Dueling pistol

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Set of Dueling Pistols ( Philadelphia Museum of Art )
Pistol duel between Déroulède and Clemenceau on December 21, 1892 (illustration in the Berliner Illustrierte )

Dueling pistols were used a pistol - duel discharge, a voluntary fight with the same weapons to one that has been agreed by the counterparty credit dispute discharge. The duel was traditionally subject to fixed rules.

technology

Only single-shot muzzle - loading weapons were used as dueling pistols , which were loaded with black powder and lead round bullets in calibers from 12 to 17 mm. Dueling pistols were mostly made in pairs. Technically, the dueling pistol developed by the wheel lock - the flintlock - to the percussion pistol . The accuracy of these weapons, which mostly had smooth, non-rifled barrels, was only poor at greater distances. On the other hand, injuries from the large-caliber projectiles were severe and often resulted in death days after the actual duel.

Course of a duel

In the course of the 18th and especially the 19th century, more and more detailed rules for conducting a duel gradually emerged, which were initially handed down orally, but were finally set down in writing. In pistol duels, the number of exchanges of fire (1, 2 or 3) and the fixed distance, which could be between 15 and 100 paces (approx. 11–74 m), varied. With mutual consent, stricter conditions could also be agreed.

literature