My New Balkan pistol.

rickystl · 23rd September 2017, 04:31 PM

Hi David

Nice pistol. The butt of the pistol does indeed look second quarter of the 19th Century. It does seem that many of these horse pistols made in or for the Eastern market have French influence in one form or another.
Hmmmm. This is a tough one to guess. The short trigger is a bit curious. I notice the trigger guard is set with screws versus simply nailed to the stock as most Balkan style pistols I've seen. I notice the frizzen screw is attached from the inside of the lock rather than the outside, which seemed to be favored on Eastern made pistols.And the squared, serrated frizzen also being typical. And no ramrod provission. Both the barrel and the lock are probably unmarked. But a view of the inside of the lock may give us additional clues.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards this being a made for export pistol - from somewhere.

Rick

David R · 23rd September 2017, 08:13 PM

One suggestion on the European side of the forum is that it is Spanish. A gunsmith friend then suggested a Madrid made pistol, which would account for the "French" style lock and stock. Which seems as good an answer as any at present. When I dismount it, I will post further pictures on both forums.

rickystl · 24th September 2017, 04:56 PM

Hi David.

A good pic of the interior of the lock and the breech plug of the barrel could give us additional clues. Looking forward to your pics. Thanks.

Rick

23rd September 2017, 04:31 PM	#1
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,633	Hi David Nice pistol. The butt of the pistol does indeed look second quarter of the 19th Century. It does seem that many of these horse pistols made in or for the Eastern market have French influence in one form or another. Hmmmm. This is a tough one to guess. The short trigger is a bit curious. I notice the trigger guard is set with screws versus simply nailed to the stock as most Balkan style pistols I've seen. I notice the frizzen screw is attached from the inside of the lock rather than the outside, which seemed to be favored on Eastern made pistols.And the squared, serrated frizzen also being typical. And no ramrod provission. Both the barrel and the lock are probably unmarked. But a view of the inside of the lock may give us additional clues. At the moment, I'm leaning towards this being a made for export pistol - from somewhere. Rick

23rd September 2017, 08:13 PM	#2
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,123	One suggestion on the European side of the forum is that it is Spanish. A gunsmith friend then suggested a Madrid made pistol, which would account for the "French" style lock and stock. Which seems as good an answer as any at present. When I dismount it, I will post further pictures on both forums.

24th September 2017, 04:56 PM	#3
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,633	Hi David. A good pic of the interior of the lock and the breech plug of the barrel could give us additional clues. Looking forward to your pics. Thanks. Rick