Eduard Ebigt's capsule pistol. Types of duel Dueling pistols of the 19th century

Many things that are now done in one-two were previously more difficult and required much more time. Like reloading weapons. Below is an interesting video showing the process of preparing weapons for a duel.

At the same time, we will find out others Interesting Facts about the most famous duel in Russia

Frame: the film "Pushkin: The Last Duel"

One hundred and eighty-one years ago, the chamber junker Alexander Pushkin fought in a duel with the lieutenant of the cavalry regiment Georges de Gekkeren (Dantes). The circumstances and the course of the duel seem to have been thoroughly studied, but historians still cannot say for sure why Pushkin's opponent survived, despite the bullet hitting him in the chest? Saved by his own hand, which he defended himself with, was a copper button, or he cheated and took advantage of additional protection - such a version pops up in publications from time to time. "Lenta.ru" about how they fought in duels and whether a button could protect a duelist from a bullet.

In the duel, Pushkin, as you know, was mortally wounded in the stomach. Dantes, according to the report of the senior police doctor, was wounded "in right hand right through and got a concussion in the belly.

We decided to consider the technical aspects of the duel - tactics, the level of training of shooters, the characteristics of weapons, etc. We paid special attention to the notorious button and the hypothetical cuirass of Dantes. We managed to find two videos showing experiments with firing dueling pistols at metal button plates, get a comment from a surgeon and an expert on muzzle-loading weapons.

Lessons in morality and good manners

A strictly regulated duel not only allowed the nobleman to respond to an insult, but, according to the plan of European moralists, contributed to the improvement of morals in society. After all, an awkward joke or an inappropriate pun could end fatally for the wit. True, the duel required to completely equalize the chances of opponents, and in duels with melee weapons, the advantage in health, age and training often turned the duel into a legalized murder. This was used to, without violating the law, to deal with an opponent and even a political opponent.

The gun changed everything. It was not for nothing that he was called the equalizer of chances: an old man could defeat a young man, a strong man could yield to a weak one. The relative availability of weapons and ammunition allowed civilians to practice shooting as thoroughly as the military. Finally, there was always an element of chance in a duel with pistols. By the middle of the 18th century, pistol duels began to dominate, and by the end of the 19th century they had almost supplanted other types of fights.

The first dueling sets were produced by the workshop of the British gunsmith Menton (Manton) - a pair of completely identical pistols (they were distinguished only by the numbers "1" and "2" on the details) in a special case made of expensive wood. In addition to weapons, the set included a powder flask, a supply of bullets, a bullet gun, ramrods, a hammer and an oiler.

Who fought duels

Only nobles could fight duels - inter-class fights were not allowed. Duels between blood relatives, sick people were also excluded; it was considered ridiculous to fight old people or teenagers, one could not accept a challenge for career or economic reasons, a creditor could not fight a debtor.

The rules were very different. Opponents could shoot from a spot, and whoever fired the first shot was determined by lot. But more often they shot ahead of the curve, for example, the opponents stood with their backs to each other, at the command of the second they quickly turned around, cocked the hammers and fired a shot. The most famous option is a duel with barriers, this is how Pushkin and Dantes fought. In the Russian version, barriers - any object, a sword, a cloak - were placed at 10-15 steps, this is seven to ten meters. Opponents were separated by 20-30 steps. At the command of the second, they began to walk in the direction of the barriers and could shoot at any moment from any distance.

If the shooter missed first, he remained in place (in the so-called "duelist pose" - half-sided, the hand covers the chest, the pistol - the head), and his opponent could come close to the barrier, aim and shoot. For a return shot, a minute was usually given, for a wounded shooter - two. Those who delayed lost the right to shoot. A misfire was also considered a shot.

Pushkin and Dantes had barriers at 10 steps, opponents were bred at 20 - five steps to the barrier each.

The weapons were capsule pistols, presumably by the famous French master Lepage with rifled barrel caliber 12 mm. “In terms of accuracy, these pistols are not inferior to modern ones. Record for 25 meters - 100 points. A modern sports target, an ordinary ten, good shooters put 10 bullets into it,” says Igor Verbovsky, representative of the Russian branch of the Association of Muzzle Loaders in the International Committee of Muzzle Loading Associations, explaining that today in many countries, including Finland, Poland, the Baltic states, competitions in shooting from ancient weapons.

The weight of gunpowder in dueling pistols ranged from three to eight grams, depending on the caliber. A 50-caliber bullet weighing about 12 grams left the barrel at a speed of about 350 meters per second. Its energy reached 730 Joules - this is slightly more than that of a TT pistol, however, the penetration ability of a round lead bullet was much lower, and it lost speed faster than a modern bullet. According to the most common version, the seconds loaded the pistols of Pushkin and Dantes with weakened charges of gunpowder.

