online catalog

• What's New
• Reduced Price Items
• Artillery
• Books
• Bottles
• Buttons
• Confederate
• Contemporary Artist Prints
  • Framed Prints
  • Unframed Prints
• Currency, Bonds & Tokens
• Documents & Paper Goods
  • Art
  • Broadsides
  • Commissions
  • Discharges
  • Letters
  • Newspapers
  • Signatures
• Edged Weapons
  • Bayonets
  • Knives
  • Scabbards
  • Swords
• Firearms
  • Carbines
  • Cartridges & Gun Tools
  • Handguns
  • Holsters
  • Longarms
• Gettysburg Items
• Identified Items
  • Accoutrements
  • Edged Weapons
  • Firearms
  • Personal Items
  • Photography
  • Uniforms & Cloth
• Medical Items
• Military Accoutrements
  • Buckles/Plates
  • Canteens
  • Insignia & Badges
  • Leather
    • Belts
    • Cap & Cartridge Boxes
    • Haversacks / Knapsacks
    • Holsters
    • Scabbards
  • Spurs
• Personal Items
  • Amusements
  • Cooking
  • Jewelry
  • Personal Hygiene
  • Sewing
  • Smoking
  • Writing
• Photography
  • Albumens
  • Albums
  • Cabinet Cards
  • CDVs
    • Identified CDVs
    • Unidentified CDVs
  • Hard Images
    • Ambrotypes
    • Daguerreotypes
    • Tintypes
  • Stereoviews
• Relics
• Stock Items
  • Books
  • Clothing
  • Riker Cases
  • Shell Bases
  • Wood Display Cases
• Uniforms & Cloth
  • Flags
  • Headgear
  • Sashes & Hat Cords
  • Uniforms
• Veteran Memorabilia
  • GAR
  • UCV
• WWI / WWII
  • Equipment
  • Posters

CONNECTICUT ARMS AND MANUFACTURING CO. HAMMOND .44 RIMFIRE “BULLDOG” PISTOL, CA. 1865-1868

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This is a strong example of the standard production with 4-inch barrel, gutta-percha (thermoplastic) checkered grips, chambered for the .44 rimfire cartridge. These pistols were  elegantly styled by the taste of the day: The barrel is octagon, with the bottom flats having rounded ends giving the impression of flutes in the frame and the barrel giving the appearance of narrowing by a tapering top barrel flat that comes to a point beyond the front sight, effectively making it seven-sided at the muzzle. The receiver, however, has very round contours that transition into the flat-sided but bag-style grips (of then modern thermoplastic) with rounded butt. Those smooth lines, along with the use of a spur trigger, may also have given it some appeal to the practical-minded looking for pistol that could be smoothly drawn from a pocket, but the pistol was also robustly constructed to handle the .44 caliber round.

This rates near Fine for condition with smooth metal overall, excellent grips, the case-hardened frame showing as a caramel brown from handling, but with lots of original barrel blue showing some small scratches and rubbing to raised edges, but about 70 or 80 percent there, with the face of the muzzle just showing some staining, wear to bright and a small chip to the upper edge at left. The top of the checkered release button, doubling as the rear sight, has strong dark blue. The markings are sharp: “CONNECTICUT ARMS & MANF’G CO NAUBUC CONN.” on the barrel and “PATENTED OCT 25. 1864.” On the forward top edge of the breechblock. The grips have a tight fit, no chips or cracks, good brown color, and crisp checkering.

Brothers Henry and Lewis Hammond tried to enter the Civil War military arms business by incorporating in mid-1863 and developing a breech-loading single-shot cartridge system. This  met delays in getting a patent, finally being granted only in late October 1864. Attempts at a military contract for longarms were unsuccessful, but they had a little more luck with their Deringer pistol, which used the same sort of swivel breach block that pivots to the left for inserting a cartridge after placing the hammer at half-cock and depressing a button on top of the block. The button cross-hatched, but also slotted to function as a rear sight, and the block is fitted with an automatic ejector that will partially lift out the cartridge case for removal. Mechanics are fine; bore is clean.

We have not removed the grips to check the serial number on the frame. Production data is not available, though estimates fall under 8,000 in total. They are generally assumed to have been introduced in 1865, though the ejector and rear sight did not receive patents until mid-1866 and very early 1867 according to Tim Prince, the company may have pushed forward anyway, with the obvious October 1864 patent date deemed a sufficient warning. In any case, production was very limited in number and in duration. Henry Hammond reportedly filed some later firearms related patents, but the NRA museum notes that production ceased in 1868, due to a mortgage problem and Mike Helms notes the company assets were sold off in 1872. Many of the pistols, however, remained in dealer inventories, advertised for sale into the 1880s, which may have led some arms students to assume a longer production run. In any case, this a nice example of a Deringer that would go well in a display of such vest and coat pocket pistols carried for personal defense in the early west. The pistol has acquired the nickname of the “bulldog” among collectors. This may be a faulty recollection of the barrel inscription “bull dozer” found on some of these, but either nickname is a reminder of its persuasive or coercive abilities at close range.    [sr][ph:L]

DISCLAIMER: All firearms are sold as collector's items only - we do not accept responsibility as to the shooting safety or reliability of any antique firearm. All firearms are described as accurately as possible, given the restraints of a catalog listing length. We want satisfied customers & often "under" describe the weapons. Any city or state regulations regarding owning antique firearms are the responsibility of the purchaser. All firearms are "mechanically perfect" unless noted, but again, are NOT warranted as safe to fire!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!

Inquire »