Pistol Duelling
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pistol dueling was a competitive sport developed around 1900 which involved opponents shooting at each other using
dueling pistols A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...
adapted to fire
wax bullet A wax bullet is a non-lethal projectile made of wax material — often paraffin wax or some mixture of waxes and other substances that produce the desired consistency — that mimics the external ballistics but not the terminal effects of real ...
s. The sport was briefly popular among some members of the metropolitan upper classes in the US, UK and France. Although the bullets were made of soft wax they could inflict significant damage to exposed flesh. For this reason the competitors wore heavy protective clothing and guards. The sport was demonstrated at the
1908 Olympic Games The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
but did not survive the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. It may be seen as a precursor of the modern sport of
paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...
.


History

Fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
, or sport dueling with
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
s, has existed at least since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and featured in the first
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
of 1896. In 1901, Dr. John Paul Devillers, a French target shooter, developed a wax bullet specifically designed to allow non-fatal or sport pistol dueling between opponents. Devillers developed a mask to protect the face and persuaded the French gun making firm Piot-Lepage to manufacture appropriate weapons. In 1904, he founded , effectively the first pistol sport dueling club. By 1905, the club had over 100 members including
Cosmo Duff Gordon Sir Cosmo Edmund Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, DL (22 July 1862 – 20 April 1931) was a prominent Englishman and sportsman who owned land in Scotland, best known for the controversy surrounding his escape from the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''. ...
,
Walter Winans Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
and Frances's ex-president Casimir-Perier. Clubs were also established in the UK and US. In 1908, pistol sport dueling was demonstrated at the
London Olympics London Olympics or London Games may refer to: * 1908 Summer Olympics, Games of the IV Olympiad * 1944 Summer Olympics, Games of the XIII Olympiad, cancelled due to World War II * 1948 Summer Olympics, Games of the XIV Olympiad * 2012 Summer Olympi ...
. In 1909, a match was conducted outside the
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The sport continued into the second decade of the 20th century but became outmoded after the First World War. As stated by V.G. Kiernan, a historian of dueling, "the First World War may not have been the war to end all wars, but it was perhaps the duel to end all duels."


Rules

Competitors wore a face mask incorporating a heavy plate glass visor. Leather or heavy cloth overgarments protected the body. The pistols included a steel shield similar to that found on an
épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...
to protect the shooter’s hand. The two competitors, would stand at a distance of twenty or twenty-five yards (18 or 23 meters) apart, each armed with a pistol carrying a single charge and wax bullet. Each duelist was accompanied by a ''commissaire de tir'' who would perform the role of Second and also use a stopwatch to measure the time taken for their duelist to fire. A director asked the duelists: "Are you ready?" At this question the competitors were to cock their weapons, then reply: "Yes." Both must answer. The director then gave the words: "Fire! One!—Two!—Three!" Each competitor had to aim and fire between the first sound of the word "fire" and the last of the word "three".


References

{{Firearms Olympic demonstration sports Shooting sports