A pistol fit for a Victorian hunting party
Victorian hunters needed powerful pistols on their hunting expeditions to combat attacks by big cats, says Robert Morgan
This pistol is not for the fainthearted. In fact, it was a last resort to combat a desperate situation and was chambered for the rifle cartridge .577 Snider. It was known as a ‘howdah’ pistol, named after the hunting platform fitted to the backs of elephants in Victorian times, and was kept purely for defence against dangerous game, most commonly big cats.
The sport of hunting large and dangerous game had sprung up at the end of the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century it was an extremely popular pastime with the upper classes, especially in places such as India where tigers were a common quarry.
Of course, and perhaps rightly so, tigers would often take distinct offence at being shot at from the back of an elephant, and would retaliate by charging said beast. In extreme cases leaping piecemeal on to or into the howdah, with messy results for everyone.
Big rifles were too slow to bring to bear on a charging cat, even one of massive proportions, so these heavy-calibre pistols were kept to hand in the howdah, often butt up in open holsters to be drawn quickly and hopefully stop the beast.
New market
The need for this type of defence had become apparent right from the sport’s beginnings in the 18th century. Initially, hunters took old rifles that were otherwise worn out and had them cut down into handy sizes, often going as far as having them restocked with a full pistol-grip. Gunmakers were not slow on the uptake and by the dawn of the percussion period, many famous makers were offering their customers purpose-built howdah pistols. These pistols were most commonly offered with two barrels but four and even multibarrelled large pepperboxes were also manufactured. Pinfire versions were offered on the Continent, but in the UK percussion prevailed until the advent of central fire.
This particular howdah pistol was manufactured by the renowned firm of Wilkinson & Co in London and retailed from its Pall Mall address around 1880. Wilkinson, famous for its swords, had numerous wellheeled customers on its books and was known for going ‘that one step further’ than most in terms of build quality and finish.
This becomes blatantly obvious in its custom-finished Webley revolvers of a slightly later date, but this pistol gives a good impression of what you could walk out of the shop with in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Undoubtedly, one of the best — if not the best — example I have handled, it remains in what can only be described as ‘as new’ condition with beautiful polished and blued barrels, colour case hardened locks and action and extraordinary fit and finish throughout. It is probably a bit over the top for something the customer hoped to never have to use, but then if your life depended on it and money was no object, why not?
Bone-crunching
As I said, these pistols are not for the timid and back in the days when pistols were in general ownership I had the good fortune — or some might say misfortune — to fire one of these behemoths. I recommend a firm but loose grip and let it recoil and roll in the hand to where it wants to go – which is usually skywards. A tight white-knuckle grip can cause the trigger-guard to break your middle finger — yes, the recoil is that strong — but I hazard that if you were about to become a Bengal tiger’s main course, you probably wouldn’t even feel it go off.
Amazingly, UK firearms law introduced what is commonly known as Section 58 (obsolete) calibres to the pool of unlicensed antique guns in 1997, and .577 Snider is on the list. So provided you don’t wish to fire it, this calibre of pistol can be bought by anyone over 18 with no criminal record and who has around £10,000 or so spare to spend on a good example.
“Big rifles were too slow to bring to bear on a charging cat”