.45 caliber. 7" rifled octagonal barrel. NSN. Browned barrel, pewter nose cap and butt cap, German silver inlays, brass triggerguard and ramrod pipe, figured hardwood stock, possibly maple. Muzzleloading single shot rifled pistol with back action percussion lock. Unmarked and crudely made this is a classic example of a real American frontier-type pistol circa the 1840s. The barrel appears to be a shortened piece of a repurposed rifle barrel, with a full-length lug underneath. The back action lock is a simple commercial one, and the stocking is somewhat crude, as is the overall execution and uncommon acute grip angle. The iron trigger plate and brass triggerguard are crudely executed but functional and the cast pewter nose cap and butt cap suggest possible St. Louis origin or at least influence. The design is actually quite ergonomic and fits well in smaller hands and points naturally. The heavy butt cap would make it an effective club once the pistol had been fired. It is decorated with crude German silver inlays and has an old wood ramrod in the single pipe under the barrel rib. A really nice example of a true American frontier pistol from the period of early Western Expansion that one rarely sees for sale in the collector market. {ANTIQUE}