How did the Russians do it?

It is believed that Russian duels were particularly bloody - in Europe, barriers were usually placed at 30 steps, and for satisfaction it was enough to shoot in the direction of the enemy. In Russia duels were often fought until one of the duelists was killed or badly wounded. A duel was practiced “through a handkerchief” - from a distance of an unfolded handkerchief, the ends of which the duelists held with their hands. In 1824, the future Decembrist Ryleev shot with Prince Konstantin Shakhovsky from three steps, because of the close distance, the bullets hit the opponents' pistols twice.

dueling pistols Lepage

In the first half of the 19th century in Russia, for the military, the refusal to duel actually meant retirement, for a secular person - excommunication from high society. Historians believe that the wars of the beginning of the century - the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809 and the foreign campaigns of the Russian army during the Napoleonic wars - played a significant role in this. On the one hand, many officers got acquainted with the traditions of the European aristocracy, including dueling, on the other hand, many military men were prone to post-traumatic syndrome - military officers were used to looking death in the face, they felt like winners strongest army peace and the liberators of Europe. This was reflected in exaggerated ideas about honor and attitude towards duels.

How did the fights go?

Literature and cinema have formed a duel stereotype: duelists slowly walk towards each other, slowly raising their pistols, carefully aiming ... In fact, the duel could look completely different. “There was such a strategy - it was preferred by experienced duelists - to quickly, almost run, go your distance and shoot at the approaching enemy, explains Igor Verbovsky. “The shooter created favorable conditions for himself: it is difficult for his opponent to make an aimed shot on the move, in addition, standing sideways, you reduce your projection as much as possible, and when you walk, it is difficult to do so.”

Technically, it is not difficult for a trained shooter to run five steps and quickly hit a target the size of a human torso from seven meters. According to Verbovsky, at a costumed shooting show in Finland, Russian shooters from muzzle-loading weapons specifically set up an experiment: a moderately trained shooter, who had never dealt with dueling pistols before, practically ran up to the barrier and fired offhand at a cardboard target. Of the six attempts, five were successful. One bullet hit the edge of the target, the rest hit closer to the center line.

Pushkin also chose this strategy in the last duel, he very quickly covered the distance to the barrier and began to aim. But Dantes outplayed him, shooting immediately, not reaching the barrier just one step.

Level of training of duelists

Alexander Sergeevich was known as a good shooter and, according to legend, from 10 steps he could hit a card ace from a pistol. “The targets have not been preserved, but there are memories of contemporaries,” says Verbovsky. - In exile in Chisinau, the poet, barely getting out of bed, without getting dressed, shot at the wall with a pistol many times. There are recollections of his serf that during his exile in Mikhailovskoye, Pushkin every morning put a hundred bullets into the wall of the barn. In general, he had a reputation as a good shooter, they were afraid to shoot him.

Even the fact that, being seriously wounded, Pushkin found the strength not only to fire back, but to hit the enemy, says a lot about his skill and character. The poet shot reclining, leaning on his left hand.

Painting by Adrian Volkov "The last shot of A. S. Pushkin"

Dantes, a professional military man, also had to have good marksmanship training, in addition, as Verbovsky recalls, while studying at an officer school in France, he won the championship title in pigeon shooting. This is the forerunner of modern trap shooting or sporting (shooting from a shotgun at flying clay plates).

Pushkin is sometimes called an experienced duelist, almost a breter, attributing dozens of duels to him. In fact, the poet had about 30 dueling stories - this is how they call situations with a challenge to a duel, but most ended in reconciliation. Before the duel with Dantes, the poet went to the barrier four times, and only once shot at the enemy, but missed. There is no exact information about the duel experience of Heckeren-Dantes.

Why Dantes survived

In anticipation of the shot, Dantes, as expected, stood sideways, hiding behind his hand with a pistol. The bullet pierced the forearm and hit the torso - having been wounded, he fell, but quickly got up.

According to the official version, a button saved Dantes from a bullet, but it was not presented at the trial. This gave rise to rumors that Pushkin's killer was playing a foul game, wearing chain mail or a cuirass specially made for him, tightly fitting to the body. After all, before the duel, the opponents were not examined.

Photo: provided by the Russian branch of the Association of muzzle-loading weapons

The opinions of modern experts on this matter differ. “The bullet fired by the poet pierced the sleeve, the soft tissues of the arm, the sleeve again and hit the fabric of the uniform, which it could no longer pierce. On the front surface of the chest, protected by a uniform, there could well have been no damage at all, including abrasions. Although the wounded, of course, would have felt a blow to the chest, ”commented surgeon Mikhail Khramenkov to Lente.ru.

