Based on the Lorenzoni system from the 18th century, this miniature pistol was made by Peter Dyson. In an era of single-shot muzzleloaders, which required a great deal of time and effort to reload, the Lorenzoni system performed all of the reloading actions by manipulating a crank on the left side of the gun.
By moving the crank down, a charge of powder and a ball are readied to be loaded. Continuing to move the crank until it is all the way forward cocks the hammer and closes the frizzen. Returning the crank to its original position drops the powder and ball into a firing position.
Peter Dyson’s main claim to fame is that he is a former gunmaker for The Royal Armouries and the late King of Prussia. The piece, despite being only 1/3 of the size of a real Lorenzoni pistol, is fully-functional; it can prime the pan, close the frizzen, cock the hammer, and load powder and ball with one fluid motion. It features fine engraving and wire inlay, making for a stunning final product.
The gun was on display this year in the Collectors Row section of the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Dallas, TX. It was awarded one of 2018’s 3 Best Miniature Arms silver medals by the NRA’s Gun Collectors Committee.
Logan Metesh is a firearms historian and consultant who runs High Caliber History LLC. Click here for a free 3-page download with tips about caring for your antique and collectible firearms.
Is that the mythical .9mm pistol!?
no, no. it’s a 1/3rd so .3mm.
(rapidly exhausts math capabilities).
Pure art.
Cool.
North American arms before they were North American arm? This is beautiful, is it available to buy?
Generally, firearms art pieces such as this flintlock 1/3rd scale pistol start in the five digit range and ascend rapidly from there.
If you’re legitimately inquiring, you’d do well to contact Peter Dyson & Son, Ltd. You’re likely to end up dealing directly with Andrew Dyson, and be ordering precisely what you want. At the very least he can give you an estimated price and delivery time.
Those miniatures are absolutely amazing. I’ve seen scale model Thompsons, 1911s, Colt Single Actions, Win 86s, just about anything one can imagine, all functional. The 1911s even load mini ammo from mini mags. Then when you get down to the scale engraving on some of the pieces it’s even more amazing.
Not cheap.
Agreed!
A while back, I saw a 1/3rd scale c/96 – complete with holster stock, cleaning rod, leather carrier, etc. It was, frankly, breathtaking. Made by Zavie Kucer I believe.
What stunned me most of all was the absolutely perfect rollmarks and engraved lettering… when zoomed in, it was a perfect copy of a full sized example. The attention to detail to have the internals 1/3 scale and yet functional is mind-boggling!
IF U Have 2 Ask, U Can,t Afford IT !! LOL
Sadly, though lovely, this is a felony-bad evil killing machine … It includes a mechanism increasing the rate of fire, so.
The Bloomites didn’t get their infinite loophole — I mean assault weapons ban — this last time, but like any other programmed automatons they absolutely will not stop.
They really are quite forward thinking. That particular provision would ban any charging improvement for phased plasma rifles in the 40 watt range, though we won’t have those for years. In this timeline, I mean.
.CA and NJ will ban it because it looks like a toy. Can’t have kids mistaking a weapon of war for a toy now can we.
hmm.. you know that does bring up an interesting point of law.
For all of its anti-2A laws, the PDRC does not classify muzzleloaders as a ‘firearm’. Unlike NJ, where I understand a plastic straw and a dried pea are an assault weapon.
So I wonder about the legality of this style of flintlock.. it is technically a breechloader, just a variation of a crookson repeater.
Doesn’t really matter since these things had a nasty tendency to chainfire, resulting in the shooter getting a new nickname of ‘stumpy’.
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I will mention it again: the miniature firearms business is where you see some very, very talented gunsmiths and model makers working, often for very large prices.
Here’s where one can learn more about this fascinating sub-field of firearms:
http://www.miniaturearms.org/index.html
I am disappointed. The smallest I see there is a 2MM pinfire.
where is the .9MM ? I want my .9MM!
I saw a photo of European caliber even smaller than the mythical .9mm.
Some European bulletproof glass maker had a photo boasting that their bulletproof glass can stop “.357 mm” bullets!
Not very impressive, being able to stop bullets from the tiniest revolver in history. I bet those silly Europeans thought “Magnum” was American English for “millimeter”, so they thought .357 Magnum should be abbreviated .357 mm.
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