Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Development of the American West, with all its associated traumas in the face of Indian attacks, saloon bar brawls and general crime, had become a lucrative outlet for gun sales.

General travellers, prospectors, railway men, saloon keepers, bankers and gamblers were all competing for a share of the growing prosperity throughout the region. In such a volatile environment, it was only natural that, sooner or later, serious confrontations would arise and many felt a need to be armed for self protection.

One of the most popular and effective forms of self-defence for those individuals was the handgun, and there had been a general adoption of such weapons as a normal items of personal equipment. Single-shot and double-shot pistols of the more basic Deringer pattern already enjoyed a wide distribution throughout the United States as they were normally of an effective .41-inch calibre and, furthermore, could also be easily concealed about the person. Despite being effective at close quarters, their main disadvantage was that only a single shot could be fired, compared with several rounds from a normal holster revolver. Of course, multi-chambered pistols that were small enough to be carried conveniently in the pocket were then usually of minimum calibre as a concession to lightness.