History Primer 188: British Lancaster Pistols Documentary

Othais and Mae delve into the story of this classic. Complete with history, function, and live fire demonstration.
C&Rsenal presents its Primer series; covering the firearms of this historic conflict one at a time in honor of the centennial anniversary. Join us every other Tuesday!
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Prints/patches/shirts from the show:
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Ballistol USA
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Ballistol Elsewhere
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Additional reading:
American Society of Arms Collectors : Bulletin 66
Lancaster Multi-Barrel Pistols
David E. Cooley
The Life of Colonel Fred Burnaby
Thomas Wright
Gazette des Armes No.350
Le pistolet Lancaster
Dirk Ziesing
Howdah to High power
Robert J. Maze
Illustrated naval
Good drawings of ammo
The Modern Sportsmans' Gun and Rifle vol 2
John Henry Walsh
Journal of the Royal United Service institution Vol XXX
1886-87
Revolvers and their Use
Major H.E.C Kitchener, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Ammunition data thanks to DrakeGmbH
/ drakegmbh
Animations by Bruno!
/ @baanimations3689
Snail Mail/Contact us at:
candrsenal.com/contact/

[@wingshad0w00982]

The little ‘bloop’ from loading each cartridge was such a lovely little sound. What a strange and wonderful little pistol. A true mystery weapon that like 30 historians of British arms have heard of in the last 50 years until now.

[@chaimafaghet7343]

It's generally called a "plunk" and it's what you should be hearing every time you chamber a properly loaded cartridge.

[@hoilst265]

These things killed so many tigers in India when they died trying to shit these things out.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

I loved that little bloop sound as well, very satisfying!

[@MichaelBerthelsen]

That IS a really good sound...!😮❤

[@whatsup5914]

30 historians plus everyone who played online in battlefield one considering if i remeber correctly this was either a default pistol for one of the classes or was an early easy to unlock pistol (least for me was a favorite secondary of mine till i realized the obrez in the game was literally a pockef sniper i meam yeh shoots slow as fuck but if u land the shot it was insta kill and it actually had a fuck ton of range at least when it first came out like i still remeber taking out a sniper from like across the map with a lucky shot cause i managed to actually line up tht little numb of a front sight with the glare from their scope)

[@mathewthomason8397]

I have no idea how you guys found one of these. I never thought I'd get to see a long form presentation on this weapon. 🤯

[@skepticalbadger]

Two of them, no less.

[@chpet1655]

You sir are amazing too

[@levisayev4398]

You have seen progression of the smile after first shot 😊

[@William_Bryant]

"The Lancaster's understated, 'less is more' design is in stark contrast with its decidedly 'more is more' approach to barrels."

[@KriLL325783]

It's a revolver, except the firing pin spins instead of the chambers... Madness.

[@rdrrr]

Single trigger double-barrelled shotguns work the same way. Nothing crazy about it, it's a simple and logical design. Edit: Actually I'm completely wrong. Never trust anything people write on the internet. - Abraham Lincoln, 2009

[@murrayscott9546]

Divine !

[@mrshark9382]

a really good band.

[@skepticalbadger]

​@@rdrrrThey don't. They have two internal tumblers. This design is unusual even for Lancaster shotguns.

[@KorianHUN]

Americans: "the cylinder revolves in our revolver" Europeans: "we made something similar but with the genetic purity of the habsburgs"

[@weezersthebluealbum9479]

The Howdah, an Assault player’s best friend.

[@thefuzzysheep3859]

The muzzle flash will always stay with me. And that sound.

[@Daniel-bi5ci]

@@thefuzzysheep3859don’t forget the spin animation

[@thefuzzysheep3859]

@@Daniel-bi5ci yeehaw. I would spam switch weapons to get that over and over again

[@marksmith5536]

I may be in error here but I believe the Howdah pistol was a single barrel singly shot pistol chambered for lion and the such, perhaps elephant (?) Intended to be used once very judiciously to sasve ones life. Much like a Thompson/Contender in .45/70, of more so ., 458 Winchester Magnum. I might give this a try with a helmet eye shield, proper shooting glove, proper choke, proper grips. I've shot some awesome setups in my history

[@whatsup5914]

​@marksmith5536 in BF1 the game the lancaster is called the howdah and its an assault class weapon pretty nice gun though personally i was an obrez man i mean cant beat a fucking 1 shot kill pocket sniper

[@RvEijndhoven]

I feel like the one thing that's sorta glossed over here when it comes to the four barrel Lancaster is one of the things that gets mentioned early on as a disadvantage of the revolver, but then isn't really brought up again: The ability to rest the gun on the forearm opposite the shooting hand without blowing a load of hot gas into your sleeve (or bare arm). Which seems to have been the thing that British officers were trained to do when they needed to aim and shoot as quickly as possible in the single shot percussion era (because when you only have one shot, you better make it as stable and accurate as possible). The Lancaster allowed British officers to continue shooting in the exact way they were trained to, but with four times the shots. And things like the grip seem set up for that rather than having the arm at full extension.

