Flintlock Pistol

he old song line says, “a fight isn’t won with good weapons, but with a heart of a hero”; nevertheless, each hаiduk was very particular about his weapon, and a nicely decorated handgun handle seen tucked at his waist was a better presentation that his very name. A flintlock was loaded with lead balls and the gunpowder was primed into a flash pan from the rear. To fire the gun one had to light the fuse or a touch hole, which was later on replaced by a mechanism for producing sparks . Such long guns (and pistols) were called flintlocks. Then in the 17th and 18th century gunpowder pouches started to be made. Kubura was a pistol with a lavishly decorated handle pommel. Such pistols were worn at one’s waist, with a waistband especially made for such purpose. The pistol decorations were usually made with inlaid filigree technique (a fine silver wire decoration) or with mother-of-pearl plating  or silver threads. The Pеć and Skаdar pistols were particularly valued.

HISTORY

The first such pistols on the Balkans were recorded as early as in the 15th century.