The Incredibly Unique Triple Barreled Pistol... - Smarter Every Day 304

[D] This is my son and I love him very much and I'm very proud of you. Do you know that you're, you know all that? [S] I do [D] You think the Internet knows that I'm proud of you? [S] No. Well, now they do. [D] Now they do. Okay, cool. Would you like to explain what we have here? [S] We have a single barrel pistol, a double barrel pistol and then a triple barrel pistol. [D] A what? [S] Okay. I found these pistols at an antique shop and I thought about them for a really long time and eventually I just had to drive back. So this one, very, very old single barrel pistol. The tag on it says it's a British double action percussion cap, 1830. That is extremely old. The second one here, double barrel. What I really like about this one is somebody put their initials on there. I think that's really, really cool. The tag on this one says it's a Belgium made double derringer from the 1850s. That's incredibly old. I've never shot pistols, this old. And this one right here, I think this is fascinating. I've heard this referred to as a duck foot pistol because it kind of looks like a duck foot. Also, it's for clearing the deck on a boat if you're getting overrun by pirates. At least that's what I read. And a buddy of mine when he first saw this thing, his name for it I really like was the crowd pleaser. These things operate with what's called a percussion cap. Basically, I'll show you on the double here. So if I pull back the hammers, you can see underneath the hammers there, there's a thing called a nipple. You put a percussion cap on there and when you pull the trigger it falls and slams into that percussion cap. Now this double is pretty interesting because it's got two triggers. I can fire them one at a time or both of them at the same time with this trigger over here. Watch this. So we've got powder, we've got bullets and we've got patches. So here's a lead ball we're going to try to load. But first, this is powder made for pistols. So I read where you're supposed to do no more than 20 grains of powder. So that's a powder measuring tool. We got it set to about 10. So go ahead and get some powder in that thing. We're going to make a mess. I don't have a funnel. Got 10 grains of powder. [S] Need a little bit more. [D] Alright, now just pour it in the barrel. This is cool. [S] It's really cool. [D] Alright, now if you tip that Over. It's going to fall, right? Yes, sir. [D] So here's a really cool thing that we're going to do. So we're going to put this patch right over that, okay? Now put that lead ball right on top of that. Now push it down in with your thumb. See if it goes. Does it go? [S] Not really. [D] Not really? Let me see. Kind of. Kind of thump it right there. All right, keep going. Don't break the handle, but just keep going. You want to compress it all the way. [S] Will the powder go off? [D] No, no. The powder's not as sensitive as the primer. Did it go down anymore? [S] Yes, sir. [D] It looks pretty good. It's kind of scary, isn't it? [S] Yes, sir. I don't. I don't want it to go off! [D] All right, pull that rod out. All right, so we got the high speed camera. Let me get it set up so we can get a shot. I want to be the guy to fire this because if it doesn't work, I don't want you to get hurt. [S] That's fair. Not like it's from the 1850s or something like that. [D] Right. So I'm going to load this thing. put the. The percussion cap on the nipple. You know what? I'm going to hide behind titanium. I'm just going to be safe. This thing's old. Does it look in focus? [S] It looks like the end of the gun is in focus. Like your hand and stuff isn't. [D] Tell me what to do. [S] Go forward. Keep going. A little bit more. There you go. Stop, stop. [D] I have no idea if this is going to function. Ready? Yes, sir. 1830S black powder. 10 grains. 3, 2, 1. [gun shot] It feel like it shot. [S] I pushed the button. I saw Smoke and [D] Man, that was so ridiculous. That was like the nerdiest way to shoot a gun ever. Open that thing up. [S] Oh, it loosened it. [D] Oh, did it? [S] It did. [D] All right. Did it go? Is it clear? [S] It's clear. [D] Let's see what the slow-mo says. Oh, looks like we did have problems. Looks like the sensor wigged out here. So you gonna shoot it this time? [S] Sure. [D] That's pretty funny. [S] Let's do it then. [D] I love you. All right, so. All right, get in position. You need a percussion cap? [S] I have one. [D] have ears in? [S] Yes, sir. [D] All right, load your percussion cap. Let me get my ears in. [S] Percussion cap is loaded. [D] Okay, ready? [S] Ready. [D] You look awesome. [Son] 3, 2, 1. [gun shot] [D] Got it. I saw the, I saw the patch come out. [S] I saw that too.