During the Finnish experiment, shots were fired at a mannequin (a plastic bag with earth, dressed in an M65 jacket), on which copper plates two millimeters thick and about five centimeters in diameter were attached - they played the role of buttons. With a reduced weight of gunpowder, up to 3.5 grams (the same weakened charge), the bullet did not pierce the button, leaving a dent and breaking through the bag. Of course, this experiment cannot be considered scientific, if only because of the material of the dummy. Nevertheless, European, in particular English, sources of the 18th-19th centuries speak in support of the “button” version, describing cases when buttons and coins were saved from a pistol bullet, and the victim experienced severe pain as a result of the hit, but remained practically unharmed.

On the other hand, we do not know exactly how much gunpowder was in the pistol from which Pushkin fired, because when he fell, the barrel of his pistol clogged with snow, and the seconds gave him another one. The authors of the documentary-staged film “Pushkin. 29th duel" also experimented with 19th-century weapons. They have a bullet fired at a dummy made of ballistic gelatin, pierced the body and drove a button into it.

Dueling pistols. October 6th, 2016

Hello dear.
Since you and I continue to pedal the topic of duels, then we certainly cannot get around the topic of dueling weapons, and specifically dueling pistols. I will not touch on other types of weapons now, but most likely I will talk a little about them in the next post. As we have already found out, it was the pistol that became the main dueling weapon in Russia. And this has its own logic, because almost any nobleman could fight with pistols. Pistols equalized rivals in age, physical development, degree of fitness. Shooting skill in a duel was much less important than swordsmanship. And in the first place came the case and the psychological balance of the shooter. After all, as part of the Russian national proverb says "a bullet is a fool" :-)

The dueling pistol is a special type of weapon that differs from other types. And not in the sense that they were technically very different, not at all. Most often, it was a kind of work of art. And a very beautiful piece. Most dueling headsets (we'll talk to you a little later about what they are) were distinguished by particularly careful workmanship. They were decorated with engraving on steel, inlaid with gold and silver, the stocks were made from valuable varieties of trees. The trunks were forged from the best varieties Bouquet Damascus and were deep blued in black, brown or blue. The decor often used arabesques and grotesques. In general, beauty.

This is not surprising. The nobles were shooting, and many of them were far from poor people. Well, in the last minutes before a possible death, they wanted to hold something elegant and beautiful in their hands. A sort of almost Japanese aesthetics of death.
Although the main thing, of course, in a dueling pistol was not beauty and aesthetics, but reliability and lethal force. By the way, here in the middle of the 20th century, a certain commission that investigated the causes of Lermontov's death in a duel fired control shots for comparison from a dueling pistol and an army TT, which was then in service. It turned out that the penetrating power of a dueling pistol is only slightly inferior to the power of the TT, whose shelled pointed bullet pierces through eight dry inch boards at a distance of 25 meters. These are the pies...

But we digress a little.
So, speaking of dueling pistols, we must understand that speaking of them in the singular is absolutely wrong. Pistols were purchased in the so-called headset, that is, a dueling pair of pistols, differing from each other only in the number on the handle (respectively, I and II), a charging ramrod, a wooden hammer, a bullet gun, a powder flask, a powder measure, tools - a screwdriver, cleaning, a kreuzer for unloading a pistol . All this was compactly located in a special box. This is called a headset.

Before the first thirds of XIX centuries, the dueling pistol was equipped with the so-called "French battery" lock, that is, a flintlock. What is the point. the castle consisted of two "dogs" in one of which there was a flint, and the other a steel. When the trigger was pressed, the "dogs" converged and knocked out a spark that fell on the powder shelf under them and ignited the powder on it and in the barrel, after which a shot followed. Well, just in case, I’ll tell you if anyone forgot or didn’t know that the pistol was single-shot and muzzle-loading. That is, before the shot, it was necessary to put the gunpowder tight, and then hammer the bullet wrapped in wad. The bullets were round, lead, with a diameter of 12-15 mm and a weight of 10-12 grams.

flintlock

It is clear that this castle did not contribute to the success of the duel. There were a lot of misfires. When it rained, it was very difficult to shoot at all. And if the seconds also agree and put a double or triple charge of gunpowder so that the return is stronger and there is more smoke, then it was completely difficult to hit.
A real revolution in the dueling business was made by the creation of the so-called capsule lock by Alexander John Forsyth (a priest, by the way). The dog was now capsule-sized, that is to say, a copper cap, protected from the weather and inside of which there was a chemical mixture that ignited the gunpowder in the barrel. Misfires, the influence of the weather were almost completely eliminated, the amount of smoke decreased and, as a result, the accuracy of shooting. It is these dueling pistols that have gained the widest distribution.

capsule lock

Since, according to unspoken rules, duelists usually had to shoot from unfamiliar weapons, the headset was purchased at a time. Further, either surrendered to a pawnshop, or left for his own collection. By the way, it does not matter which pistols could be used in a duel - rifled or smoothbore. The main thing is that they are the same.