[@am17frans]

An add-on to that: The reason why the gun was braced rather then gripped with both hands was that the gun was not the last or main defence for an officer, the sword was. So when the guns are being used in a melee (and if it was not a melee, an officer should focus on his main job of commanding) it was very often in combination with the sword in the other hand.

[@ericamborsky3230]

That might also explain their fascination with the forgotten double barrel cartridge loader design which delayed the adoption of the Adams Mk. II

[@alexandertaliaferro2621]

These revolver alternatives are always so interesting.

[@donaldstraitiff7827]

I love all the old guns covered but the best episodes are ones like these when Othais finds something really unusual.

[@britishmuzzleloaders]

I really, really enjoyed this one... They are such wonderful pieces of Victorian history.

[@baneyj]

The Japanese characters minus the illegible last character are "明治ニ十七　一一八一". It was read from right to left back then. "Meiji 27 1181" in English. The 27th year of the Meiji era is 1894 as stated by Othais.

[@pivotboy2062]

Battlefield 1 players recognize this beaut

[@noone-pg4lr]

They have a couple of bf1 weapons

[@screamingcactus1753]

Except it's a shotgun for some reason

[@BleedingUranium]

@@screamingcactus1753 As standard, it's not. The "Howdah" in BF1 fires normal bullets as it should, but there's also a variant that fires shotgun rounds which is exclusive to the singleplayer campaign, or to DICE employees in multiplayer. So for all practical purposes it doesn't exist in multiplayer, there's only the proper bullet one. On this note, there's another DICE-exclusive pistol as well, the "C96 Export". The game's standard C96 is in 7.63x25mm, while the C96 Export is in 9x25mm with slightly different damage/etc stats as a result.

[@Lomi311]

Big ol’ thanks and Sorry’s to Bruno. I really appreciate him sticking with these animations for so many years. It’s really an outstanding part of the Primer series.

[@joshuablaz]

THIS was in the war? Was there a faction of old-fashioned pirates involved in the war that they didn't tell me about in school?

[@voiceofraisin3778]

Do commerce raiders count? Plenty of old fashioned boardinag actions with cutlas and pistol!

[@johnqpublic2718]

I hope so, but even I missed that part of the story and I supposedly majored in History!

[@voiceofraisin3778]

@@johnqpublic2718 Look up the German SMS Emden,

[@julianshepherd2038]

​@@johnqpublic2718are you one of those pedents 😂

[@somefool4625]

Them rapscallions!

[@brogeoti]

The Lancasters were GREAT! As are you, May and Bruno. Thanks for all you do!

[@HalideHelix]

I thought your pic was Alexander Dugin.

[@joshuagibson2520]

Mae.

[@brogeoti]

@@joshuagibson2520 My mistake, Mae. Thanks for the correction.

[@ironmikehallowween]

I like that 4 barrel. They made something like it called the Cop in the 80s which was a 4 barrel 357 magnum. I like that Lancaster a lot. I think you could also design a way to load 4 shells in at one time and would be quite quick and way more dependable considering the elements.

[@rdrrr]

The COP is generally regarded as a failed design but it does have one thing going for it. There is no external operating mechanism (cylinder or slide) that can be obstructed, meaning it can't be forced out of battery in a stand-off.

[@craigfinley2507]

That was an English gun

[@rdrrr]

@@craigfinley2507 And it's a safari pistol designed for close-range defense against large predators. Can't get more British than that.

[@tombogan03884]

@@rdrrr They stunk then, they still do. Worse. Watch Ian use 1 in a BUG match. They are perfect for his channel, like the Terminator shotgun or Zip 22. The hyped the crap out of that crap. LOL

[@rdrrr]

@@tombogan03884 I can't recall _exactly_ how heavy it is but the COP has a horrendous trigger pull. Somewhere around the 20lb range. That's gotta be the heaviest pistol trigger this side of the 1895 Nagant revolver in DA mode.

