Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice U.S. Civil War Era Moore's Patent No.2 "Deringer" single shot pocket pistol in .41 rimfire, made by the National Firearms Co in Brooklyn, N.Y.. The design for a single shot pocket pistol using a .41 caliber rimfire short cartridge was patented by Daniel Moore in 1861, and examples were produced by the Moore's Patent Firearms Co. until the company by the National Firearms Company during 1863. The "No.1 Deringer" was somewhat difficult to hold, so the "No.2 Deringer" was introduced with design similar to Smith & Wesson pistols of the time, with a "Bird's Head" style pistol grip. The company continued to produced these until 1870, when they were themselves taken over by Colt Firearms, after which production continued, eventually producing a Third model of the single shot pocket pistol.

This lovely example has a great worn patina, and is still marked relatively clearly on the top of the steel barrel:

The pistol is marked on the underside of the barrel with serial number 4062, along with assembly marking A M on the rear near the chamber. The grip frame under the grip scales and the insides of both grip scales are marked with shortened serial number 62 and assembly marking A M as well. That makes this a very nice "ALL MATCHING" example of this pistol, with no parts swapped out over the years!

The pistol is single shot, and is loaded by pulling back on the round button on the right side of the frame, which unlocks the 2 1/2 inch rotating steel barrel. Ejection of the spent cartridge was done by hand, usually at home, as these were not really designed for quick reloading. Later examples of the No.2 Deringer would include a blade extractor, however this example was not made with one.

The pistol's frame is engraved brass, which was originally Nickel plated, however now it is mostly worn away, only retained a bit on the top, and under the grips. The rest of the brass shows a lovely mustard patina. The pistol breaks open correctly, and has a crisp dry fire. The bore still shows rifling, but also oxidation and fouling.

In lovely condition, cleaned and ready to display!

Specifications: 

Year of Manufacture: circa 1863-1870
Caliber: .41 inches
Ammunition Type: Rimfire cartridge
Barrel Length: 2 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 5 1/4 inches
Action: Exposed Hammer Single Action
Feed System: Single Shot Rotating Barrel

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