Initially, English dueling pistols were considered the best, most stylish and fashionable. But over time, the fashion for them has passed, and French and German ones have become a trend. However, our gunsmiths did not lag behind: in St. Petersburg at the merchants Kurakin, Zhernakov, Ponomarev, Surguchev, Shishkin, as well as in the workshops of the court gunsmiths Bertrand and Orlov. In Moscow, pistols could be ordered from Artari Colomb on Basmannaya or Ivan Aristov. In Tula - at Nikita Krapivintsov's. In Paris - at the gunsmith of Napoleon Nicolas Butet, at Tom's in the Delorme gallery; at Devim on Italian Boulevard; at Karon and Firmen in Opera passage; at Gustin-Renette on Rue Antenne. In Germany, at famous dynasty Kuchenreiter gunsmiths from the city of Regensburg in Bavaria. In Prague - at Antonin Vincent Lebeda
But perhaps the most famous were the products of Henri Lepage, which could be ordered in Paris on Richelieu Street, or at his representative office in Russia.

Dueling set from Lepage

In the end, I suggest you admire this elegant, but deadly work of art.

Pistols from Ivan Aristov

from the Kuchenreiters

Products from Bute

Product from Gustin-Rinette

by Devim

Arms of Antonin Vincent Lebeda

Have a nice time of the day.

How did the duel take place and how did they duel

Rules of duels (Duel Code Durasov Vasily Alekseevich)

First of all, a duel is an occupation of the nobles, commoners and raznochintsy should not have anything to do with it, and an occupation of noblemen equal in position and status. According to the “Dueling Code of Durasov” of 1912, insults can be:

The first degree - hurting pride and violating decency (apparently an oblique look, the code does not specify what exactly).

The second degree - offending honor (gestures, swearing).

The third degree is usually an insult by action (from a wound, to a blow or throwing a glove, a touch is enough).

If there are aggravating circumstances: a woman or a weak person is offended, the severity automatically increases by a degree, if vice versa, the severity decreases.

The insulted person chooses a weapon, depending on the severity of the insult, he can have privileges (when insulted by an action, he can set distances, fight with his weapon, choose the type of duel, etc.).

If someone cannot fight, then a relative or an interested person can replace him.

One quarrel - one duel.

ESPECIALLY INTERESTING NOW - for slandering a journalist if he is unavailable - the editor or the owner of the leaflet where the libel is printed is dueling.

Duels are divided into:

Legal (according to the rules on pistols, swords or sabers);
- exceptional (having deviations from the code in the conditions);
- for secret reasons (they don’t want to wash dirty linen in public, but they are ready to make a hole in each other).

The seconds are appointed from worthy ones, of which the court of honor - three decide contentious issues, the seconds can kill the violator of the duel rules.
Having received an insult, the offended must declare to his opponent: “Dear Sovereign, I will send you my seconds.” If the opponents do not know each other, they exchange cards and addresses. Then they communicate through seconds.

Before the duel, a “Protocol of the meeting” is drawn up, where they describe how the duel will go and the “Protocol of the duel” - how it went (there are forms in the code, I’m not kidding).
At the duel, you can’t speak, make extra sounds except for “I fuck you mother!” after a hit or injection, violate the orders of the duel leader (!), violate the commands “stop”, “shoot”, “1,2,3”.

For swords, an alley is chosen wide and long, for pistols, an open area.

It is better to undress to the waist, but you can also wear clothes that have been tested for protection.
They fight on swords either, having the opportunity to jump around and around, or put their left legs on the indicated point and stab each other, retreating three steps is defeat. You can fight to the limit, you can do it with breaks of 3-5 minutes per round. They fight with the hand they are used to, you can’t change it.

The swords are either their own or someone else's, of the same length, the seconds should have a bench tool for urgent repairs, including a vice and files (I'm not kidding).

A bunch of rules like knocked out a weapon, fell, wounded - you can’t finish it off, otherwise you’ll lose, yell a little loudly and defend yourself, but you can’t attack anymore, in general, you violated something - you will be punished.

Pistol duel at 25-35 steps in Europe, 10-15 in Russia.

