Under hammer “boot pistol”

This under hammer percussion pistol was manufactured, probably in the mid-late 1800's, by Bacon & Co. These types of guns where known as "boot pistols". I don't know for sure where the name comes from, but would guess these were backup guns that could be stowed away inside your boot - in other words an early sub-compant CCW :)

mail 4288x2848 pixels 2 tfb tm Under hammer boot pistol photo
I love the clean lines on this gun.

mail 4288x2848 pixels tfb tm Under hammer boot pistol photo

mail 4288x2848 pixels 1 tfb tm Under hammer boot pistol photo

For those of you who are interested, its markings are "Bacon & Co. Norwich C-T" and "Cast Steel".

Thanks to Heath for the photos.

Related Posts

Steve Sep 29th 2009 blackpowder, handguns Tags: , , 8 Comments

8 Responses to “Under hammer “boot pistol””

  1. Heathon 30 Sep 2009 at 3:14 am link comment

    Thanks for helping me find out about this piece. My uncles tell me it’s been in the family since it was carried by a relative who was a surgeon general around the time of the Civil War.

  2. Donon 30 Sep 2009 at 5:08 am link comment

    That configuration would lend to a very simple and elegant trigger/hammer release mechanism. I like it.

    -D

  3. Donon 30 Sep 2009 at 5:12 am link comment

    Here’s a picture of an underhammer mechanism.

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j7PMWDJke08/SHglO1wGsDI/AAAAAAAAALE/8aLxp3ZAfAU/s320/Ingrham+Pistol+Action.JPG

    The geometry is such that you could easily manufacture these from 1/4 inch steel by the hundred using a single CNC waterjet operation.

    -D

  4. Matt Groomon 30 Sep 2009 at 7:15 am link comment

    Pretty neat. I bet this was a Bootlegger’s best friend when the chips were down.

  5. Steveon 30 Sep 2009 at 12:11 pm link comment

    Don, thanks for the link. Very elegant in its simplicity.

  6. Seth from Massachusettson 30 Sep 2009 at 2:07 pm link comment

    It is my understanding that the name boot pistol comes from the days when men rode horses in large humbers. They wore boots right up to just below their knees. It was customary to carry all kinds of things by puting them into the boot tops. This is how the term bootlegging for smuggling comes from. Having a long thin pistol like this made it easy to carry in a boot top, making it readily accessable while sitting on a horse.

  7. Tom Stoneon 30 Sep 2009 at 2:37 pm link comment

    I had the pleasure of shooting a very similar pistol a number of years ago.The balance was superb and it had a good trigger.despite the lack of sights it was easy to hit a coke can at 15 yards quickly.These were effective last ditch weapons and I would certainly prefer one of these to a raven 25.

  8. P47f6fon 01 Oct 2009 at 4:48 pm link comment

    I believe Dixie Gun Works had a either a working replica of one of these or a kit for one. The only under hammer I have any experience with was a rifle. It worked great, but for firearms of that peoird I will stick with my .54 Hawkins.
    Art

Trackback URI

Leave a Comment

Comment Policy: I reserve the right to remove comments at my discretion. Think of comment threads like a dinner party at someone's house. If you make the party unpleasant for others or me, you won't be invited back. I am happy to tolerate a wide range of viewpoints, even extreme ones, but I'm not going to tolerate nastiness, rudeness, trolling, vitriol, or excessive snarkiness toward the author(s) or other commenters. You may make your case passionately, but civility is expected. Please stay on topic and respect the technical nature of this blog.
Spam Filtering: To avoid spam, comments are filtered using Akismet and then manually approved. Do not be alarmed if you comment does not appear instantly. I do not check the spam folder more than once per day.