FOR SALE English Double "Screw-Barrel" 50 Cal. Pocket Percussion Pistol

[Gunner661]

English Double "Screw-Barrel" 50 Cal. Percussion Pistol for sale. Walnut checkered grips with German Silver (?) oval butt escutcheon, that is engraved "1841". Small unused embedded initial plate. Birmingham proof marks on each barrel and receiver. Scrolling throughout. Pistol attributed to London gunsmith Samuel Nock (1805-1852), nephew of Henry Nock. Used by English gentlemen and officers as a personal protection belly gun.

Professionally cleaned and serviced; however, sold as a collector's piece only. Fires .490" soft lead balls through the .465" bores, backed by less than 10 grains of black powder for each charge. Nipples use #11 caps. Moderate to heavy pitting in the stabilized barrels and breech. A brass breech sealing plate, contemporary barrel wrench and a ballistic nylon gun case are included. Approximately size of pistol: 9" x 4.5"

$475 plus $20 shipping by Priority Mail with Insurance and Signature Confirmation. No FFL required. Message, call or text Chris at (770) 354-8821. Please feel free to request additional photos or additional information. Thanks.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I have some interest in this. Why not use a .455 ball with thin patch? Why use a .490 in .465 barrels? Is that without a patch? Trying to determine nuances because I would be interested in shooting it some.

 

[Gunner661]

The beauty of the old "Screw-Barrel" design is that it forces the lead out bore, making the charge more potent. No patches used. The .465 bore elongates the soft .490 ball, to get that tight seal. You could use .455 balls and patches, but it won't be as powerful, but perfectly safe.

The loading cycle is: unscrew barrel, fill breech level with black powder, place ball on top of powder hole, then lastly screw on the barrel. Now add your primer caps and off you go.

 

[Gunner661]

I've got a full unopened box of one hundred .490 Hornady soft lead balls that I will sell very cheaply with postage.

 

[Alaskagrizz49]

It must be pretty difficult getting those .490 balls down a pipe thats .025" smaller than the bore diameter of .465???

 

[SmokepoleSam]

How much for the roundballs if you are selling them separately? Including shipping.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

AlaskaGriz,

You don't shove the balls down the barrel, you sit them in the breech cup and screw the barrel back on.
They get swaged down on the way out.

Best,
Rich.

 

[Gunner661]

Exactly as Rich stated.

After loading, the shooter has the ability to unload the weapon safely and in doing so, will see how the soft lead ball has been “prepared” by the screwing down of the barrel. The ball will look partially extruded and look remarkably like a familiar round nosed bullet.

After the primers are removed and the barrels unscrewed, the balls and powder can be removed.

These fascinating pistols were quite advanced in their day, provided more punch than even later brass cased fixed BP ammo due to the increased breech pressures created by the design.

 

[Gunner661]

At this time, I’d like to save the .490 round balls for the new owner to decide. Thanks.

 

[Gunner661]

Make an offer, as I’m motivated to sell the piece this week - raising money for another purchase