The six types of legal pistol duels are:

1. Duel on the spot on command: they shoot from 15-30 steps while standing after the command: “one”, but not later than “three”.
2. Duel on the spot at will: shoot from 15-30 steps after the command "shoot" as they wish, they can stand with their backs and turn around.
3. Duel on the spot with successive shots: shoot from 15-30 steps, determining who is first by lot.
4. Duel with approach: converge from 35-45 steps to the barrier (mark) with a distance between the barriers of 15-25 steps, you can shoot as soon as the command "approach" arrives. You can’t shoot on the move, you stopped and fired before the barrier, wait in the same place, the enemy can approach the barrier itself.
5. Approach and stop duel: the same distances, but you can shoot on the move, after the first shot everyone freezes like rabbits and shoots from the stop.
6. Duel approaching along parallel lines: they go towards each other along parallel lines, at a distance of 15 steps, it is impossible to shoot at once.

All duels have a time limit on the second shot.

The head of the duel is in charge of the action, oversees the loading of weapons by the seconds or a specially invited prima ballerina from the loaders, how they bow at the beginning, during and after, scribbling denunciations to the officer meeting (!)

Usually two shots are fired, a misfire is usually counted as a shot (even a serviceable flintlock of high quality workmanship gave 15 misfires for 100 shots).

You can show off: shoot in the air, it’s only legal for the second, the first is not allowed, although they did it, if the first shoots into the air and the second does so, the first loses, and the second can shoot at him, if he doesn’t hit, he won’t be punished.

You can’t talk, burp, fart - they will consider it unworthy and count the loss.

The conditions for a duel with sabers are the same as those for a duel with swords. The only difference is that the duel of this type of weapon can take place on straight or curved sabers. In the first case, opponents can chop and stab, in the second, only chop. (Remark: I climbed to look for a “straight saber”, I found “a cavalryman’s straight saber, five letters - a broadsword.” Or I don’t know something, or the broadsword became a straight saber or the saber was a curved broadsword, but we’ll write it off as a shock, go on, Durasov figured it out in "straight sabers" better than ours).

Here are the rules in a nutshell. You just need to understand that, as it is said in "Pirates caribbean"- The "Pirate Code" is not a set of laws, but recommended concepts." It's the same here - if you want to duel with two-handers - no one forbids it, your cause is "noble". At the end of the twentieth century. shot at ten paces from the "sea" Colts - siege artillery, in the First World War and Civil War from Mausers and Nagans. Recommendations are for that and recommendations, so as not to fulfill, the main thing is to find the same crazy like-minded people.

The madmen were regularly, therefore not described in the code, but the "exceptional" duels that took place:

1. At a noble distance: the appointment of a distance of more than 15 steps, the probability of a successful outcome was small. Meanwhile, it was at the initial distance of 20 steps from his opponent that Alexander Pushkin was mortally wounded.
2. Fixed duel blind: opponents stand motionless at a specified distance, with their backs to each other. After the command of the steward, they, in a certain or random order, shoot over their shoulders. If both are still intact after two shots, the pistols can be loaded again.
3. Put a pistol to the forehead: a purely Russian version, opponents stand at a distance that provides a guaranteed hit (5-8 steps). Of the two pistols, only one is loaded, the weapon is chosen by lot. At the command of the steward, the opponents simultaneously shoot at each other.
4. Muzzle to muzzle: a purely Russian version, the conditions are similar to the previous ones, but both pistols are loaded. In such duels, both opponents often died.
5. Through a handkerchief: a duel with a 100% fatal outcome was appointed in exceptional cases. The opponents took the opposite ends of the handkerchief with their left hands and, at the command of the second, fired at the same time. Only one pistol was loaded.
6. Duel in the grave: fired at a distance of no more than ten steps, almost 100% death for both.
7. American duel: suicide by lot. Rivals in one way or another cast lots, and the one on whom it fell was obliged to commit suicide within a short time. The "American duel" was resorted to more often in cases where it was not possible to arrange a traditional duel (due to legal prohibitions, too unequal position of rivals, physical restrictions), but at the same time, both rivals believed that differences could only be resolved by the death of one of them .

As a variant of the “Russian roulette” duel with one cartridge in the drum, and it happened that only one cartridge was taken out of the drum. It is also called hussar roulette, also soprano, although there are great doubts both in the Russian origin of this phenomenon (the first mention was in 1937 in the article "Russian Roulette" in the American magazine "Collier's Weekly"), and in its wide application due to the lack of documentary sources. There are a number of inconsistencies, in particular, the article describes Russian officers in the First World War, but the number of Nagant cartridges is 7 pcs. (I myself was shocked, I double-checked, I also thought that 6), and it describes a revolver with 6 rounds, so perhaps “Russian roulette” is not so “Russian”.