[@Trekpanther]

One of the more steampunk as hell guns on this channel. Between this and the Vetterli-Vitali, that'd be a fun steampunk gear setup.

[@seymoarsalvage]

Oh no, another "pistol nobody cares about" lol! I LOVE these things and had no idea my fav gun channel would actually cover them!

[@planescaped]

Quite the opposite, this is an interesting and unique gun and not revolver/semi auto number 63

[@seymoarsalvage]

@@planescaped I was quoting a dummy from the last episode that got pinned in the comments lol

[@GarfieldEnjoyer1878]

@@planescapedEach revolver and semi auto are unique and special in their own way

[@tenofprime]

That is the thing I love about this team, it can be a gun you already know or something you never knew you wanted to see. They put 110% into making it interesting and showing where it fits in history.

[@russwelday]

Thanks!

[@Tadicuslegion78]

"Fear not, Barnaby my howdah pistol will stop the tiger." *Click* "................oh bugger"

[@cymrucat]

Bruno is a badass this is the first time I've seen technical firearms animations done this well

[@Darthdoodoo]

He adds a lot to this channel.

[@crazymcgee3604]

A Lancaster always pays its debts.

[@george867]

one of the things that perplexed me about the second gun was how the pin was kept in the right track when the two tracks crossed over. i noticed in the 3d animation that the 'pin' is actually a rotating paddle, whose linear shape helps it stay in the proper track. How clever

[@blanktm228]

Thank you for yet another well made and noticeable-effort-involving episode!

[@joearnold6881]

I love the little ‘ploop’ sounds it makes when you load it. ploop.

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

That is an utterly fascinating mechanism. Thank you for bringing it to us.

[@jonathanhudak2059]

Such a cool episode and a double feature with not one but TWO Lancaster pistols! Never even knew about these previously but thanks to all your efforts, we do now! Another Great episode bravo!

[@deezee2965]

At long last! A channel display this oldie!!! ❤

[@winchester94ae44mag]

Some really great information coming from you guys

[@BumroyV2]

I've always been curious about these, but never knew much about them So glad you're covering them. They are so neat!

[@ZigZagMarquis]

The "bloop" sound made when loading these handguns is so unique I think from now on I'm going to be thinking "bloop... bloop... bloop..." when ever Mae is loading loose rounds into a handgun in any of your videos from now on. 😂

[@timothyedge6100]

This is a genuinely fun and interesting episode!

[@chrisohnemus7979]

7761 ,4 bbl is listed as 476 sold November 1885 to Captain Hutcheson. 7947 ,2 bbl listed as 476 sold December 1888 made for Count J. Raffo

[@skepticalbadger]

Amazing! Where did you get this info?

[@chrisohnemus7979]

I have copies of the original ledger for the pistols. One of my favorites

[@crankygunreviews]

Awesome episode! Thanks Bruno!

[@Frank-bc8gg]

Thanks for the animations Bruno!

[@steveschainost7590]

Two thoughts: I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the mind that figured out the mechanism for something like this. Also, the incredible skill of the man (men) who actually built it.

[@woodsmanforlife1677]

Great video! I am a Lancaster fan, so I appreciate this video esp. Thank you very much!

[@maribelfarnsworth4565]

Great presentartion on a fascinating pistol! Thank you!

[@mattjohnson7547]

Thanks for doing a video on these Lancaster pistols. I was interested in these pistols ever since Ian made a video about a set of them on Forgotten Weapons. Your 3D animation really helped me understand how these pistols work. Great work! :D

[@Darthdoodoo]

Shout out to bruno and everyone else behind the scenes that makes this the best channel for antique firearms. I am always interested in your stuff and the 3d animation makes understanding the mechanisms so much easier.

[@demos113]

Lovely work.

[@chrisgurney2467]

Bravo Brilliant Bruno!

[@baanimations3689]

Thanks

[@Tunkkis]

What a cool set of pieces with very interesting mechanical details.

[@ronaldlollis8895]

It is beautiful, a lovely work of art and function. 😊

[@gorbalsboy]

Fantastic episode, much love to Bruno❤

[@monkeylee4818]

the last character is likely 警 but badly worn away, the charactor means police so the gun was likely under japanese police registration and "1181 police" is its registration number, after the year Meiji 27 (1894), also you can tell that this string of charactor should be read right to left as the traditional way.

[@randalljeffs7272]

I would pay big bucks to purchase a firing replica of this. Sweet steam punk vibes all over it.

