forward observer
Member
It seems that I keep adding to my stable of single shot pistols almost by accident.
I found this a couple of weeks ago at a small local gun show. I don't usually see interesting black powder stuff at shows any more, and haven't seen one of these in person in years. They pop up on line every once in awhile. but the dealers always want more than I want to spend.
It's a reproduction smooth bore Charleville pistol of 1777 in .67 cal (approx). Navy Arms and others used to import them, but they seemed to have stopped back in the 1990's. There's no maker's or importer's stamp on this example--just Italian proof marks and a date code for 1976. (fitting since that was our Bicentennial year)
It was very dirty with dark brass and lightly rusted steel parts. However there appeared to be no pitting and the bore was surprisingly clean. The dealer was only asking $175, but I got him down to $130. The black powder Blue Book shows them worth about $270 in good condition. I took it apart and it cleaned up to looking almost new. There is a spring belt clip on the other side. It appears that it has never been shot, but it still gives a good shower of sparks. There is no lock plate as the pan is cast into the brass frame with the hammer and frizzen attached directly.
Along with the French Charleville musket, thousands were imported into the colonies for use by the rebels in our war for independence. Both the pistol and the musket were quite popular. Our first US martial pistol---The M 1799 Cheney & North was an almost exact copy of the Charleville--just a bit larger and without the belt clip.
Here it is with a few props. The glazed clay pipe bowl in the form of the head of a native American is a real period piece. It has been in my family since before they moved here from South Carolina in the 1830's.
I found this a couple of weeks ago at a small local gun show. I don't usually see interesting black powder stuff at shows any more, and haven't seen one of these in person in years. They pop up on line every once in awhile. but the dealers always want more than I want to spend.
It's a reproduction smooth bore Charleville pistol of 1777 in .67 cal (approx). Navy Arms and others used to import them, but they seemed to have stopped back in the 1990's. There's no maker's or importer's stamp on this example--just Italian proof marks and a date code for 1976. (fitting since that was our Bicentennial year)
It was very dirty with dark brass and lightly rusted steel parts. However there appeared to be no pitting and the bore was surprisingly clean. The dealer was only asking $175, but I got him down to $130. The black powder Blue Book shows them worth about $270 in good condition. I took it apart and it cleaned up to looking almost new. There is a spring belt clip on the other side. It appears that it has never been shot, but it still gives a good shower of sparks. There is no lock plate as the pan is cast into the brass frame with the hammer and frizzen attached directly.
Along with the French Charleville musket, thousands were imported into the colonies for use by the rebels in our war for independence. Both the pistol and the musket were quite popular. Our first US martial pistol---The M 1799 Cheney & North was an almost exact copy of the Charleville--just a bit larger and without the belt clip.
Here it is with a few props. The glazed clay pipe bowl in the form of the head of a native American is a real period piece. It has been in my family since before they moved here from South Carolina in the 1830's.