Duel weapons

In the 18th century, duels became more and more common. firearms, mainly - trigger single-shot pistols. Scary weapon- a single-shot dueling pistol equipped with a flintlock or capsule lock - in the hand of an experienced shooter, there was little chance for the enemy. Differences in combat experience, moral and physical qualities of the participants never made the duel absolutely equal. The statement that the same pistols gave duelists equal chances during a duel is true only in comparison with more ancient tools for sorting out relations such as a sword or saber. In the middle of the 18th century, pistol duels became the most common, and the appearance of dueling weapons finally took shape. First of all, it should be noted that the pistols were paired, absolutely identical and did not differ from each other in any way, with the exception of the numbers "1" and "2" on the structural elements. To eliminate misunderstandings, the seconds brought two boxes of pistols to the duel. In the 18th and in the first third of the 19th century, pistols were equipped with a flintlock, the so-called "French battery" ignition lock, which was invented by the mechanic and writer Chevalier de Aubigny. This lock was improved by the great English gunsmiths Joseph Menton, James Perde, Charles Lancaster, Harvey Mortimer, Henry Knock and was a very progressive mechanism for its time. The principle of its operation was quite simple and in many ways resembled an ordinary lighter. A piece of specially sharpened and broken flint was clamped in the hard jaws of the trigger. Opposite it was a steel flint and steel, under it was the so-called "shelf" with fine seed gunpowder. When the trigger was pressed, the flint hammer hit the steel strongly, the shelf automatically folded back and a bright beam of sparks fell on the gunpowder. Through a special seed hole in the barrel breech, the fire got inside and ignited the main charge. A booming, booming shot followed. However, flintlock pistols had some drawbacks: first of all, a bright flash of gunpowder on a shelf and a cloud of smoke interfered with the accuracy of the sight. Despite the invention by the British of a special “waterproof” lock, shooting in rainy, damp weather was extremely risky, because moisture soaked the gunpowder on the shelf and often led to a misfire, and a misfire, according to the harsh rules of a duel, was equated to a shot.

Over time, a safety cocking of the trigger, or half-cocking, appeared on the shock-flint locks: the shooter cocked the trigger to half, while the sear of the trigger fell into the deep transverse cutout of the ankle of the trigger, and the trigger was blocked. For a shot, the trigger had to be cocked to the combat platoon, while the sear was included in the second, less deep notch of the combat platoon, from which the trigger could already be released by pulling the trigger. This became necessary, among other things, due to the appearance of the first (muzzle) cartridges designed to increase the rate of fire of the military from the muzzle of loaded guns. When using such a cartridge, its paper shell was used as a wad over a bullet, so the gunpowder was first poured onto the castle shelf, and only then poured into the barrel. If the trigger had remained cocked while the bullet was being sent into the barrel, it could have happened random shot, which would inevitably end in a serious injury to the shooter. Before the advent of muzzle cartridges, for safety, gunpowder was usually poured from the powder flask first into the barrel, and only then onto the shelf.

The first safety devices in their modern form appeared even with shock-flint, and even wheel locks. On expensive flintlock hunting rifles and rifles there was a fuse in the form of an engine located on the keyboard behind the trigger, which in the forward position fixed the trigger on a half-cock, so that it could not only be lowered, but also cocked to a combat platoon. This ensured complete safety when carrying a loaded weapon. At the wheel lock, the fuse usually looked like a flag located in the back of the keyboard, which in the rear position did not allow the cocked trigger to be pulled, blocking the sear. The most expensive variants of matchlocks could have the same fuse.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Alexander John Forsyth, a modest Scottish priest from Bellelview County, made a truly revolutionary turn in the history of firearms. He invented a fundamentally new igniter lock, which would later be called "capsule". The meaning of the innovation boiled down to the fact that now it was not gunpowder that ignited on the seed shelf, but a special chemical composition. Later, the composition ignited by impact was placed in a copper cap-primer, put on a steel rod - a brand pipe, through which the fire instantly went into the barrel.

