Just How Deadly Were Guns In The 18th Century?

Mike Loades has the world of pistol duelling firmly in his sights. We stare down the barrel of famous encounters, such as Hamilton vs. Burr, and restage a pistol duel to explore how duelling evolved from swords to firearms in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Mike also gets hands on with the technology of skilfully crafted original duelling pistols, from hair triggers to hidden rifled barrels. And BBC Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale, recounts the incredible story of his ancestor who fought a lethal duel with his bank manager!
When the smoke clears, you'll know all about the incredible story of duelling.
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#historyhit #alexanderhamilton #duel

[@TJ_Beam]

Seeing Mr Loades on a thumbnail is an automatic click… love this man and his knowledge and passion.

[@DallingerM]

Mike Loades is a legend ... but I think we’re all still waiting for a Kevin Hicks History Hit Collaboration!!!

[@mikeryan7468]

The French English man is back lol

[@ragnarthered2179]

History hit + history squad=history hitsquad

[@andrewwilson8210]

The last fatal dual in Canada was John Wilson - my ancestor. Was over a girl. He was a lawyer and defended himself in court, did a few other important things in early Canada.

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

To be fair, I think the move to pistols was because they were actually less likely to be lethal than a fight with swords. One shot each, you both miss, you can call honour, (a dirty word), satisfied, and end it. With swords, it has to go on until someone gets hurt. Not that pistol duels weren't dangerous, just a bit more controlled. Give Ridley Scots "the Duelists" a look.

[@jonathanengdahl9045]

Sword duels are probably more likely to injure both parties. It is incredibly difficult to go in for the kill with a sword without being struck yourself

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

@@jonathanengdahl9045 Thats my point, so yup.

[@robinburt5735]

Sword duels though were generally ended when someone was cut, which normally wasn't anything serious. Getting hit by a large ball of lead that took a bit of clothing with it was often fatal.

[@martingreen2018]

Sword duels were usually to first blood, not to the death.

[@jonathanengdahl9045]

@@FelixstoweFoamForge You see this in fencing where points are given to the one who hit the other faster by a factor of milliseconds. Even the best swordsmen wouldnt have a long duelling life. An expert marksman with a high quality pistol however could just keep dropping them

[@andrewallen9993]

It sounds like dueling with bankers who wont lend you money should most definitely make a return.

[@williammurray1341]

My maternal grandfather's great great grandfather was 2-0-1 in pistol duals. It became an issue when he ran for president in 1824.

[@technochief2000]

Anything with Mike Loades is absolute fire 🔥

[@steveday4797]

Mike Loades is a great presenter

[@travisinthetrunk]

I love his energy. You can tell he loves what he does.

[@grahambamford9073]

Ive seen on another channel a pair of black powder dueling pistols that were designed to shoot wax bullets, it was thought of as a sport, you would wear a face guard and shoot at each other for fun......😮 it would hurt but not kill, kind of like modern day paintball.

[@robertstallard7836]

It was even a sport in the 1908 Olympics.

[@johncartwright8154]

'Paintball duelling' using replica period pistols. That would be an interesting business venture for settling arguments!

[@brandonobaza8610]

Sounds like the Lepage wax bullet dueling pistols. Forgotten Weapons has an episode on those.

[@Bobbymaccys]

Never miss a Mike Loades episode!

[@TonyNicholls-gi9le]

As always Mike, Terrific narrative. If only you could have been my History teacher. I'm 78 now and my History teachers were all good, But you would have been GREAT.

[@jefflatham3247]

Thank You for yet another great video Mr. Loades !

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

Thank you for a very interesting video. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

[@stuartduke999]

Brilliant piece of work! Many thanks Mike and the team!💥🏆

[@justjones5430]

Mike is my favourite historian by far! 😊

[@joshlesure3196]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video! Mike Loades always does an awesome job!

[@usnchief1339]

Excellent video...thank you!

[@terencegamble4548]

Really interesting and informative. Thank you.

[@davehogg63]

The 2 Landells old and new, bear a remarkable resemblance.

[@richardsuggs8108]

Dueling wasn’t outlawed in North Carolina until sometime in the 1960s. Sometimes I wish it was still legal.

[@atricdouglas4123]

Riffling does not reduce ‘oscillations’ necessarily but rather imparts gyroscopic rigidity to the projectile thereby improving the firearms accuracy compared to a non-riffled firearm.