And I also saw it hit like a leaf over there. [D] Oh, did you really? [S] Like it hit something and a bunch of leaves fell. [D] Okay, clear the gun. Obviously it is clear, but that's just what we do. Okay, look at that. [click] [then low rumble with cap igniting] [like someone softly hit a gong and its ringing out] [soft explosion sound as the gunpowder ignites] [D] As soon as it hits, look, the cap blows the hammer up. You see that? [S] Oh, yes, sir. [D] And so then it's lighting the powder inside. Takes quite a bit. There's. It feels like a delay when you pull the trigger, doesn't it? Oh, wow. So you have the cap hit. Oh. And then the powder goes. So you got the ignition. And then once the powder goes, it blows the hammer up. [S] So the hammer is going up three times. Once the hit the primer. Once the primer goes off, it goes up. Other once the powder explodes, it goes up again. [D] It does, doesn't it? That's pretty neat. I think we moved to the double. [S] All right. Is it weird? Loading two at once? [S] It's kind of scary. [D] I'm gonna be real with you, son. You look pretty awesome. [S] Thanks, dad. [D] Three, two, one, fire. Okay, now we don't know if they both went. That's the interesting thing about this gun. So. [S] Then pull the trigger again? [D] Just as a safety? Yeah, why not. So another one went? [S] Yeah. [D] But it didn't sound like the thing went. [S] Sounded like the percussion cap went... [D] But not the... Oh, wow. What an interesting predicament. So we don't know. Good thing we have a high speed camera. So we're going to assume one of these barrels is loaded, right? [S] Yep. [D] Okay. All right, let's see what happened. [soft click sound] [louder click sound] [mini explosion sound as the gun powder ignites] [D] The left one fired. The right one did not go. Go put a percussion cap on the right one. See if you can make it go. Just clear to. Just clear the weapon. [gun shot] [S] Percussion cap, [D] huh? [S] That was only percussion cap. [D] But the ber... Oh, man. We have an issue, don't we? It's time for the nipple pick. [Destin Laughing] I bought a nipple pick. [S] Should that fire it? [D] Huh? [S] Is that gonna fire it? [D] No, I'm. I'm just trying to get a path to the powder. Try to clear it. Yep. Three, two, one. [S] Only percussion cap. [D] So we're gonna. We're gonna assume that there's powder and a. And a ball in there, right? So we'll flood it later with water. Did papa bring his donkey? [S] He brought his donkey. [D] You bringing Miss Pearl over here? He wanted her on video, didn't he? Okay, we're gonna move on because I don't know how to clear that right now. Got it out. We're gonna take a donkey break. Is this Miss Pearl? [Papa] Miss Pearl. [D] Hey, Miss Pearl. I've got a special camera. People have been taking pictures of people and donkeys for a long time. Oh, yeah, Got it. That'd be fine. [S] I like those pictures. [D] Yeah, they're neat, aren't they? [S] Is this percussion cap going to be bigger? [D] Yes. [S] What is this for? [D] So like in the Civil War, they would do this. They would. They had your rifle, you would take it. And if you had your rifle going, you'd go wham. And you'd stick a new percussion cap on. Pretty interesting, isn't it, huh? What I think's so interesting about this is you got a single percussion cap that goes down through the nipple and lights off the powder. But on this one, it's like a manifold, right? [S] Has to be. [D] So I put air on it back at the shop. I held this back and I put air pressure there and just made sure, oh, look at that. The nipple's a little loose. And I made sure I was getting airflow out of each one. So it'll communicate. There's gotta be like a pipe back here in the back, Right. Do you like doing that? [S] It's kind of fun. [D] Yeah. [S] I don't think I could do it if somebody was shooting at me though. [D] Yeah. I think a cartridge bullet style design is a pretty good thing. [S] So they go all the way down to the blocks. [D] So the bullets down in the block? [S] On the left, on the left and the right side. [D] Okay. [S] But if you go to the middle one, it goes like down into the block.

[D] Interesting. Okay, I'm going to shoot the triple first. [S] Looks good here. [D] Okay, Red circle? [S] Red circle and looks good there. [D] Will you hand me this plate of titanium right here? [S] Yes, sir. I'm ready. [D] Three, two, one. Oh, gosh. That was scary. Could have a smoldering thing there. I'm gonna hold it for a second. You ready on the trigger? [S] Ready. [D] 3, 2, 1. Man [S] Did not push it. This isn't great. [S] Do a big cap with some powder under it. [D] Yeah. 1. [S] I really want this to work. [D] I want to work so bad, dude. Three, two, one. [gun shot] something happened. [S] I hit the button! [D] You hit the button? It felt like a single cylinder. Went. [explosion sound] 1, 2. The other one went too. That's just a mess dude. [explosion sound] Do, you want to load her back up? [S] I really want to [D] load that thing up. 15 each. Did you pick the nipple? [S] Not yet. [D] Here's your nipple pick. It's a clean looking nipple right there, man. You know, it's an important thing for a son to learn proper nipple hygiene from his dad. [S] Mhmm. [D] Do you feel that way? [S] I feel like you've taught me how to clean my nipples properly. [Destin laughing] [D] Okay. [S] Three, two, one. [just the cap went] [D] That scared me. All right, load another cap. It's getting annoying. The pirates have already taken our ship. Over. Ready in 3, 2, 1. [D] What do you think we do? [S] I mean, if we were pirates, we'd die. [Destin laughing] [D] That's exactly. We'd get swash buckled real hard right