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57-397: The original Philadelphia Deringer was a muzzleloading caplock single-shot pistol introduced in 1825 by Henry Deringer . In total, approximately 15,000 Deringer pistols were manufactured. All were single-barrel pistols with back-action percussion locks , typically .41 caliber with rifled bores and walnut stocks . Barrel length varied from 1.5 to 6 in (38 to 152 mm), and

114-464: A .45 caliber pistol cartridge from an unrifled barrel. Due to this limitation, it was intended for short-range use (1–4 yards (1–4 m)) either as a last-ditch self-defense gun or to sneak up on and kill an unsuspecting Axis soldier to steal a more serviceable weapon. Its maximum effective range was only about 25 feet (8 m). At longer range, the bullet would begin to tumble and stray off course. Five extra rounds of ammunition could be stored in

171-461: A Short Range World Championship in even-numbered years and a Long Range World Championship (300–1,000 yd (270–910 m)) on odd numbered years (South Africa has won the last 5 Long Range World Championships). Driven by demand for muzzleloaders for special extended primitive hunting seasons, firearms manufacturers have developed in-line muzzleloading rifles with designs similar to modern breech-loading centerfire designs. Knight Rifles pioneered

228-405: A ball which is slightly smaller than the barrel diameter. In other types of round ball firing rifles, a ramrod and hammer is used to force the round ball down through the rifling. When fired, either the lead ball or the wrapping grips the rifling and imparts spin to the ball which usually gives improved accuracy. In rifles firing Minié balls , the patch, often the paper wrapping from the cartridge,

285-485: A base metal for silver-plated cutlery and other silverware , notably the electroplated wares called EPNS (electroplated nickel silver). It is used in zippers , costume jewelry , for making musical instruments (e.g., flutes , clarinets ), and is preferred for the track in electric model railway layouts, as its oxide is conductive . Better quality keys and lock cylinder pins are made of nickel silver for durability under heavy use. The alloy has been widely used in

342-486: A bright and powerful sound quality; an additional benefit is that the metal is harder and more corrosion resistant than brass. Because of its hardness, it is used for most clarinet, flute, oboe and similar wind instrument keys, normally silver-plated. It is used to produce the tubes (called staples) onto which oboe reeds are tied. Many parts of brass instruments are made of nickel silver, such as tubes, braces or valve mechanism. Trombone slides of many manufacturers offer

399-422: A closed breech, sealed primer and fast rifling to allow for considerable accuracy at long ranges. Modern mortars use a shell with the propelling charge and primer attached at the base. Unlike older muzzleloading mortars, which were loaded the same way as muzzleloading cannon, the modern mortar is fired by dropping the shell down the barrel where a pin fires the primer, igniting the main propelling charge. Both

456-677: A form of German silver was also developed in Birmingham, England . After the modern process for the production of electroplated nickel silver was patented in 1840 by George Richards Elkington and his cousin Henry Elkington in Birmingham, the development of electroplating caused nickel silver to become widely used. It formed an ideal, strong and bright substrate for the plating process. It was also used unplated in applications such as cutlery. Nickel silver first became popular as

513-436: A loose propellant (i.e., gunpowder ) and projectile, as well as a separate method of ignition or priming. In general, the sequence of loading is to put in first gunpowder, by pouring in a measured amount of loose powder, historically mostly by using a powder flask (or powder horn), or by inserting a pre-measured bag or paper packet of gunpowder (called a cartridge ) or by inserting solid propellant pellets. The gunpowder used

570-458: A practical derringer design. These first model deringers have brass frames and fired the recently introduced .22 Rimfire metallic cartridges. The second model was a .30 Rimfire deringer. The third model deringer was a .32 Rimfire, with an iron frame, and the barrel release was moved from under the frame to the left side of the frame. The fourth model deringer was also a .32 Rimfire, with a new "birdshead" grip and slightly shorter barrels, otherwise, it

627-412: A priming charge was placed in the priming pan or a percussion cap was placed on the nipple, the firing mechanism initiated; the cock or hammer was then cocked to make the firearm ready to fire. Muzzleloading firearms generally use round balls, cylindrical conical projectiles, and shot charges. In some types of rifles firing round ball, a lubricated patch (see Kentucky rifle ) of fabric is wrapped around

