Double Barrel Shotgun Pistol

[oldbrownhat]

Even further back in the day there was the "duck's foot" (also called "howdah" pistol. I just remembered this pic from the first gun book I was given, "Firearms" by Howard Ricketts, probably not long after it was published in 1962, when I were just a wee lad. It's a good read still if you can find one.

(I added the "scurvy dogs" caption )
I'd think the recoil would be fairly formidable.

 

[Graham Emberson]

Yes, It was a cut down shot gun, usually a 12 bore, because that size was the easiest obtained and the most effective, It was spelled like the dog WHIPPET and favoured by the IRA for retribution and swift bank withdrawals.
Shot guns with smaller bores, 16, 20, 24, 28 were usually made to order for ladies and wealthy youngsters, were, and still are, quite rare.
The English term "Bore" relates to "calibre" and refers to the weight of a spherical lead ball a gun with a true cylinder barrel could fire. for instance a 12 bore (gauge) shotgun could fire a spherical ball of lead weighing one twelth of an Imperial pound. A 16 gauge shotgun could fire a spherical ball weighing 1 ounce (one sixteenth of a pound).
This system stops when we get to continental measurements like .410
shotguns.
A cut down Spanish folding .410 loaded with Ely Forlong and number 4 shot was probably the most concealable and deadly close range Whippet ever conceived

 

[serger]

All I can think about is Devo..........

Whip it good.

 

[glenncal1]

Here is the website:

Diablo 12 Gauge Pistol Nickel, 6 inch barrel with Rosewood Finish Grips -No FFL Required- | American Gun Craft

 

[inspcalahan]

There's also the Pedersoli Howdah Alaskan, in .45colt and .410...

TFB Review: Pedersoli Howdah Alaskan 45/410 Break Action Pistol | thefirearmblog.com

 

[max503]

I see ads for these popping up all the time.

12 gauge, black powder, 209 primers, no FFL required.

As long as you can get your business done with two big shots it would seem to be pretty effective.

I once read where somebody got shot in the back of the head with something similar and they lived because the barrels were too short to properly burn the powder and accelerate the shot load.