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

"Riffling" is that doing the wild thaing in her lounge room ?

[@chriswalker2753]

No. The projectile will have surface imperfections that deflect it as a result of air resistance. When it spins, these imperfections are effectively presented in all directions, so the projectile doesn't veer (or, if you like, a deflection to the left is rapidly cancelled by a deflection to the right).

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@chriswalker2753 That´s the case in arrows. A curved path is effectivey turned into a narrow cone. Firearm projectiles usually spin much faster, to the point were gyroscopic effects do play a role.

[@andywoolley8058]

Great video as always, Duel is also a very interesting book, a must read for anyone keen on that era.

[@jeffreymontgomery4091]

"DRAW me not without REASON. HOLSTER me not without HONOR."

[@kenbyers8036]

Mike Loades knowledge of weapons ancient or otherwise is phenomenal. He also an exceptional historian. Or he has great writers. 😊

[@DavidLee-yu7yz]

This was a well presented and filmed documentary and has redeemed this Channel as compared to other offerings recently uploaded I may reconsider subbing if this trend continues but time will tell.

[@DidierDidier-kc4nm]

Good to see again Mike .Very interresti g vidéo!

[@petethefeet1461]

wonderful and fascinating story thank you

[@uToobeD]

Very interesting. I always think of Colonel Mustard shouting "I challenge you to a duel!"

[@nickwright5531]

A first class film. Bravo! 👏

[@perryedwards4746]

very very interesting! I was engrossed.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you.

[@rogerclark9285]

Well done but for one thing. A well tuned flintlock is quite fast in firing. You can barely, if at all, distinguish between the ignition time of a percussion gun and a flintlock.

[@jameswaterfield]

It should be noted that a 'pace' is actually the distance covered between the time you lift a foot and the time you put it back down, half a pace is a step.

[@amandagrayson389]

I am not into military history however Mike Loades is fantastic and has drawn me into the world of war and weaponry for decades.

[@santibouphavong]

They were deadly as long as the projectile actually hits you. When rifling the barrel became a thing then the firearms from the old days were definitely deadly

[@richardeikenburg7347]

you are greatly overcharging the pan. You may be doing this for dramatic effect in the video, but the lock time is much shorter with proper priming. Also, the powder should be AWAY from the touchhole.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

The last known pistol duel happened in Uruguay, fought in 1971 between Danilo Sena and Enrique Erro, in which neither of the combatants was injured.

[@arcaballista]

Simly great!

[@apollothirteen9236]

Dueling needs to be legalized world wide. If two people or for that matter wish to engage in mutual combat then it is their business and no one else's.

[@TheAlexagius]

I know the scope of the video is duelling pistols but the title is broad, so I wonder if in a future video you could feature some Lorenzoni System or Kalthoff firearms? Pre-cartridge repeating firearms are very cool.

[@ighmur]

What may have saved Landale was the slow firing of the flintlock pistol. Morgan missed because he was shot first while his gun hadn't yet fired.

[@13infbatt]

Those pistols are beautiful

[@WalterWild-uu1td]

There is an anecdote recited by an English authority (he even wrote a pamphlet!) on dueling. He was a witness to a duel between an ordinary man and a man who was known as a regular duelist. In the actual duel, the ordinary man discharged his weapon and missed. The semi professional man pulled his trigger and his pistol misfired. He insisted that he was due another shot. But the "specialist" interposed, saying that if the pro got a second try and killed his opponent, he would see the duelist hanged for murder. The specialist pointed out the participants were required to stand and "receive fire;" but that it was not the ordinary man's fault the other man's pistol misfired. He had stood to the effort and done his part...and that was sufficient to satisfy his honor. While duelists might wish for the death of their opponent, the practice was a test of courage and honor, not bloodthirstiness.

[@paulc6210]

How backward we would be today without the invention of the shed.

[@fosterfuchs]

Good thing this tradition didn't persist into modern times. Dueling Uzis would be a lot more deadly.

[@nem447]

might be a good thing, we'd have less idiots on the planet

[@RandiRain]

I think I just found the perfect thing to decide this whole Biden/Trump thing in the US.

