A number of years ago, when gentlemen sought to vindicate their honor by duels with pistols, it was the custom to provide themselves with a pair of duelling-pistols. These were generally of large calibre, often .50 or 1/2-inch, generally of smooth bore and flint-lock. These and even larger calibres were also made for the cavalrymen in the service. Then came the percussion pistol, many styles of duelling-pistols, both smooth bore and rifled, and to-day many Southern gentlemen have in their possession a pair of these ancient arms handed down to them by their parents and grandparents. They are used chiefly, at the present time, for decorative purposes, for their days of usefulness are passed; the modern revolver has superseded them as arms of defence, and the single-shot breech-loading pistol, possessing much greater accuracy, far more convenient to load, and more economical to use, has taken the place of the duelling pistol for target work, stage shooting, and exhibition work. The single-shot pistol is used almost wholly for short-range target practice, generally in-doors, at a distance from five to fifty yards, or for small-game shooting. Therefore, it is unusual to find at the present time these pistols larger in bore than .32-calibre, and generally in .22 calibre. As the .22-calibre is perfectly accurate up to fifty yards, and our own experiments compared with others lead us to believe the small calibre is fully as accurate as the larger, and beyond a doubt that with good weather conditions the larger bore possesses no advantages over the small bore up to fifty yards in point of accuracy, and the fact that the cost of the. 22-calibre ammunition is so much less, is more compact, allowing a large number of cartridges to be carried about, and the knowledge that the tiny bore can be shot so many times without cleaning, makes it the favorite calibre, in single-shot pistols, for target and small-game shooting within the distance named.
Any shooting at a distance beyond fifty yards with a pistol is almost unheard of in America; but it is believed that before long the experts who become so proficient with the pistol at this range will shoot at much longer distances, and we shall not be surprised to see matches shot up to 200 yards, and, perhaps, at a longer distance, as the officers in the European armies practise up to 400 paces and secure good results. When the shooting is done at long distances with a pistol, it will probably be with a single-shot arm of calibre from .32 to .40; but until then the calibres will probably be the .22 and .32.