your hits. Notice how at least 3 are dead on yet to the right?

Picked mine up about a yr ago but have yet to shoot it with a live round because of this.

 

[MutinousDoug]

The common expression is usually: " Can't hit the broad side of a barn" sometimes agumented with "from inside"

 

[flibuste]

Thanks for the correct expression.
In French, for badly missing the target, we would say : "rater une vache dans un couloir", i.e. "miss a cow in a coridor"
Regards

 

[Pulp]

Pretty good shooting. I had a similar pistol several years ago. I shot myself with it twice, decided not to shoot it anymore.

Actually, both were straight back ricochets. One hit me in the thumb, the other in the chest. Neither drew blood, or even left a bruise.

 

[Pancho]

Filbuste, How popular is muzzleloading in France and how do the gun laws effect the use of muzzleloading firearms?

 

[civilwarcollector]

lincoln derringer caliber?

Some books and magazine articles I've read about it say that Booth shot Lincoln with a .41 caliber, and other's I've read say it was .45 caliber. Just wondering what the caliber acually was?
thanks

 

[Roswell 1847]

Probably a .41.
I shot a full one gallon can of red paint with a .41 caliber pocket pistol years ago. Didn't know there was anything in the can, just found it at the place I was shooting. That little pistol with a twenty gr load blasted the can apart like it had been hit by a magnum. Surprizing power for such a small gun.

They have often wondered why Lincolns surgeons disagreed on which direction the bullet took. In Booth's diary he wrote that he'd double loaded his pistol. They always took that to means he used double the amount of powder but I believe he used two balls rather than one. The reason the bullet seemed to go in two different paths inside Lincoln's head was because there was one entrance hole but two slugs.

 

[DrLaw]

Trigger

I built a similar model from a kit. I found that the bar of the sear that contacts the trigger was rubbing on the wood. I filed the bar down a little and that took care of that, but there was still a lot of slack.

I wrapped a piece of brass tubing around the sear bar and that took care of the slack. Now I have a crisp pull without much slack.

I, too, like this little gun. I load it with about 12 grains of powder on top of a patched (from old pajama's) .454 Speer ball. Shoots nice, but I have yet to try to group with it. More of a show-off piece at the moment. When it warms up again I will give it a go.

The Doc is out now.



http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb53/DrLaw45/Derringer1.jpg

 

[DrLaw]

Sorry, meant to do this instead.

The Doc is embarrased now.

 

[Roswell 1847]

Beautiful little gun.

This reminds me of an old toy gun I'd forgotten I'd owned as a kid. It was a very detailed scaled down replica of the Deringer like yours and had cast wood grain plastic stock and diecast metal barrel and very nicely made lock mechanism for a toy. It would actually shoot small balls made of cork propelled by a stick on cap over a touch hole.

I wouldn't doubt that a few kids blew these up stuffing firecracker powder down the bore.

BTW
The pocket pistol I mentioned was one I bought from a kid that had found it being used as a toy by a smaller kid. It was beat up and the grips had been chewed on by a dog. It cleaned up nicely though.

 

[Tru Griff]

Roswell, the cap pistol your talking about sounds like those made in Savanah(spl?) TN. I also had a couple of these as a kid in the 60's but the stock was made of wood. I remember this quite well because the kid down the street did a Daniel Boone swing across my leg with the musket when I asked to have it back. Chased that kid all over the neighborhood but was still limping and couldnt catch up.

Between those and seeing a Civil War reanactment of Shiloh in the early 60's has had me hooked to BP ever since.

 

[DrLaw]

Parris, Tenn.

Parris Manufacturing, iirc. Made a whole line of cork ball shooting cap guns. The cap propelled the cork ball. They had pistols and rifles.

The Doc is out now.

 

[sundance44s]

I had forgotten about my cork ball shooters from the 60`s ..I think I lost interest quick when Mattel came out with the Peacemaker that fired the bullets with the brass cases and plastic bullets on top ...( spring loaded bullet in the case and a stickem cap on the bottom of the shell ) ..lived through many a gun fight with the kids in the neighborhood .

 

[Steve499]

I shot myself with it twice, decided not to shoot it anymore.

Must have been switched to the 3 round burst setting.

How about details, we're all interested in how these things perform anyway, so load, penetration, first words you said afterward, etc., would be very informative!

Steve

 

[flibuste]

Some modifications on my pistol (Tradition / Ardesa basic kit):

- wood has been reshaped at the forehand
- some more inlays
- Plumbrown Birchwood casey on the barrel
- Red and Yellow India ink for a new color ( better like the red !!)

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=109409&stc=1&d=1258558740

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=109410&stc=1&d=1258558788

It is accompanied by a Paolo Bondini Hawken which wrecked original cal45 barrel has been replaced by a GPP cal 54 barrel ; the ramrod is not finalized yet.

Regards

 

[Byron]

Flibuste, Do you know where a kit or finished derringer can be found? Thanks, Byron

 

[jimmyraythomason]

No Lincolns

As a son of the South,I don't own anything with the name Lincoln on it, cars,electric arc welders or guns.

 

[Acorn Mush]

Flibuste, beautiful looking pistols you have there! The Deringer looks just like ones sold here by CVA many years back.

 

[Oyeboten]

Yes...get that Sear tidied up!


Nice shooting, under the circumstances.


That Target is still better than many 'CCW' qualifiers at 5 Yards...

 

[arcticap]

Good lookers you have there flibuste!

Do you know where a kit or finished derringer can be found?

Dixie offers a kit:

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_162_194&products_id=872

Or call Deer Creek Products: 765-525-6181