[@Sasquatch_Driver]

Add in they have to load their own and they have to be flintlock

[@tonybarrett8543]

Trump would be able to manage it, even if awkwardly, Biden wouldn't. So, under duelling rules, it would not be allowed. I'm just making a statement regarding the rules of duelling, not a political one.

[@hiredgoon13]

1ish lb trigger is common among target rifles and pistols today, and apparently was common in history as well

[@felixthecat265]

The bit where he was testing the set trigger made me wince.. cocking a set trigger is the LAST thing you do before shooting. You cock and prime a set triggered gun with the set trigger cocked..

[@ManiusCuriusDenatus]

Interesting question: 18th C you're dealing with highly inaccurate weapons, but much larger caliber shot. They are much slower projectiles so they tend to smash and splinter bones. Modern projectiles are generally much higher velocity and with self defense ammo they're hollow point, rather than FMJ. However ammunition today are of a much smaller caliber. generally. I'd probably say it's down to the relative quality of medical care in the 18th v. 21st C. I'd rather be hit today than back then.

[@dp-sr1fd]

They were not highly inaccurate, original smoothbore flintlock duelling pistols can produce a group of ten shots less than four inches diameter at twenty five metres. they were usually about .50" calibre with a muzzle velocity, if loaded with full powder charge, comparable to a modern pistol.

[@ManiusCuriusDenatus]

@@dp-sr1fd I would love to see someone have a four inch grouping with 10 shots at 80 feet with a smoothbore pistol. I mean with consistancy and not a one off feat of expert marksmanship or luck. I really can't see that.

[@dp-sr1fd]

@@ManiusCuriusDenatusThe World record score for the "Cominazzo" event with an original smoothbore flintlock pistol is held by a German his score was 94 out of 100. The event is shot on a PL7 target. The ten ring is two inches diameter and the nine ring is four inches diameter, that means he got four out of ten shots in a two inch bull's eye and the other six in the four inch nine ring. Many competitions are held with muzzle loading firearms both nationally and internationally at ranges up to one thousand yards with original and reproduction firearms. I have been a member of the Muzzleloading Association of Great Britain for thirty five years and have witnessed some incredible shooting.

[@ManiusCuriusDenatus]

@@dp-sr1fd That is fascinating. I appreciate the information. I am certainly going to look up that organization. Thanks you!

[@dp-sr1fd]

@@ManiusCuriusDenatus It is a very rewarding sport, to both collect and shoot these fascinating firearms is really good. We do have a website and shoot mid and long range at Bisley and there are local branches up and down the country. Sadly we are struggling to keep membership because it is difficult to recruit new members due in part to the difficulty in getting the appropriate firearm licenses. Also shooting as a sport is always shown in a negative light in the media it seems, but it is great fun and I have met many really nice people from all over the world.

[@donbalduf572]

I read many years ago that some dueling pistols were deliberately set to shoot very high, meaning that a center hold would send the ball over your opponent’s head. One presumes that the owner would know how the pistols were sighted, which seems unfair to say the least.

[@whzpoor]

Mike is immortal, i remember Time Commanders - he's not aged!

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

Brings to mind the dueling scene in the movie Highlander. ....😆

[@user-dc4qi7bw6v]

It is likely that these duels were very famous in the Anglo-Saxon world, but to say that they were the most important duels in the world is saying too much. There have been gun and sword duels throughout Europe, even between one man against several opponents at the same time and There were also famous duelists who fought throughout Europe. "Diego de Paredes" is an example, but not the only one. Great report. Congratulations

[@ronlane4311]

The deadliest thing about guns in the 18th Century was the Medical Care available.

[@robashton8606]

"Inflammatory correspondence" ? Crikey!

[@williamdaly1005]

Perhaps a duel rather than another debate?

[@JaNeija]

We did essentially pick our PM after a boxing match...

[@nopenheimer]

Seeing him walk back and forth in front of the head-high barrel when testing the trigger pull feels just wrong.

[@kevinpeters6688]

Dr Peter Hennis came to Exeter in 1830. In 1833, aged 31, he was shot and fatally wounded in a duel at Haldon. He was the last man to be killed in a duel in Devon. Therefore this video is inaccurate to say the last fatal dual was fought in 1826.

[@user-xh3lz9xt4l]

Banker with a capital W

[@giraffesinc.2193]

This was such an amazing video! Sorry for the side comment, but it astonishes me (as an American) how close Britons are to one another when conversing. We'd back up another foot, at least!