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684-558: A second Deringer. Accuracy was highly variable; although front sights were common, rear sights were less common, and some Philadelphia Deringers had no sights at all, being intended for point-and-shoot use instead of aim and shoot, across poker-table distances. Professional gamblers, and others who carried regularly, would often fire and reload daily, to decrease the chance of a misfire. Deringer's production records, and contemporaneous records of his imitators, indicate that these pistols were almost always sold in matching pairs. (A typical price

741-541: A tremendous boost in the 1960s and 1970s. The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (www.MLAIC.org) was formed in 1970 and held its first World Championship in 1971. Since then a flourishing industry manufacturing working reproductions of historic firearms now exists in the United States and Europe , particularly in northern Italy , for example at Gardone Val Trompia , in the Province of Brescia . In

798-535: A wide range of accessories and also horse gear. Presently, Plains metalsmiths use German silver for pendants, pectorals, bracelets, armbands, hair plates, conchas (oval decorative plates for belts), earrings, belt buckles, necktie slides, stickpins, dush-tuhs , and tiaras . Nickel silver is the metal of choice among contemporary Kiowa and Pawnee in Oklahoma . Many of the metal fittings on modern higher-end equine harness and tack are of nickel silver. Early in

855-585: A woman’s hand-warmer muff . Originally made as flintlocks , later versions used cap and ball ignition and sometimes featured turn-off barrels for faster reloading. Double-barreled caplock pocket pistols, commonly known as twister pistols, became popular in England during the Regency era and also saw use among Union Army officers during the American Civil War . These served as the forerunner to

912-463: Is a cupronickel ( copper with nickel ) alloy with the addition of zinc . The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the element silver . It is named for its silvery appearance, which can make it attractive as a cheaper and more durable substitute. It is also well suited for being plated with silver. A naturally occurring ore composition in China

969-417: Is made from felt, paper, cloth or card and has several different uses. In shotguns , a card wad or other secure wadding is used between the powder and the shot charge to prevent pellets from dropping into the powder charge and on top of the shot charge to hold it in place in the barrel. In smooth bore muskets and most rifles used prior to cartridges being introduced in the mid-to late nineteenth century, wadding

1026-458: Is no residue left in the barrel to reduce accuracy, though in competitions run by the international governing body, the MLAIC, this is prohibited for military rifle and musket events. However, in small arms muzzleloading rifles, swabbing is only done after every 5-10 shots. Large caliber muzzle-loaders such as cannons are always swabbed between shots to prevent accidents caused by live sparks igniting

1083-454: Is significantly smaller than a small-frame revolver. A smaller-caliber version of the "Mini COP" in .22 Magnum was also made by American Derringer. DoubleTap derringers are modern, hammerless , double-action, double-barreled, large caliber derringers designed for personal protection and introduced by DoubleTap Defense in 2012. They feature stainless steel ported barrels and aluminum or titanium alloy frames. They also hold two extra rounds in

1140-480: Is typically black powder or black powder substitutes like Pyrodex . Sometimes two types of gunpowder (and two flasks) were used consisting of finer priming powder for the flash pan and coarser powder for the main charge behind the ball. This was particularly the case with earlier muzzleloaders like matchlocks but appear to have been less common with flintlocks and was irrelevant with percussion locks since they used percussion caps rather than priming powder. Wadding

1197-534: Is used as an initial seal and to hold powder in place during loading. The Minié ball replaced the round ball in most firearms, especially for military use, in the 1840s and 1850s . It has a hollow base which expands to grip the rifling. The combination of the spinning Minié ball and the consistent velocity provided by the improved seal gave far better accuracy than the smoothbore muzzleloaders that it replaced. When aiming for great accuracy, muzzle-loaders are usually cleaned ("swabbed") before reloading, so that there

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1254-423: The .32 short Rimfire "Rider Magazine Repeating" pistol. The magazine tube under the barrel held five rounds of ammunition, plus one in the chamber. Muzzle velocity was between 675 and 700 ft/s (206 and 213 m/s) with a 60-grain (3.9 g) .32 bullet. This particular model featured a hammer that also drew back the breach block and lifted a new cartridge out of the magazine upon cocking. Relaxing one's grip on

