Then there were THREE Turn-Off's - Plus Story of CIA's DEAR PISTOL Throw-Away 9mm Turn-Off ..

Three Antique 'Brummie' Turn-Off Pocket Pistols 170 y.o +- 

Rough Enough but in Working Condition.

 Around 1825 Henry Deringer developed his style of compact percussion pocket pistol .. these are 'kissin-cousins'.

Booth's Philadelphia Deringer (the Lincoln One)

Some time earlier, around 1816 - someone developed the metalic percussion cap .. on the principle of a chemical ignition by impact - as patented earlier in 1807 by Scots Reverend Forsyth.

NOBODY KNOWS who did it FIRST .. There were various ALTERNATIVE SELF-PRIMING SYSTEMS such a Forsyths SCENT BOTTLE System, COPPER TUBE CRUSHING, PILL LOCKS, PAPER-TAPE, CAPS. - Early Metal CAPS tried IRON, PEWTER, then COPPER. - Various chemical blends or FULMINATES have been employed. You CAN make your OWN CAPS.

So these guys got "on to it" in a hurry. The Queen Anne pistol (flintlock) was developed during her reign 1702-14 - being the forerunner, to have THREE FEATURES - a TURN-OFF BARREL, enabled by locating the FRIZZEN SPRING at the REAR, - and an INTEGRAL LOCK-PLATE /TANG that might be called a BOXLOCK.

 - Poor bloody Poms are having to choose between drowning, freezing or starving under their Tory Govt winter - (unless they get nuked). - Time for a STELLA up here/Down Under .. gotta be around 24 C.

_____________

Anyway, my third Turn-off Pistol has arrived on my doorstep and I am liking it ..

The lock is gun metal or some kind of copper alloy - so there was no rust seizing to the barrel or nipple threads. Someone had worked on it as the nipple is a replacement, the trigger spring was missing & a lump of rubber was sort-of working instead, the hammer pivot screw is bent/fecked and there was a smeared blob of chewing gum-filler putty on the right side of the checkered grips - colored brown, that was covering damage done by some moron gouging 25mm high initials 'JB'. - I've mostly removed the smeared filler blob and have been attempting to improve the destroyed checkering with my 'swiss file'..

I have now plugged and slightly moved the two grip screw holes into a better/closer fit with the lock - and bent-up a new trigger spring from 1.19mm (.047") PIANO WIRE - complete with a "spigot" into the locating hole .. this has restored the halfcock & fullcock function.

- I need to obtain a replacement for the crappy hammer pivot screw and maybe try to smooth the barrel-bore some. - But this wee Birmingham proofed .36" Caliber (.38 inch balls) is pleasing me.

A VERY rare Deer Gun or Dear Pistol ?

So, - For use in VietNam, in the 1960's the U S CIA developed it's own special weapons version of the Turn Barrel Breech Loader single shot - in 9mm NATO Caliber .. Stock Number 1395-HOO-9108 known forever as the "DEER GUN".  A low-cost "disposable" tool for their villagers to dispose of "commies" who actually were anti-colonial nationalists (but never mind the facts eh).

DEnied ARea PISTOL: 

Simple Screw barrel, breech loading, spring-loaded striker -ZipGun. (You can make springs from 'piano wire'). - A very good article here all about the Dear - I couldn't do better ..

https://smallarmsreview.com/zip-zap-youre-a-dead-vc-the-cias-dear-little-dear-pistol-in-vietnam/

Govt. Leads The Way On GUN CONTROL:

Marty K.