[@johncartwright8154]

Hmmm. Sunak versus Starmer at 12 paces. I wonder..... Sunak would have the advantage of presenting a tiny target whereas Starmer would be flip-flopping whether to discharge his pistol or not.

[@Ryan-jz4fe]

So i havent watched it all the way through yet, but a quick question. Were the barrels of the dueling pistols rifled? Or was this not yet invented?

[@Bumpyi64]

Watch the video.

[@panchopistola8298]

That was a time when a man’s word meant everything . We should honestly go back to those times .

[@saurannuraliyev1695]

Over the years, there have been claims that Alexander Pushkin participated in as many as 26 duels. However, historians have been able only to ascertain five ...

[@TheSfyfe]

I know this guy probably has extensive experience with firearms, but his muzzle discipline is alarming, to say the least. The content and presentation were great, though anyone who has spent any time around firearms are squirming as he leans his face around the muzzle of that gun.

[@MeanBeanComedy]

Yeah, fishy.

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

​@@MeanBeanComedy complacency more than fishy.

[@newttella1043]

He probably stood where he did to allow a better camera angle. Foolish not to just change the camera angle.

[@user-un5kp2em7j]

He's British 😂.....He's used to fakes and antiques doesn't appear to have any muzzle discipline at all....probably a veteran of the British army 😂

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Oh my goodness, you bet! I am an American, grew up around guns, was in the USMC, and flinched every single time. That muzzle is dangerous, no matter how confident you are.

[@user-wy5fm8pl6y]

Standing directly in front of the gun? A big no-no, whether it's loaded or not.

[@BradloRaul]

My understanding is; as the wealth of society shifted from landed aristocracy with a lot of idle time and a military upbringing to the professional merchant/investor classes pistols gave the new rich a fighting chance.

[@terencephillips6833]

They didn’t have a lot of sense in those days did they , you wouldn’t catch a modern man willingly standing in front of a loaded pistol waiting to be shot .

[@whateveranyhow]

I wouldn’t call it the most famous duel in the World. E.g. for me the first that comes to mind would be the duel between Dante’s and Pushkin. I guess you could call Hamilton’s duel the most famous in certain regions (US?), but not universally across the world

[@saurannuraliyev1695]

Americans never heard of Pushkin though

[@Juggtacula]

Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?

[@jsullivan2112]

"Correct Aaron Burr, you are a blackguard!" I bet nobody here can tell me what TV show that quote is from lol.

[@amos61905]

SpongeBob SquarePants

[@jsullivan2112]

@@amos61905 Nope!

[@jackvoss5841]

Guns of the past centuries were about deadly enough to almost kill you. And, if you survived the bulletin strike, they bled you. The practice of medicine in that day, finished off a lot of survivors. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

[@abnurtharn2927]

Pretty sure I have seen this video some years ago under a different title.

[@jacqueslemiere]

People were less dead than today.

[@chrisgibson5267]

Carried on a door? Doors were, of course, far stouter, and if it was fitted with rising hinges, this would allow one to be quickly lifted free of the frame and carried to the scene of the duel. I'll see myself out.

[@Jaymsie.]

There’s a fly on my TV. It’s going right into Mikes ear. 29:02 Update: Lord Byron just shot the fly. Yet for all his practice and reputation for being a crack shot…he seems to have missed, in this case.

[@paulmanson253]

I am quite surprised that no one has mentioned what to me is the considerable resemblance between David Landale in the painting and a young Michael Palin ,Python and globe trotter. If there was behavioural similarity,a man without a sense of humour,the banker,would tend to react very negatively towards some digs set with a laugh behind it.

[@danboyd2725]

"Duels if honor" became a sin free method of committing suicide when syphilis and tuberculosis were pandemic and incurable.

[@jpcaretta8847]

Amusing. How about using scale designed to measure it ? And what about metric ? My guns, pistol, revolver, rifle are set for 30 N, shotguns 50 N, my BP Hawken and my drilling are fitted with a set trigger and only require 5 N.

[@harrycarter1722]

Check ot Bon a Venteure. Savannah ,Ga

[@kabuti2839]

My step great grandmother told me her grandfather killed a man he had been feuding with & that, in case of a conviction, his friends had provided o horse, saddled & waiting but he was aquitted.