[@Darthdoodoo]

Unfortunately its extremely expensive to set up machines for an old gun design but i imagine we should have some new techniques to make it easier and cheaper. Because of supply and demand nobody wants to make something they don't know will sell. Your only hope is to find one at a yard sale and they don't realize what they have lol

[@GaiusCaligula234]

​@@Darthdoodoowhat machines, you can make it by hand

[@jerryk4400]

Interesting guns. Great work guys, thanks.

[@peaceraybob]

I go out and buy a small bottle of Ballistol every episode - in addition to being a Patreon supporter, of course.

[@chipngo9758]

Frigging love the content. Especially detailed explanations and Mary shooting range.

[@grrlpurpleable]

Coming to your channel from BF1 many moons ago, this was a great episode to see! Looking forward to the April Fools Hellriegel or Kolibri episodes... joking aside, such an excellent series!

[@satanmitdengeilenbarthaaren]

The animations of the gun are really helpful and a joy to watch 😊 thx for the work, good CAD job

[@davidhansen5067]

The weirdness of the grip was the first thing I thought of when I first saw one of these, a few years back when on Forgotten Weapons. It's a bit sad how many guns keep unnecessarily making Bergansius' case in ergonomics...

[@blueorb7030]

"Bergansius' case in ergonomics" can you explain that a littl more, or link something that explains the point?

[@zehnerdygamer3329]

There’s a primer on the Dutch 1891 (don’t quote me on the year) revolvers designed by “Quick Draw McGraw” Bergansius

[@F1ghteR41]

@@blueorb7030 Bergansius was a Dutch officer who published a somewhat influential book in the late 1860s on the relative merits of various revolver systems of the time and then proceeded to design his own gun, which was adopted in 1873 (see Primer 160). His main point was that revolvers needed to be sleek, quick to draw and easy to aim in order to be useful in self-defence, even at the expence of other aspects like ease of loading.

[@F1ghteR41]

I don't think Bergansius is to blame here for the grips, he was, after all, advocating for the grip angle to serve aiming and handling the best. The bird's head style of grips was quite popular at the time, and well beyond its area of usability in pocket pistols: notably Colt used it on its powerful double-action revolvers, and one would think that they knew better than to do so.

[@burnies7912]

Finely waited for this one in a video for years😁

[@rush8531]

Thank you Bruno for the extra work today!

[@Cruiser777]

I like that simple and it works

[@robertprueter3292]

Thank you Bruno! These are such weird, whacky steampunk guns and I love them

[@blackpowderfirearmenthusia3194]

Great video thank you.

[@jackgreenstalk777]

I watch all the revolver episodes. This kinda fits in 😅👍👍 really love the handgun content on this channel ❤

[@josteen5667]

This video made my day! Thanks! 😊

[@busterkier]

What a magnificent looking product of the time.

[@NephilBlade]

Amazing gun, love the finish on it.

[@StormHerald3D]

I always enjoy the show but I especially love when its about one of the weird and a bit out there guns

[@denisripley8699]

1hr 20min video !! That's Cinema 'main feature' territory. Superb.

[@klimatiseur1027]

I don't know anything about these pistols, but i'm here for it!!

[@lairdcummings9092]

The sound of the cartridges dropping into place... So satisfying. 🙂

[@yashimirnocture7438]

neat piece of history right there!

[@saccorhytus2728]

Always loved these quirky things.

[@manatoa1]

Fantastic animation!

[@42willys4]

Great one team

[@thespecialbru]

Just commenting to say I am sooooo so so so jealous you have your hands on this, I have wanted to own one forever, or at least shoot one. Great video!

[@warrenpeace0]

This is such a fantastically interesting design

[@adamwiseman8581]

Thanks, Bruno! 🐐

[@jacobl.mcc.9088]

Thank you Bruno!

[@densamme1752]

I belive that there are accounts of officers using their Lancasters for parrying bayonet charges after emptying them. One thing to remember is that they where not a primary arms but the backup to a sword. And in the trained scenario the officer was on horseback behind their men. The remarkable thing for the time is that I have never read a account where the gun failed to fire something that wasn't unusual at the time especially in desert environments. Doesn't mean it is a optimal choice but it seems to have inspired confidence in the officers using them which for an officer probably was more important for them doing a good job leading their men. Thx for another great video

[@alancarr3381]

Thanks Bruno!!!

[@mathewthomason8397]

This just made my day.

