Duelling pistol

[2] Unless precisely tuned, standard flintlock pistols can have a noticeable delay between pulling the trigger and actually firing the projectile.

Duelling pistols have long and heavy barrels—the added weight helps steady aim and reduce recoil.

[3] Spurs on the trigger guards began appearing after around 1805 to provide a rest for the middle finger to improve the shooter's grip.

[4] All component parts were manufactured, hand-finished, and then adjusted with great care and precision, which made duelling pistols much more costly than standard firearms of the period.

[5] As duels were generally fought at short distances which were paced out, typically 35 to 45 feet (11 to 14 m),[6] between stationary opponents, extreme accuracy was not required.

[11][12] For some in the eighteenth century, duelling with less-accurate, smooth-bore weapons was preferred as they viewed it as allowing the judgement of God to take a role in deciding the outcome of the encounter.

These types are similar to duelling pistols in that they were muzzle-loading weapons that were sometimes expensively made and sold in matched, cased pairs with a set of accessories.

[17] The rules of the "French method" of duelling required the duellists to begin back-to-back, walk a set number of paces before turning and firing.

[21] Participants wore heavy, protective clothing and a metal helmet, similar to a fencing mask but with an eye-screen of thick glass.

These were break action, single-shot weapons that were fitted with a shield in front of the trigger, to protect the hand holding the pistol.

[7] The most famous and innovative manufacturers were London-based companies such as Wogdon & Barton, Durs Egg, Manton, Mortimer, Nock, and Purdey.

[23] Pairs of duelling pistols were often supplied in compartmentalised wooden cases along with a powder flask, rods for cleaning and loading, spare flints, spanners and other tools, and a bullet mould.