Balkan Flintlock Pistol
 

Hello ALL

I haven't posted anything lately. So here is a new member of the family.

Here is a pistol of moderate interest. It is well worn and appears to have seen a lot of action in it's day, with various alterations along the way.
The first thing I noticed was the grip area of the stock. The grip looks very much like pistols from the Montenegro area. Interesting that the semi-famous later revolvers from this area kept a similar grip configuration.
The grip once had checkering, but is almost completely worn off. There is a thin, one-piece reinforcing metal strap that travels from the rear of the crude trigger guard to the rear of the breech plug tang. There is a big chip of wood missing from the stock above the front of the lock plate. The stock does not appear to have been refinished.
The barrel is 10 inches long and about .65 caliber. Not really sure if the barrel is a European export or a locally made piece. It's pretty well worn. But the breech plug assembly leads me to think it was originally a European trade barrel. The barrel appears to have originally been flintlock, and later converted to percussion, then re-converted back for flintlock use. Not unheard of with these pistols.
The lock is a fairly crude, local example. It functions, but has seen much usage. The frizzen to pan screw has been replaced with a pin. And looks as though it was done a long time ago. The hammer guide has been bent allowing the top jaw to wiggle sideways. The lock does not fit the stock mortise correctly. I'm sure it's a replacement, but done long ago as the vent hole and pan do align properly.
The barrel bands are 20th Century replacements. (But done very well. Wish I knew who made them LOL).

I've dis-assembled the gun and there are no markings anywhere. But that is common for many of these Balkan made pistols.
It's all a bit of a mess. But I was able to purchase it VERY cheap. And it does represent another Balkan style that I didn't have in my collection.

So my best guess is that this pistol was originally made in Montenegro, or at one of the Balkan gun shops for a Montenegrin customer. What do you think ?

Rick

MORE PICS.......

PICS OF GUN DIS-ASSEMBLED.......

TWO MORE......

Hi Rick,

Another gun!!

Yes, according to Oliver, they are Montenegrin pistols.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=montenegrin

Take care
Kubur

:)

I like it, thanks for posting!

The form of the butt was intended to give the impression that the owner was packing a M 1870 Gasser pistol (which I believe fired the largest black powder shell of its time.) Since only the butt showed above the holster or silahluk, it probably worked. The most interesting thing about these Gasseresque flintlocks is that they were used well into the 20th century.

Very much reminds me of the Philippine knife/dagger with a hilt made to look like a pistol grip. Intimidation or mere fashion?
As for late period use, I one time bought a couple of percussion pistols from Colonel Corry that were 1960-70's Iranian police confiscations from Kurdish tribesmen, still loaded!

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. Interesting the prolonged use of this grip style. The so called Gasser revolvers are quite popular with some collectors. Especially if you can locate one in good condition.

Judging by it's condition and alterations, the flintlock posted here looks like it was still in use during the early 20th Century. LOL

Rick