7 samples of non-standard pistols

The entire history of firearms, including pistols, is associated with the experiments of engineers who were aimed at making them as convenient and effective as possible. But this did not always work out, but it was thanks to the imagination of gunsmiths that a considerable number of unusual weapons were born, surprising with design features or technical characteristics. Here you will find the seven samples of non-standard pistols, which were born from the imagination of gunsmiths.

• 1. Pistol with a blade

  The first attempts to create hand firearms could not give a reliable, effective pistol, so they preferred to combine it with the usual cold arms. Among vivid examples of such hybrids one can name knife-pistols, sword-pistols, ax-pistols, and others. In fact, the pistol mechanism in such weapons was simply attached to the blades or vice versa.

  But in most cases, such a combination cannot be called successful: firearms were still not very effective, and swords or knives significantly lost their capabilities in such conditions. However, this did not prevent gunsmiths from conducting such experiments on hybridization until the century before last.

• 2. Shooting shield

  An even more unusual variant of hybridization is the combination of the properties of a firearm and a shield. Thus, history has preserved references among the documents of the Tower of London for 1542 about "steel shields with small cannons." This was a real masterpiece of medieval weapons thought.

  Several features of such weapons are also known: for example, the gun was placed in the middle of the shield, and it was polished so thoroughly that it could "dazzle the enemy with the reflected brilliance of the Sun." In addition, a viewing hole was made in it from above, which, for security reasons, was covered with a grate. That's just evidence of the effectiveness of such a shooting shield has not been preserved; but such a hybrid is certainly of interest as it was.

• 3. Tromblon

  The appearance of the tromblon seems to whisper about its belonging to the pirates - this is how this weapon is described. But in reality, it was used by a huge number of people of various professions for almost three centuries. Besides that it has accumulated a lot of names during this time: blunderbuss, musketoon, trombone, tromblon, trabuco.

  By the way, it also happened because this pistol did not have clear manufacturing standards, and its various modifications were named differently. The only common design feature was the wide flare at the end of the barrel, which allowed the weapon to be quickly loaded, as well as to fire most types of ammunition known at that time. Perhaps this is what made it so popular among the pirates who did not have a regular supply of weapons - by the way, it was from them that it got another name - a boarding gun.

• 4. "Duck foot"

  After the production of standard pistols was already mastered at a high level, gunsmiths began to come up with unusual modifications to improve efficiency and power. A fairly popular solution was to achieve multiple charges, and most often it came at the expense of a multi-barrel design. The most famous example of such a weapon was the so-called "duck foot", brought to life in the 17th century.

  Unlike other multi-shot pistols, for the first time, the barrels of this one were not located close to one, but in a row. It was impossible to call such a weapon accurate, however, at that time, hand-held "firearms" in general did not distinguish in it. Most often, it was used by naval officers and jailers when they needed to put down an uprising quickly. But with the evolution of weaponry, more and more powerful types of weapons appeared, that’s why the “duck foot” at the beginning of the century before last began to go into oblivion.

• 5. Jarre "Harmonica"

  Another version of the repeating pistol was patented in the early 1860s by a French inventor named Jarre. But the essence of his concept was to arrange horizontally not the barrels, but the chambers, in this case, a revolving drum. The weapon got its unusual name "Jarre Harmonica Pistol" due to its strong resemblance to a harmonica. Despite the good design, the weapon did not become popular: it was too difficult to aim, and the cartridges for which it was made were by that time becoming obsolete.

• 6. Revolver knuckles-dagger "Apache"

  Another unusual hybrid that combines three types of weapons – is a combination of a revolver, knuckles and a dagger. But with regards to the sphere of its application, discussions have not ceased for many years - the pistol was patented in 1869.

  Among the most frequent users of Apache are Parisian robbers with the same nickname, which they, in turn, borrowed from the famous American Indian tribe for their cruelty. And there is also a reverse version - they say that wealthy Parisians escaped from these "apaches" with the help of an unusual pistol. This pistol also did not receive popularity, remaining, in fact, in the dark Parisian gateways, largely due to his unreliability.

• 7. TKB-506 Device

  In the middle of the 20th century, when the Cold War was in full swing, the Soviet gunsmith Igor Stechkin developed the SP-2 silent cartridge, which worked according to the “powder gas cut-off principle”. It was excellent ammunition for the arsenal of agents abroad. However, in order to make weapons of this functionality as hidden as possible by order of the KGB leadership, Stechkin additionally created a personal concealed weapon. It turned out to be a shooting cigarette case, known under the TKB-506A index. In order to shoot, it was enough to press a button that looked like an ordinary cigarette case latch, and silent cartridges made such a weapon almost perfect. But for completely incomprehensible reasons, the unusual pistol did not gain much popularity.