You'll regret that offer. People have been known to die of heart attack when they were told they'd have to deal with my endless questions.
| Lafayette C Curtis wrote: |
| You'll regret that offer. People have been known to die of heart attack when they were told they'd have to deal with my endless questions. |
Lafayette;
Well, it's obvious from your other posts that you actually listen, too, so no worries on that account. :D
Cheers!
Gordon
| Lafayette C Curtis wrote: |
| I'm feeling stupid for not having noticed this before.
It strikes me that early pistols--before the development of the modern "pistol grip"--were held in a somewhat different manner from their modern descendants......................The hand position might not be identical but it certainly evokes the grip of a thrusting sword and the pistol itself might have been designed to capitalize on the habits of a well-trained swordsman. Is it just me or is there a possibility that this might be a valid conjecture? Or am I simply not being dilligent enough in reading the cavalry manuals and this similarity has indeed been mentioned in them? |
Arthur Wise, in Art and History of Personal Combat, (I think) mentioned this very thing. The shape of the old flintlock pistols is essentially that of a foil(epee?) grip that fires a bullet, as opposed to thrusts out a blade. The "Ready, Aim, Fire" type of position, arm bent with muzzle pointed upwards was modeled on a fencer's salute. If you think about it, this is a worthless motion in terms of the use of handguns. Compare this to the modern combat pistol shooting position of (generally called) high ready. It is more natural to hold the weapon with straight arms, muzzle pointed at a low 45, because the sights come up on the same axis as the eyes, and the arms are in a position to absorb recoil......the other classic position is from dueling swords with the weapon switched.
Hm. I was thinking more along the lines of the military use of the pistol, but to hear that the same thing was observed in personal dueling is certainly intriguing. Not surprising, but funny nevertheless.
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