Rare 19th century pistol used to rob Tulsa liquor store

This article has been updated to include additional comments on the source.

It’s hard to help but raise an eyebrow at an Oklahoma robbery suspect’s recent weapon of choice. According to several Oklahoma media outlets, including WKTUL, a 24-year-old man was arrested Dec. 6 by Tulsa police after allegedly robbing a liquor store using what employees described as an “old-fashioned musket.”

Authorities quickly apprehended and charged the suspect before providing additional details about the weapon.

“For those who are curious, the firearm is likely from the mid-1800s and is a single-shot percussion derringer. It was also called the ‘Muff Pistol’ or ‘Pocket Pistol,'” Tulsa police said on social media on Dec. 8.

Definitely not a derringer

According to firearms historian Michael Helms, law enforcement’s initial assessment is slightly off, whether you spell “Derringer” with one “r” or two.

“‘Derringer’ correctly refers to a gun made by Henry Deringer, who was a Philadelphia gunsmith who developed a reputation for his compact striker-fired pistols,” says Helms. Popular science. “The name Deringer came into wide use when one of his pistols was used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Over time, the name ‘Derringer’ became a generic term for small percussion pistols.”

While cautioning that it is difficult to evaluate a historic firearm from a single photo, Helms has seen no immediate evidence to suggest the weapon is a replica. The Tulsa Police Department was correct in designating it as a striker-fired pistol. These types of weapons are loaded from the muzzle with a bullet and powder and primed using a percussion cap. At the same time, there is also something striking about the evidence collected from the crime scene.

“This gun is something a little different and a little rarer; it’s an ‘underhammer’ gun,” Helms said. Conventional weapons of the mid-19th century typically featured hammers located on the top or side of the weapon. As the name suggests, undersea hammers have the hammer placed under the barrel of the gun.

“In this case, the hammer is attached to the front trigger, which was used to ‘cock’ the gun. The trigger behind would have released the hammer and fired the gun,” he added.

Underhammer pistols are not traceable to a single person or era, but firearms historians credit their popularization to Nicanor Kendall. The gunmaker lived in Vermont in the 1840s and 1850s and developed his own under-the-hammer safety bolt after his own gun misfired while trying to shoot a squirrel.

Although he said the overall design of the weapon is “pretty generic,” Helms speculates that it could have been produced by Ethan Allen. Not to be confused with the furniture company or the leader of the Green Mountain Boys during the American Revolution, this Ethan Allen was a prominent 18th-century gunmaker who patented many single- and multi-shot pistols.

A likely suspect

However, after reviewing the available photo, firearms historian Ashley Hlebinsky believes the answer is pretty clear.

“It looks like a Bacon & Co. Underhammer gun,” she says. Popular science. Although Hlebinsky admits it is difficult to conclusively determine the manufacturer without examining the markings in person, the gun “appears identical” to firearms produced between 1850 and 1857 by the Connecticut-based company.

Hlebinsky’s theory is further strengthened by the fact that Thomas Bacon himself once worked with Ethan Allen. Bacon & Co.’s Underhammer pistols were .34 caliber weapons featuring a 4 or 5 inch barrel and large decorative floral engravings. If corroborated, the Tulsa robbery gun is one of only 500 guns ever made and recently sold for as much as $850.

Ultimately, there are several reasons why only a handful of weapons were produced, with technological innovation being the main explanation.

“With the development of the metal cartridge revolver in the late 1850s, firearm architecture changed significantly, and by the 1860s and 1870s the hammer design (and the percussion bolt in general) was largely obsolete,” Helms said.

Today, Underhammer firearms are often considered collectibles. Helms noted that although many American and, like some European, gun manufacturers “tried their hand at these designs,” they came late in the development of the striker-fired pistol and did not affect larger-scale gun production.

“It’s still an interesting antique gun,” Helms conceded.

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