[@Davefinney370]

I do the same horse thing whenever a friend gets married.

[@kabuti2839]

@@Davefinney370 I'll drink to that!

[@davidstrother496]

The video should have simply been titled, Dueling in the 18th Century, rather than How Deadly Were Guns in The 18th Century. It is more about the practice of dueling, than the deadliness of the weapons. Of course the weapons were deadly if one is hit in a part of the body that contains the vital organs.

[@robertgrey6101]

Chivalry gone mad. Honour ? What honour ??

[@marsspacex6065]

In those days people valued honour and respect.

[@TheIfifi]

Okay Boomer. We have tablets from 4000 bc going "The youth of today..." etc etc Gods it's fucking boring to keep hearing you lot complaining about this shit.

[@katego370]

So what you're saying is to keep your paws off the bang switch.

[@brandonobaza8610]

20:07 What is it with inventors and sheds? 😂

[@thegeneral123]

Witness meeeeee!

[@WormholeJim]

Duels are to the death and is carried out at night in light of a bonfire using dualbladed battleaxes. Always. These gentlemen ..pth. They might as well have run around bonking eachother on the head with their silvertipped canes while making cooing sounds.

[@Chuck44442]

24:44. chance of the draw?

[@richardsuggs8108]

This was not a murder. It was a duel.

[@BradloRaul]

Legally the same thing. Morally and socially…?

[@jamesgraham6122]

I would like to have seen a demonstration of just how accurate these weapons were in the hands of an expert and also a non - military man of middle social standing. To fight a hundred duals and still be left standing would indicate a weapon of very limited potency, either in accuracy or effectiveness. Twelve steps apart would not require one to be an expert.

[@GrumpyGenXGramps]

WHY would anyone be convicted of “murder” if a participant/winner of a DUAL?? Both parties are well aware of the consequences and have agreed upon it. Right down to the place, time and choice of pistol! I know that many States have “Mutual Combat Laws”. I’ve only known them to be used in modern days for fist fights and admittedly don’t know how they would come into play if two men agreed upon it but I just don’t see how the State can charge a man for agreeing to be the willful participant in a dual?! Especially if each party were to SIGN some agreement of “no liability”, etc. I would be extremely curious what WOULD happen if it were to happen here in 2024.

[@robertstallard7836]

Duelling was made specifically illegal in 18 states in 1859. There is no federal anti-dueling law, but since there was never any statute protecting the right to duels of honor, normal criminal laws would apply at the federal level. As I say, some states have outlawed dueling, but I doubt courts would apply these laws and instead, as in states with no dueling laws on the books, would treat it as any other murder. You can't consent for someone to kill you (or euthanasia wouldn't be an issue!).

[@ATINKERER]

That duel didn't take place in a field or anything like it. It took place on the water's edge/

[@JaNeija]

"Sickness is cured with a doctors skill, injuries to honour are cured with steel" -some dead bro.

[@paulhomsy2751]

@1.43, your face is much too close to the black powder ignition without any form of protection, wear at least shatter proof wraparound glasses...

[@traver1965]

Great story but you never answered the question: "Just How Deadly Were Guns In The 18th Century?"

[@OzzyCoop]

"There is no known portrait of the banker, so we've made one up" Lol ok, I understand the importance of a portrait for storytelling but IMO making up a portrait is a disservice to history.

[@Twirlyhead]

any wound could be fatal before antibiotics.

[@davidducouret791]

Gentlemen. Let us go about the business

[@petermoran4741]

Surely it would have been better to face your opponent than stand side on. A hit in the side invites greater damage and almost certain death?

[@robertstallard7836]

A sideways stance provides a narrower target. Unless you're Mr Beer Belly, in which case you might be better off not duelling.

[@peterrose5373]

If the circle of equal probability is bigger than you are thick, a side profile reduces the chance of getting hit at all, in a medical environment where any hit was dangerous, that's a fair tradeoff. Also, a beefy shoulder and upper arm might be pretty good armor,

[@robertstallard7836]

@@peterrose5373 I think, too, it probably feels better psychologically because your vulnerable bits aren't so exposed. No-one likes a punch in the belly or a kick in the wotsits and by turning those to one side, away from the threat (just as one tends to do if one is attacked), it just feels more natural.