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Lefaucheux Fist Pistol
Country of Origin: Overall Length: Barrel Length: Weight: Caliber: Rifling: Capacity: Muzzel vel:		France 4.8 in 1.9 in 11.0 oz 7 mm none 6 rounds 450 ft/sec

This style of 19th Century pistol was called "coup de poing" in France, where it originated, which translates to "fist blow" in English. Its long, fluted cylinder is a modified pepperbox design made from a single piece of metal, and the front end of the cylinder axis pin is supported by a bracket screwed to the front end of the lower frame. The breech consists of a thick, flat, circular plate with a semi-circular opening cut out on the right-hand side so that the weapon could be loaded from the breech end. This opening is filled by a bottom-hinged gate shaped to match the circular breech block, which is held closed by a small, horizontal, L-shaped spring lever screwed below it on the frame. There is an additional shallow depression on top of the breech block, where the hammer rests . Its trigger action is basically that of a double-action revolver, where pulling the trigger cocks the hammer and rotates the cylinder. The cylinder was normally free to rotate, but when the trigger was pressed a cylinder-stop rose from the lower frame and engaged one of the studs which can be seen on the cylinder. When loaded, the cylinder could be positioned so that there was a pin on each side of the hammer head, making it relatively safe to carry the loaded weapon in a pocket. Once the rounds had been fired, the empty cases could be pushed out through the open loading gate by means of a separate extractor pin. Weapons of this kind sometimes incorporated brass knuckles and even a dagger, and were often referred to as "Apache pistols", a reference to the criminals of the underworld of 19th Century Paris, who would often carry them.

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