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Posted: 10/4/2024 11:59:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: armoredman][Edited]
First, this gun is a one of two in the world, simply because nobody else thought of doing it. The builder ended up with a bunch of unfinished frames and barrel/blades from the old Tucson made knife pistol. Look at this photo and you will see one perfectly finished model, two that are functional but with unfinished and unsharpened blades, and tow Boot Pistols. The Boot Pistol was made from the unfinished frame of the knife pistol, which was converted to fire a black powder cap and ball load instead. The very first one he tried uses a peice of a cut off 8mm Mauser barrel, which gave a rifle barrel usable with #1 buckshot. #2 uses a 45 caliber smoothbore. The amount of work and skull sweat to get these two guns from concept to full functional is no small effort, to be certain, including several attempts to simple get the hammer geometry right for consistent work, Even now we discovered the 8mm Mauser version needed a new hammer spring, which for the builder is child's play. He is one of the last of the Old World gunsmiths, I think. And he did this for fun, just a lark. Now, looking at them, you will realize - this is NOT a long range gun, and by lng range, I mean 15 yards. I know that becuase shooting at a 15 yard target resulted in no holes in the paper. This is a "poker table distance" gun. It was test fired in a stand first, for safety's sake.  Then in the hand, https://i.imgur.com/JAKubgZ.mp4  This would have been a very slick little last ditch gun, and even now it's just freaking cool. Oh, the 45 caliber version, #2? It came home with me. 
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Interestingly enough, I discovered that the Navy Arms 44 caliber mold drops a conical undersize so that it slides down the bore. This mold was one that came with an Uberti 1860 I bought a few years ago, but came in a Navy Arms box. I tried using it and DAYUM it heats up fast. Attached File So the same guy who put together the boot pistol above made some custom handles for the mold. Attached File The conical is a good fit for the 44. Attached File But the ball is oversize. Lacking a 45 caliber mold, I will try the conical with a fat patch in the 45, see how that works out. of course, accuracy is still going to be abysmal anything past 3 feet, no doubt, but as long as it will make it across a poker table... |
The original in 8mm still retains the rifling from that barrel, so whatever twist was in 8x57JS. The 45 is smoothbore. I will be trying a patched conical because it is what I have that fits, and I may cast up some 230gr 45ACP ball and try that, just for grins and giggles. 
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Originally Posted By armoredman: Saturday we are going to add a boot clip to it that he designed. After all, what's a boot pistol you can't carry in a boot? https://i.imgur.com/NqY13On.jpg https://i.imgur.com/egjJkmG.jpg https://i.imgur.com/0KyRAhw.jpg That, sir, is no boot. Them's blue jeans. 
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I sell firearms produced by the finest child labor in the world, be it Filipino, Muslim, Mormon, Arizonan, or Texan.
I ain't made it up there yet.
And now in an actual boot. I didn't realize how dusty these have become - I wear them for work, as well.  It seemed to ride better behind the ankle. Even so, it's not the most comfortable ride, but in an Old West saloon, comfort might be a distant third behind have an ace in your boot. 
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Mine shoots HIGH...target is on it's side because the wind was BAD. Red star is POA.  Yes, that is an extreme angle down, but there ain't nothin' beyond but mountain, and that light load won't bounce much. As it was, the balls dug in the dirt.  I need to try again using a table as a prop, drawing FROM the boot, and shooting the target at poker table range. With as high as it shoots, probably head shots while aiming at the gut. Dramatic, wouldn't it be? Load was using the cast conicals from the mold I found in my Navy Arms pistol case.   Nice wooden handles added by the same guy who built the boot pistol  They slid in quite easily, patched with a cloth patch. After three rounds the fouling became thicker than I wanted to deal with, and my time was running out as bad weather was rolling in behind me. 
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