The double-barrelled Lancaster pistol was also chambered for the .476, .450 Adams, .455, and a few other calibres. It more or less served the same function as a typical howdah pistol and was known to be used as one (as were the Webley, Adams, Pryse, etc. revolvers), but certainly wasn't the massive rifle-calibre weapon one thinks of. I expect that's where the possible confusion came from, since those rounds are definitely .476 pistol/revolver rounds.Someone at Holt's is confused. The .476 (Eley or Enfield)) was one of the big bore rounds designed for the large British revolvers that were created at the end of the 19th century. The most famous was the .455. But the .476 was made a standard issue cartridge in the British Army in the early 1880's. The .455 had replaced it by 1890. I suppose the big revolvers may have been carried on Tiger hunts, but their primary role was to arm British officers fighting the Mahdi or Zulu. Every true “Howdah” handgun I have handled (own a couple) were large bore muzzle loaders. This one is of Belgian manufacture and marked with a UK merchant. Note the loop on the butt. It (or more often a pair) would have been hung by a cord in the large whicker howdah for quick access.
George V hunting from such a howdah.
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Most of the Howdahs i have known off were in the .577,these were Doubles,some Brit Officers may have carried .455s Revolvers while Tiger Hunting on Elephants but leaving aside Self Confidence,cant see any practicality off the same.A lot of people are around thanks to these Pistols,and they worked.A time when Bullet failure, Hangfire,Misfire,etc,etc were common,these were the last line of Self preservation against a Cat specially a Pissed off one with 4" Claws ,2-3" Canines and an attitude to match.
Exactly.
Lovely handgun, but these were designed to kill men, not tigers. That said, it is entirely possible that a British officer carried his commercially purchased personal sidearm on a tiger hunt. But this is not considered a "Howdah" handgun. And Holt's ammunition listing is still dead wrong.
Apparently several sportsmen spoke favorably of them and one Maharajah or other even had one commissioned as a four-barreled rifle. But I agree, they were designed as a step up over the military percussion revolvers of the time and using them as pistols from a howdah or for a coup de grace or other close-quarters animal deterrent doesn't make them "Howdah Pistols" in the sense of the massive rifle-round-firing guns or their muzzleloading brothers.
Unfortunately not, Bill. As you can see, the pistol still has the price tag on it.
We aren't communicating.
The double Lancaster was a fine handgun. It was a step up from its percussion or pinfire predecessors. But a Webley or Adams revolver firing the same ammunition was the step up. And neither was as effective at stopping a tiger boarding attempt than a double barrel gauge or .58+ cal double handgun. Though I would pray that I never had to depend on the latter either. And Holts is still clueless.
