Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This is very unusual, at first glance it appears to be the British East India Company Flintlock Dragoon Pistol, known as the "Baker Pattern" in use between 1819 and 1839. However, one swiftly notes that the pistol has a steel octagonal barrel which upon examination was once a rifled sporting gun barrel cut down with most of the rifling bored out so the smoothbore is now in .75 caliber, the same as a musket and not just .65 bore as was used on pistols.
The lock is an East India Company crested lock post 1808, made in India, and the remainder of the pistol mirrors a standard EIC Dragoon pistol of the 1819 pattern.
In fact, what we have here is a custom built EIC officer's pistol designed for superior loads for use in a Howdah. A Howdah is the box compartment that sat on the back of an Elephant and used in tiger hunts throughout India and Nepal.
Officers would pursue this sport using high power sporting rifles to shoot their game from these locations of safety. Once in a while a tiger fought back climbing up the side of the Elephant to confront the Howdahs occupants. Therefore, the Howdah pistol was specially made to handle really substantial loads of powder together with a real tiger stopping Ball (.75 bore). Hopefully the hunter found time to lean over the side of the Howdah and shoot the invading tiger at point blank range for if not, he was quickly the tiger's lunch!
Beautifully cleaned and ready to display, this is a totally authentic and unique part of British colonial history.
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
This product is available for international shipping.
- IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
These antique guns are not sold in live condition. They are sold as collector’s items or as wall hangers. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.
Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe.
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