Dapper Dave Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Lets start off with a buddy of mine, the last of the old school gunsmiths, loves tinkering with guns. He ended up with the unfinished extras when that outfit in Tucson quit making the famous knife pistols. He didn't want to go through the hassle of finishing a few of 80% receivers and marking them for sale with ATFE as cartridge firearms, because he just doesn't have that kind of time. But, taking an 80% non-gun and turning it into a black powder firearm? Hmm. So he started tinkering...the finished one is a serialized firearm, the original knife pistol in 22lr. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 5 Author Share Posted October 5 So, he kept working on the concept, had to re profile hammers and clean out the guts of the 80% receiver to make this work. Pretty cool, eh? The first one used an 8mm Mauser barrel stub, so rifled, but would only be loaded with #1 buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 5 Author Share Posted October 5 Today, we test fired. There are the original knife pistols, finished and partially finished. They are REALLY hard to shoot straight, that's for certain! Also you can see the two Boot Pistols, the original in 8mm/#1 Buck, and #2, in 45 caliber. He built a test stand for remote firing and BOOM, they worked great. Then hand firing, both the master gunsmith and me, and while the smoothbore 45 caliber ain't accurate much past poker table distance, it is just neat. It's easy to clean and easy to shoot, as much as it doesn't look like it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 5 Author Share Posted October 5 But that's not QUITE the end of this tale, as the 45 version, #2, came home with me. I don't have a 45 caliber mold...or do I? See, years ago I bought a used Uberti 1860, which came in an old Navy Arms box, along with one of those simple brass molds. I realized REALLY quickly that those handles heated up FAST< so that same gunsmith took that mold and hand crafted some handles that work very well. The ball is too big, but wouldn't you know, the conical is undersized...and slides right down the bore of this little blaster. So, next time I take it out, I will use a conical cast from a legacy mold with a patch in the weirdest boot pistol ever built and see how it goes. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun-Gibbs Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 Really neat! They turned out nice! Enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 nifty little piece , like the knife too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 7 Author Share Posted October 7 (edited) Interestingly enough, I discovered that the 45 caliber version also started as an old military 8mm Mauser barrel, and the gunsmith rebored and polished it for 45 caliber smoothbore. That is just plain cool. Edited October 8 by Dapper Dave spelling 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 It looks as if you "fill your hand" from out of your boot it would be at about the right angle to fire through a card table and hit the guy across from you in the chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 8 Author Share Posted October 8 Might be, not sure how I could try it. Oddly enough, as weird as the grip is, being originally a knife, it isn't hard to hold to sight down the barrel. Gotta wait until the weekend to try again - did I mention how insanely easy this is to clean? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted October 8 Share Posted October 8 8 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said: Might be, not sure how I could try it. Oddly enough, as weird as the grip is, being originally a knife, it isn't hard to hold to sight down the barrel. Gotta wait until the weekend to try again - did I mention how insanely easy this is to clean? Set up a half sheet of plywood on some sawhorses, put a cardboard target on one side, sit yourself in a chair on the other. Have a camera to one side. Draw the unloaded pistol from your boot and have someone take the photo. You should be able to tell from that if you would hit fra natural and relaxed position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dave Posted October 9 Author Share Posted October 9 Not a bad idea at all. I do have an unmonitored city maintained range right down the street from me, too. I could probably pull that off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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