1311-607: The Deringer became widely popular among civilians who wished to own a small and easily concealable pistol for self-defense. In the Old West, derringers were commonly known as vest-pocket pistols, sleeve guns, and boot pistols. In total, approximately 15,000 Deringer pistols were manufactured. All were single-barrel pistols with back action percussion locks, typically 0.41-inch (10 mm) rifled bores, and walnut stocks. Barrel length varied from 1.5 to 6 inches (38 to 152 mm), and

1368-415: The Old West gambler's over-and-under deringer and also to the pepperbox revolver with the addition of a ratchet to mechanically rotate the barrels. The Philadelphia Deringer was a small percussion handgun designed by Henry Deringer (1786–1868) and produced from 1825 through 1868. A popular concealed carry handgun of the era, this pocket pistol design was widely copied by competitors, sometimes down to

1425-827: The United States muzzleloading guns are, subject to a number of qualifications, generally not considered firearms. Subject to state law they may be possessed by persons who might otherwise not be legally allowed to own a firearm. The American National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association holds two national tournaments a year in Friendship, Indiana as well as the Western National Shoot Event held in Phoenix, Arizona. The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (MLAIC) governs international competition with muzzle-loading arms. The MLAIC holds

1482-523: The ammunition into the breech end of the barrel . The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from cannons to small-caliber palm guns ). Modern muzzleloading firearms range from reproductions of sidelock, flintlock and percussion long guns, to in-line rifles that use modern inventions such as

1539-399: The barrel, followed by ramming a patched lead ball down onto the powder, being very careful to leave no air gap between the patched ball and the powder, to prevent the handgun from exploding when used. (The purpose of the patch on the ball was to keep the ball firmly lodged against the powder, to avoid creating what was called a "short start" when the ball was dislodged from being firmly against

1596-446: The capacity while maintaining a compact size, by adding a second barrel on top of the first and pivoting the barrels upward to reload. Each barrel chambered one round, and a cam on the hammer alternated between the top and bottom barrels. There were four models with several variations. The .41 Short bullet moved very slowly, at about 425 feet per second (130 m/s), around half the speed of a modern .45 ACP . Remington also constructed

1653-582: The closest visual similarity to silver. The brothers Henniger in Berlin and Ernst August Geitner in Schneeberg independently achieved this goal. The manufacturer Berndorf named the trademark brand Alpacca , which became widely known in northern Europe for nickel silver. In 1830, the German process of manufacture was introduced into England, while exports of paktong from China gradually stopped. In 1832,

1710-466: The eighteenth century there are references to it as having been exported from Canton to Europe. German artificial recreation of the natural paktong ore composition, however, began to appear from about 1750 onward. In 1770, the Suhl metalworks were able to produce a similar alloy. In 1823, a German competition was held to perfect the production process: the goal was to develop an alloy that possessed

1767-418: The fresh charge of powder as it is being loaded. Muzzleloading is the sport or pastime of firing muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the United States in the 1930s, just as the last original users and makers of muzzleloading arms were dying out. The sport received

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1824-597: The generic phrase "palm pistol", which Deringer's competitors invented and used in their advertising. With the advent of metallic cartridges , pistols produced in the modern form are still commonly called "derringers". The ancestor to the deringer of the Old West was the boxlock overcoat pistol used by travelers from the late 18th century onward as protection from highwaymen . These were also known as boot pistols , Toby pistols, manstopper pistols , vest pocket pistols , and muff pistols because they could be concealed in

1881-515: The grip. Its makers have stated that they drew inspiration from the FP-45 Liberator pistol, which also held extra ammunition in the grip. Muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads

1938-470: The hammer closed the breech block, but left the hammer cocked. A military pistol that is a deringer design is the FP-45 Liberator , a .45 ACP insurgency weapon dropped behind Axis lines in World War II . The FP-45 was a crude, single-shot pistol designed to be cheaply and quickly mass produced . It had just 23 largely stamped and turned steel parts that were cheap and easy to manufacture. It fired

1995-467: The hammer, under the tube. Because of their small size and easy availability, Deringers sometimes had the dubious reputation of being a favored tool of assassins . The most famous Deringer used for this purpose was fired by John Wilkes Booth who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. , on April 14, 1865. Booth's Deringer was unusual in that

2052-566: The hardware was commonly a copper-nickel alloy known as " German silver ". The term "derringer" ( / ˈ d ɛr ɪ n dʒ ər / ) became a genericized misspelling during the reporting of the Lincoln assassination, which was committed with a concealed Philadelphia Deringer. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gunmakers worldwide, and the name remained often misspelled; this misspelling soon became an alternative generic term for any pocket pistol , along with

2109-412: The hardware was commonly a copper-nickel alloy known as " German silver ". The back action lock was a later, improved design among locks, which had its spring and mechanism located behind the hammer, where it was thereby protected from dirt, fired cap residue, and gunpowder residue, unlike earlier front action locks that had their springs and mechanism located directly in the path of such residue in front of

2166-647: The in-line muzzleloader in the mid-1980s, manufacturing and selling them to this day. Savage Arms has created the 10ML-II, which can be used with smokeless powder, reducing the cleaning required. However, Savage has discontinued the production of smokeless muzzleloaders. Remington Firearms also have a muzzleloader in production, the model "700 Ultimate" or "700 SL Ultimate". There are several custom gun makers that are currently building smokeless muzzleloaders on new or donor bolt actions. German silver Nickel silver , maillechort , German silver , argentan , new silver , nickel brass , albata , or alpacca

2223-412: The markings. For loading a Philadelphia Deringer, one would typically fire a couple of percussion caps on the handgun, to dry out any residual moisture contained in the tube or at the base of the barrel, to prevent a subsequent misfire. One would then remove the remains of the last fired percussion cap and place the handgun on its half-cock notch, pour 15 to 25 grains (1 to 2 g) of black powder down

2280-399: The modern mortar and the older mortar were used for high angle fire. However, the fact that the mortar is not loaded in separate steps may make its definition as a muzzleloader a matter of opinion. Muzzleloading can apply to anything from cannons to pistols but in modern parlance the term most commonly applies to black powder small arms . It usually, but not always, involves the use of

2337-723: The pistol grip. The original delivered cost for the FP-45 was $ 2.10 per unit, lending it the nickname " Woolworth pistol". While the classic Remington design is a single-action deringer with a hammer and tip-up action, the High Standard D-100 , introduced in 1962, is a hammer-less, double-action derringer with a half-trigger-guard and a standard break action design. These double-barrel derringers were chambered for .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum and were available in blued, nickel, silver, and gold-plated finishes. Although they were discontinued in 1984, American Derringer obtained

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2394-429: The powder.) A new percussion cap would then be placed on the tube (nipple), and the gun was then loaded and ready to fire. (The half-cock notch prevented the hammer from falling if the trigger was bumped accidentally.) Then, to fire the handgun, the user would fully cock the hammer, aim, and squeeze the trigger. Upon a misfire, the user could fully re-cock the hammer, and attempt to fire the handgun once more, or switch to

2451-442: The production of coins (e.g. Portuguese escudo and the former GDR marks ). Its industrial and technical uses include marine fittings and plumbing fixtures for its corrosion resistance, and heating coils for its high electrical resistance. In the nineteenth century, particularly after 1868, North American Plains Indian metalsmiths were able to easily acquire sheets of German silver. They used them to cut, stamp, and cold hammer

2508-401: The propellant charge. Priming powder could be carried in a separate priming flask and poured into the priming pan or a little powder from the cartridge was used, and the frizzen was pushed down to hold the priming powder in place. After the gunpowder and projectile or shot charge were placed in the barrel a ramrod was used to firmly pack everything down at the base of the barrel. Then either

2565-522: The rifling twisted counterclockwise (left-handed twist), rather than the typical clockwise twist. Daniel Moore patented a single-shot metallic cartridge .38 Rimfire pistol in 1861. These pistols had barrels that pivoted sideways on the frame to allow access to the breech for reloading. Moore would manufacture them until 1865 when he sold out to the National Arms Company , which produced single-shot .41 Rimfire Deringers until 1870 when it

2622-477: The rights to the High Standard design in 1990 and produced a larger, .38 Special , version. These derringers, called the "DS22" and "DA38", are still made and are popular concealed-carry handguns. The COP 357 is a four-barrel, hammerless , double-action, .357 Magnum derringer with the barrels stacked in a 2 × 2 block. Introduced in 1984, it is not much larger than a .25 ACP semi-automatic pistol, and