The dueling pair was placed in an elegant box along with accessories. Usually they consisted of a charging ramrod, a wooden hammer, a bullet gun, a powder flask, a powder measure, tools - a screwdriver, cleaning, a kreuzer for unloading a pistol. The seconds of the opponents in front of each other, jealously following all the subtleties, measured out an equal amount of gunpowder, carefully wrapped the lead bullet with a special leather plaster and, using a ramrod, hammered it into the barrel with hammer blows. The bullets were round, lead, with a diameter of 12-15 mm and weighing 10-12 g. Black smoke powder was put in 3-8 g. According to the rules, it was allowed to use both rifled and smoothbore pistols, as long as they were exactly the same. All dueling pistols had sights. On the earliest samples, the sight and front sight were fixed, like army weapons. Later, adjustable sights appeared - front sight horizontally, rear sight - vertically, to adjust the aiming line. Sometimes the trigger mechanism of the pistol was equipped with a special device that softens the trigger force - a shneller, but most duellists preferred the usual "tight" descent. This is explained simply - in excitement, unable to control his own finger, the shooter could give an involuntary, random shot past the target. And without a shneller, the pistol made it possible to make a very accurate shot.

The well-known weapons historian Yu.V. Shokarev, in one of his articles, says that “in the middle of the last century, an expert commission that studied all the circumstances of Lermontov’s death fired control shots from a dueling pistol and a powerful army TT. It turned out that the penetrating power of a dueling pistol is only slightly inferior to the power of the TT, whose shelled pointed bullet pierces through eight dry inch boards at a distance of 25 meters. But most duels took place at a distance of 15 steps ... ”Some slaves of honor happened to shoot at 6 steps. However, it should be said that in special, absolutely exceptional cases, the seconds of the opponents, not wanting the death of their friends, allowed, by mutual agreement, some liberties when loading pistols. The most innocent was a double or even triple charge of gunpowder: when fired, the pistol was strongly thrown up and the bullet flew past the target.
“Criminal” from the point of view of the code of honor was simply not lowering a bullet into the barrel, which was so well described by M.Yu. Lermontov in "A Hero of Our Time".

Pistols could be purchased without special police clearance from any major gun shop or directly from a gunsmith. The products of English gunsmiths were considered the best, but ... in 1840 in England, on the initiative of peers, admirals and generals, a society was created, whose members swore under an oath not to take part in duels anymore. Thus, under the influence of the British elite protesting against duels, duels were rejected and all conflicts were resolved in court.

Since that time, the production of dueling pistols in England has practically ceased, and gunsmiths have switched to the creation of sports, road and hunting weapons. The palm passed to the French and German masters. Pistols were bought in all European capitals and even ordered by mail. Needless to say, dueling sets have always been distinguished by particularly careful dressing. These perfect killing mechanisms were decorated with steel engraving, gold and silver inlays, stocks made from aged butt of Italian walnut, ebony or Karelian birch. The trunks were forged from the best varieties of Bouquet Damascus and subjected to deep bluing in black, brown or blue. The handles of the pistols were covered with beautiful grooves - flutes. The decor often used arabesques and grotesques - stylized ornaments of flowers and plants, bizarre images of half-humans, half-animals, mysterious masks, faces of satyrs, mythical monsters and acanthus leaves. Dueling pistols were expensive, but who would have dared to bargain, acquiring an instrument of honor.

Much less often for duels, long-barreled firearms were used (dueling with guns, rifles, carbines) and multiply charged pistols or revolvers, for example, the "sea" Colt. The duel on rifles and guns was popular in America and Mexico, the "American" duel consisted of two or a group entering a house, a forest, a gorge, finding an enemy there and seeing what happens. This is already a completely wild kind of duel, rather than a noble, but commoners.

A sword (from Italian Spada) is a long-bladed piercing-chopping or piercing weapon with a blade length of 1000 mm or more, directly descending from a one-and-a-half-handed sword, straight, in early designs with one or two blades, later with a faceted blade, as well as a characteristic developed a complex-shaped hilt with a protective bow, weighing from 1 to 1.5 kg. The epee appeared, like many types of sword, in Spain in the 1460s. Gradually, the sword became lighter and turned into a sword, which at first was just a light sword with a somewhat complicated hilt, which made it possible not to wear a plate glove. The sword was originally chopped, only over time it became predominantly a stabbing weapon.

What can be called a combat sword is a reiter sword, common among armored reiter riders (from German Schwarze Reiter - “black riders”), they preferred not to cut into the infantry formation like cuirassiers after firing, but systematically shoot the infantry from pistols. They had a sword as an auxiliary weapon, since most of the reiters were from southern Germany, the legendary mercenaries famous throughout Europe gave a name to their sword. The Reiter sword (German: Reitschwert (“rider’s sword”) is a stabbing and chopping weapon with a straight blade, total length is 1000-1100 mm, blade length is 850-950 mm, blade width is from 30 to 45 mm, crosspiece width is 200 -250 mm, weight from 1100 to 1500, there are early samples weighing up to 1700. It was most popular in the cavalry of the 16th century, it was mainly used as a sword, and more chopping than stabbing.

