Balkan Flintlock Pistol

rickystl · 6th March 2021, 04:50 PM

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So my best guess is that this pistol was originally made in Montenegro, or at one of the Balkan gun shops for a Montenegrin customer.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

6th March 2021, 04:50 PM	#1
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,621	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 Attached Images