now, wouldn't we? [S] We would. [D] Dadgum it. [S] Ready in three, two, one. [Gun shot! ] [D] Made sure to. [S] Let's go. Did you push that time? [D] Yes, sir, I did. [S] Let's go. [D] Look at that. Fizzle, fizzle, boooooom. [S] So cool. [D] Oh, dude. [S] Is it like. [D] Oh, sick. Come here. [Explosion sound followed by gong ringing] [Destin once again laughing] Oh, man. Look at that. The lock time is forever. I'll calculate it later. We don't have time to calculate right now, but it. It's clearly smoldering for a while before it goes. [S] Like, how long? [D] Milliseconds. Tens of milliseconds. The sponsor's ridge. What if we put three ridge wallets up there and you try to hit all three of them? [S] We can try. [D] You think you can do it? [S] I don't know. Maybe. Depends on how far away they are. [D] Ridge is the sponsor for this video, which really excites me because I love my ridge wallet. I didn't think I would, but I love this thing. It's so small, and it's really easy to get to your cards. And I like the airtag money clip. This is a thing that helps me find my wallet when I misplace it, which is a really big deal in my life. So I asked them if you could get an airtag money clip for free. So if you go to ridge. com/smarter if you buy certain styles and a certain amount, it's on the website. You can figure it out. You're smart. But I highly recommend getting the airtag money clip. Also, they have many different sizes and styles. You can get them made out of leather. There's carbon fiber. There's even these minimalist wallets. So this is basically the smallest wallet that can exist if you think about the size of credit cards. So check it out. Ridge. com/smarter. For now, it's time to go shoot these things. My son has a few minutes left before he has to go to a dance. Why are you gonna go to a dance? You could just still be doing this with me. [S] I kind of want to still be doing this with you. [D] Whatever, dude. So what's the plan here? You gonna walk me through it? [S] I'm gonna have to line the middle barrel up here and try to find Like a distance back to where these barrels are. About in the same position. [D] Oh, in. In the outside, because you have a fixed spread. Like, that would be too close. So let's back up. Back up with me. So as you go back, the pie spreads out and is, like, right there, for example.

That's interesting. And there's also a component of this that matters. So this is like planar aiming, isn't it? [S] Yes, sir. I'd be lucky if I hit one. [D] Yeah, that'd be pretty significant. Okay, so I'm gonna go back here. [S] Three, two, one. [D] I think you nicked one. [S] I don't see nothing. [D] Oh, you hit it right here. You want to try one more time? [S] Let's go for it. [D] He's worried because he's about to go to homecoming, and this is his last opportunity. All right, ready? [S] Ready. [D] Three, two, one, fire. [gun shot] [S] I missed again. [D] Did you miss? All right, well, that was your shot. [S] Darn. [D] Enjoy your dance [S] Now I'm not going to. [D] Why? [S] I'll be thinking about this the whole time. What do you think you missed? [S] I felt it felt low. [D] That time felt low. All right, well, you can go on, and I'll try to hit it while you're gone, and I'll get it. [S] Okay. Do it for me, please. [D] Have fun. [S] Yes, sir. [D] Okay. Now that my son is gone, old age and debauchery will beat youth and skill. Move this thing a little closer, and we'll just do this. We'll play the angle game a little bit. We'll just move them in a little bit, huh? It's neat how that works. How did I miss? [Explosion sound] On plane, I'm going to aim lower than I think I need to. All right. Three, two, one. [gun shot] How on earth am I missing? [explosion in slow motion- deeper sound and longer duration] I could not figure this out. It didn't become clear what was going on until editing the video. And then if you roll it back and play it slow, you can kind of see it. Look close. The hammer falls, the percussion cap goes. But there's such a long lock time that I have time to move the gun off target, and then it fires. It's the lock time that's getting me. And maybe even the fact that the percussion cap is firing and I'm flinching. Something's going on. But that little bit of time is what's making me. My hand move off target. How?!? [gun shot] It worked! [Destin Laughing] That is so stressful! [explosion sound] All right, I hope you enjoyed that episode of Smarter Every Day. I mean, clearly, I was just having fun here. My son is learning a lot about firearms, and I want him to. I mean, he's doing good with safety and stuff, but I want him to have a better understanding of the fundamentals. Like a hands on. Not just a knowledge, but an understanding that this many grains of powder equals this kind of boom, that kind of thing. And all gunpowder is not the same, obviously, but this was fun. I really enjoyed this familiarization with this stuff. Obviously be careful if you do anything like this. I was firing these old antique firearms at a much reduced load from what was recommended, like half powder kind of stuff. So be safe. Yeah, I. I hope you enjoyed this. Big thanks to Ridge for sponsoring Smarter Every Day. I'm sitting here looking at this, trying to figure out how I shot. It looks like I was kind of like tilted like this kind of. Anyway, this is fun. It's fun to think about. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Smarter Every Day If you want a Ridge wallet, go to Ridge. com/Smarter I hope you enjoy that. Thank you to everybody that supports on Patreon. This was a lot of fun. I'm Destin, you're getting Smarter Every Day. Have a good one. Bye.