A rapier or civilian sword with a straight blade about 1100-1300 mm long, weighing about 1.5 kg is familiar to us from films about musketeers, where they are forced, out of ignorance of the directors, to brandish and stab it like later models. In fact, fencing with such a rapier was rather poor, a stabbing attack, a few simple defenses, rather evasions, rarely rang with blades and a couple of basic chopping blows, for example, a “muzhik”, when a sword grabbed with two hands was struck with all the dope. Musketeers, whose fencing skills were extremely poor, were taught something like this, in the time of d'Artagnan fencing was considered shameful, you had to win at the expense of strength, chopping, otherwise it was considered dishonorable. The musketeers shot badly (they didn’t carry a matchlock musket, preferring to buy guns for their money), they fenced even worse, but sometimes they only burst into the bastions with swords, inspiring well-deserved horror, however, like the cardinal’s guards, who were not inferior to them. But basically the musketeers were engaged in the dispersal of peasant uprisings and political arrests, for which rapiers were enough for them. It fell out of use in the 17th century, and was often used in tandem with fist shields, then dags (daggers).

Short swords (English Small sword "small sword") piercing weapons with a straight blade about 800 mm long, total length about 1000 mm, weight 1-1.3 kg. They can be either with blades or exclusively faceted with a sharpened point. Appearing in the middle of the XVII century under the influence of the French school of fencing fr. Academie d "Armes, founded at the end of the 16th century, subsequently almost supplanted other types of swords. These are the swords familiar to us in later times, which were owned by officers, sometimes soldiers, of course nobles, according to status, it later relied on university students or their graduates , was a distinction of the status of civil officials and gradually degenerated into a ceremonial weapon, still used today and sports swords and rapiers.

The saber in its usual sense appeared in the 7th century among the Turkic peoples as a result of the modification of the broadsword, the first sabers were found in the kuruk near the village. Voznesenki (now Zaporozhye). Saber (Hungarian szablya from Hungarian szabni - “cut”) chopping-cutting-stabbing edged bladed weapons with an average length of a curved one-sided blade sharpening of 80-110 cm, with a mass of 0.8-2.6 kg. The saber appeared as an idea to reduce the weight of the blade with the same cutting abilities, by reducing the contact area and, in general, copes with the task. As a bonus, with a slight bend, it became possible to inflict a cut wound, which significantly increases the chances of quickly incapacitating the enemy due to large blood loss.

In the countries of Central and Western Europe sabers were not common until the second half of the 16th century, they received recognition in the 18th-19th centuries, and swords and swords were mainly used. AT XVII-XVIII centuries under Eastern European influence, sabers spread throughout Europe and are cavalry weapons, they are armed with hussars, dragoons and mounted grenadiers. They came from the sabers of the Polish-Hungarian type. During the Egyptian campaign, the French introduced the fashion for Mamluk-type sabers, and the Cossacks, who flaunted such popular weapons in Paris, only strengthened it. Sabers began to be used everywhere in European armies, regardless of the military branches, up to aviation. As ceremonial weapons, sabers and broadswords (or dragoon drafts) are still used in many countries.

Weapons and dueling code

Pistol length: 39.5 cm

Material: metal, wood

Moving parts: trigger, lock

Single gun weight: 800g

Manufacturer: Denix (Spain)

Packing: color carton box

Does not require permission to purchase and carry
Attached certificate

This product does not apply general system discounts

You can look at other products of the brand Denix

You can only buy 19th century dueling pistols from store or with courier delivery in St. Petersburg. This product is not sent by mail due to the prohibition of the Russian post on sending items structurally similar to weapons.

- Is this weapon a firearm?

No, this is not a firearm, not a pneumatic, not a traumatic or airsoft weapon.

In our shop only models of weapons are sold.

- What gift storage options can you offer?

Our store sells wall brackets to place the model on the wall.

Dueling pistols were used during fights in defense of honor and dignity between two rivals and had to comply with all the rules of the code. This is a set of rules for dueling, not confirmed by the official authorities, but known and observed in those classes in which duels were practiced. In our country, the most famous was the Durasov Code of 1912.

Initially, firearms were not used in fights, they chose what was always at hand - sabers, swords, rapiers. It even came to anecdotal cases when candelabra or cobra became weapons. With the advent of dueling pistols in the 19th century, factors such as the physical strength or age of the opponents ceased to play any role in the duel. They were to be exactly the same (this was checked by the seconds) and were usually numbered. Each of the rivals came to the battlefield with his own pair of pistols, which should not have been shot by him, and which one to use was decided by lot. Dueling is currently prohibited by law.

You can see what dueling pistols are in the video: