Watch: ‘Raith’ Duck’s Foot Pistol

In this video, Ian takes a look at an old oddity known as a “duck’s foot pistol.” It’s a funky little handgun with four barrels arranged so they fan out rather than being parallel with one another, and all four barrels fire at once.

Yeah, that’s right.

One pull of the trigger = 4 projectiles flying away from the shooter at once, with the path of each one getting farther from its mates as it goes along.

But why?

Most often, we figure it’s the sort of thing that was favored by anyone who might find himself faced with a large group of folks who all need to be shot at once. Folks like prison guards, captains of sailing ships, bank guards and such. But Ian takes a notion to muse a little, wondering aloud whether that actually holds up.

He opines that such a gun could never be used for defense today, due to the potential for collateral damage. Hmmm. Seems like it doesn’t take that much imagination to picture a mugging or gang scene in which one person is being rushed by a group and the group are all “bad guys.” The ability to ventilate a few of them with one pull of the trigger would come in right handy.

It’s not the most concealable firearm of course, which also argues against it, and naturally I’m assuming a better ignition system than flintlock in my own pontification.

Enough of that. I hope you enjoy the video.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.