A cyclist pistol

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by fernando

Hi Bill,
Rimfire allright.
Definite calibre dificult to say, due to the wide variety of small ammo developed at the time.
A short .22 fits in rather well. The original caliber could be a "bosquete" or a "flobert" saloon version. The type of amunition without powder charge, the bullit being impelled by the fulminant deflagration.

Hi fernando,

Would this have to do with pulvis fulminant deflagration?

[fernando]

Hi Bill,
I wouldn't know about this pulvis thing.
What i meant to say is that, some low power ammunitions do not contain any gunpowder charge in the cartridge, the projectile being propelled by the primer deflagration. According to what i've read, these calibers fall into saloon shooting category, developed by this guy Flobert, sometimes also called Bosquette, or both. As i heard that, in the beginning, these pistols were just to frighten the dogs, i have made the referred association.
In this new picture i show another example, with an hexagonal barrel, one inch shorter that the previous one. Total weight 130 grams. The caliber is about the same. This is a later version, from around 1920-30. The trigger is an arrangement.
I find the shape of the previous one much more interesting.
Hi Robert,
I apreciate your info, but i actually don't shoot with my pieces, just collect them for fun. I've had enough shooting in the army and so.
fernando

fernando

[Philip]

Fernando,
It is quite amusing to imagine a priest on a bicycle trying to shoot a dog that's chasing him and trying to nip at the hem of his cassock! One doesn't expect European clergymen to be carrying firearms as they rode around their parishes! (of course in the American West it was another story, but my reference books say that Velo-Dog pistols were never made in the US)

Your two pistols happen to be single-shots. I'm more familiar with the Velo-Dog revolvers made until after the First World War in France, Germany, and Belgium. The revolver version of these dog pistols was first made in 1894 by Galand in Paris (this firm was noted for its revolver designs, they even made a double-action service pistol for the imperial Russian navy).

The Velo-Dog revolver took a 5.5 mm center-fire cartridge that is a little longer then the common .22 rimfire "long" cartridge used today in rifles all over the world. However, the 5.5 mm is less powerful than the .22 long rifle cartridge.

Do your pistols have chambers long enough to accept the .22 long cartridge? Also, are your guns center- or rimfire? (you can tell from the position of the firing pin relative to the chamber opening). If your dog guns take a much shorter cartridge, then they are probably older models, used before the 1894 revolvers came on the market.