Two pistols ... in a thousand

[fernando]

Yes. No more than a thousand of these were made by Westley Richards for a Portuguese contract, in 1867.
This pattern, called monkey tail, due to that peculiar breech lever, was already obsolete, when it was supplied and distributed to the Portuguese cavalry regiments. When this famous gunmaker introduced this breech loading system for percussion guns, some ten years prior to this date, the idea was revolutionary, but soon front loading and ignition cap were condemned, in favor of modern systems, like the metalic cartridge and center fire.
Apart from some pistol prototypes, namely the ones presented to British Ordnance ( without success), it seems as only rifles were produced with this system, except for the said 1000 pistols ordered by the Portuguese Government.
Fernando

[kahnjar1]

Can't say more!!

[fernando]

I must say i feel frustrated ( ) for not having been contemplated with more coments, except for Stu's nice WOW!!!!
After all, it was through these pistols that i became famous ... just kidding . But in fact they brought me a web relation with an Australian nice guy, who decided to write an article on such Monkey Tail pistols, having included me as co-author, something which never happened before and will certainly not happen again; eventually i only made the pictures and helped a little in the data research .
I am feeling lazy to go read the Forum rules; i will risk to post here the two magazine covers in which the four page article was published.
In the remote possibility that some member is interested in reading the article, i can email scans; not so clear, but still readable.
Fernando

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[kahnjar1]

I agree with your comments entirely. These pistols are RARE!!!!
I have noticed of late that actual replies to threads are not as forthcoming in some cases as they used to be. Plenty of Forumites looking, but not the response I would have thought. I personally have posted a number of items asking for comment, and not received any, which is frustrating, as I believe that the knowledge is certainly out there.
It is a pity as KNOWLEDGE SHARED IS KNOWLEDGE GAINED.
Stu

[celtan]

You're so right Stu!

The thing is that often we are so tired, and reading of a subject we don't know much about also makes us wary of making dumb comments that reflect our ignorance.

Best regards and thanks for all your contributions, guys.

BTW, Fer
How did you load those guns? Is that sort of a preloaded reloadable cartridge. within the chamber?

[fernando]

Allright guys, those words brought me some confort
Manolo, these guns were loaded with paper cartridges (with enclosed bullet), that were placed at the breech chamber. The nipple holes had a capillary section, so that the percussion cap flames passed through like a jet, strong enough to perforate the cartridge covering, and ignite the charge. These cartridges were first made of skin (intestine) and later with combustible paper; in both cases covered with a disposable (tear off) outer layer. When placing the ammunition into the breech and closing the block, a bronze plunger placed under the lever pushes the cartridge into the barrel, at same time acting as a seal to prevent gas from escaping through the breech. But the revolutionary concept in this system is that the cartridge itself carries a wad, gummed in its bottom so that, when shooting the thing, the wad completely seals off the gases, optimizing the shooting power. And when you shoot the second round, the prior wad is expelled through the barrel, acting as a bore cleaner.
Any further questions, just tell
Fernando

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by celtan

You're so right Stu!

The thing is that often we are so tired, and reading of a subject we don't know much about also makes us wary of making dumb comments that reflect our ignorance.

Best regards and thanks for all your contributions, guys.

BTW, Fer
How did you load those guns? Is that sort of a preloaded reloadable cartridge. within the chamber?

Hi Celtan,
I hear what you are saying, but this is a DISCUSSION forum, so even if the info given is not entirely correct, it will no doubt be righted by someone. There are MANY items discussed here which I personally have no knowledge of, but I am always ready to learn, even if the questions I ask or the comments I give are not correct.
I DO note however that much the same user names keep appearing, which would suggest that there a quite a number of members who are not actively contributing by way of discussion. Unfortunately you can not force responses, but only provide the medium to do so.
Regards Stu