2679-402: The time muzzleloaders were in use, a round ball and pre-measured powder charge could be carried in a paper or cloth wrapping. The shooter would bite off the end of the paper cartridge with his teeth and pour the powder into the barrel followed by the ball encased in the paper wrapping. The projectiles and wads were then pushed down into the breech with a ramrod until they were firmly seated on

2736-936: The twentieth century, German silver was used by automobile manufacturers before the advent of steel sheet metal. For example, the famous Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost of 1907. After about 1920, it became widely used for pocketknife bolsters , due to its machinability and corrosion resistance. Prior to this, the most common metal was iron . Musical instruments, including the flute , saxophone, trumpet , and French horn , string instrument frets, and electric guitar pickup parts, can be made of nickel silver. Many professional-level French horns are entirely made of nickel silver. Some saxophone manufacturers, such as Keilwerth , offer saxophones made of nickel silver (Shadow model); these are far rarer than traditional lacquered brass saxophones. Student-level flutes and piccolos are also made of silver-plated nickel silver, although upper-level models are likely to use sterling silver . Nickel silver produces

2793-436: Was $ 15 to $ 25 for a pair, with silver-inlaid and engraved models selling at higher prices.) The choice of buying a pair, in part, was to compensate for the limited power of a single-shot, short-barreled pistol, and to compensate for a design considerably less reliable than subsequent cartridge derringer designs. Original Deringers are almost never found still in their matched pairs today. Initially popular with military officers,

2850-448: Was acquired by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company . Colt continued to produce the .41 Rimfire Deringer after the acquisition, as an effort to help break into the metallic-cartridge gun market, but also introduced its own three single-shot Colt Deringer models, all of them also chambered in the .41 Rimfire cartridge. The last model to be in production, the third Colt Deringer, was not dropped until 1912. The third Colt Deringer model

2907-629: Was first used in China , where it was smelted from readily available unprocessed ore. During the Qing dynasty , it was "smuggled into various parts of the East Indies ", despite a government ban on the export of nickel silver. It became known in the West from imported wares called baitong ( Mandarin ) or paktong ( Cantonese ) ( 白 銅 , literally "white copper"), for which the silvery metal colour

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2964-452: Was known from very early on, but until roughly around 1800 loading using a powder flask and a bag of balls was more common outside of the military. The measuring stage for the barrel charge of gunpowder could be avoided by carrying a number of pre-measured charges in small containers of wood, metal or cloth, often carried on a bandolier . These were known by various names, including "chargers" or "apostles" as 12 were often carried. For most of

3021-485: Was re-released in the 1950s for western movies, under the name "Fourth Model Colt Deringer". One of the more common deringers found in the Old West were the Sharps deringers. They are four-barrel, single-action pepperboxes with revolving firing pins. They come in .22 , .30 and .32 rimfire , and their four barrels slide forward to load and unload. First patented in 1849, they were not made until 1859, when Sharps patented

3078-408: Was smelted into the alloy known as paktong or báitóng ( 白銅 ) ('white copper' or cupronickel ). The name German Silver refers to the artificial recreation of the natural ore composition by German metallurgists. All modern, commercially important, nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain zinc and are sometimes considered a subset of brass . Nickel silver

3135-404: Was used primarily to hold the powder in place. On most naval cannons, one piece of wadding was used to hold the powder in place and served the purpose of creating a better seal around the shot. Another was used to act as a plug to stop the shot rolling out because of the swaying of the ship. The use of cartridges with both gunpowder charge and ball, made up in batches by the shooter or a servant,

3192-457: Was used to imitate sterling silver . According to Berthold Laufer , it was identical to khar sini , one of the seven metals recognized by Jābir ibn Hayyān . In Europe, consequently, it was at first called paktong , which is about the way baitong is pronounced in the Cantonese dialect. The earliest European mention of paktong occurs in the year 1597. From then until the end of

3249-466: Was virtually identical to the third model. Production of these little pistols came to an end with the death of Christian Sharps in 1874. Remington Arms manufactured more than 150,000 Model 95 over-under double-barreled derringers, also called the Model 95 Double Deringer , from 1866 until the end of their production in 1935. The gun was made only in .41 rimfire . The Remington derringer design doubled

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