[@ablindman0]

Now that is a blaster

[@chrisohnemus7979]

One of my favorites and a lifetime of research. They were owned by a Whos Who of British aristocracy. Several in the royal collection. Sir Herbert Stuart, Walter Winnans and Stanley Maude. Your assessment is spot on. I was able to see David Cooleys collection at its peak. Also able to purchase the cream of that collection. Bland and Belgian variations. Still looking for the Martin. Keep up the awesome research and presentation

[@pivotboy2062]

I've never been sub 20 minutes early. KZbin has blessed me

[@ashleysmith3106]

One of my favourite firearms ! I can't help but wonder whether Lancaster was inspires by the Christian Sharps 4-barreled Pepperbox "Derringer" with its rotating firing pin patented in 1849 ?

[@Rocketsong]

Those grips are absolutely gorgeous.

[@briankerr4512]

that is a really good looking gun. I like the 4 barrel version the best

[@blueorb7030]

thank you bruno!!

[@baanimations3689]

You're welcome :)

[@Odin029]

Thanks Bruno!

[@satanmitdengeilenbarthaaren]

My favorite is the double Barrel! What a beauty 😊

[@44R0Ndin]

Believe it or not, that kind of rotating mechanism is also quite familiar to anyone who's taken apart a "clicky" ballpoint pen. Except that with the ballpoint pen, every other notch is a different length, with the difference in length being the same distance that the pen ink cartridge extends when the pen button is clicked. Otherwise it's the same thing, more or less.

[@Darthdoodoo]

I realized that machines are all made up of only a few simple machines like gears springs levers etc just used in unique and new ways. all mechanical stuff is similar because theres only so many different mechanisms

[@Bhartrampf]

Very nice, i just love these old British guns.

[@murrayscott9546]

Whoa ! 15 mins. into this I realized, 1hr + 20 ? Most interesting but I gotta pause ! More on this later. Good stuff.

[@RocksChosenWarrior3]

Thank you Bruno

[@mobilegamersunite]

Beautiful pistol

[@SuperCrazf]

Really like how the Howdah looks, a very unique pistol

[@kevinsullivan3448]

Thank you, Bruno, for all the extra work you did for this presentation.

[@-Zevin-]

To put it even more into perspective in colonial service, a officer opting to use a pistol like this would likely be using it left handed with a sword in the right hand, melee combat was still far more common than people realize compared to allot of the western world. The concept was having something utterly reliable and simple to drop some big bullets into someone's chest at near point blank range, and you still have a sword for blocking incoming blows and giving counter attacks. "Swordsman of the British Empire" is a good read, a collection of real first hand accounts of melee combat. A common event is a man running with a sword and taking multiple adams bullets strait center of mass and still having enough energy to cut down 1-2 men before dropping, a sword was still vitally important when facing these type of attacks because it can be used to block attacks just as much as it can be used to give them. A example of the type of combat would be walking with a small unit down some busy Calcutta alley when suddenly 5 guys with Tulwar swords come charging out of a doorway 30 feet away, by the time you draw your weapons you're in spitting distance of some angry guys with sharp curved swords overhead, the pistol in this context is almost like melee weapon itself being used to just punch holes in people at very close range right before or even while you make contact, maybe you get 1-2 rounds off then you are in a scrap hand to hand. I can imagine the barracks talk to with officers sharing gossip about some poor officer who had a revolver malfunction right before being decapitated, so I can see where the justifications for a pistol like this came from.

[@SlipknotSAW40]

Wow what a cool gun ❤

[@kdmpankajrajwalpahari308]

Vary amazing pistel ❤😮

[@davidbrennan660]

Hail the Steampunk hand cannon channel reboot of C&Rsenal..... next video a Carbine made out of Copper.

[@JerryEricsson]

Back in the early 80's I was working in North Dakota on an oil patch city, we went to qualify in a nearby city, the dude next to me on the range was from a small one man town (one man PD) and had a very old S&W revolver that was way out of time. His pistol spit lead so badly that I was injured by his errant lead, I had hot lead imbedded into my nose and one eye lid. That day I had such a flinch I failed to qualify but managed on my reshoot a week later.

[@enriquekahn9405]

Barrelmaker: "How about a gun with FOUR barrels?"

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

I SO want one of these! (Just for interest, that method of rotating the firing pin is quite common on Nerf/other brand dart blaster revolvers, where it's used to rotate the cylinder).

[@stamfordly6463]

Super straightforward... Perfect for late C19th cavalry officer who were not considered to be the brightest.