Jack Sparrow's pistol
From PotC Wiki
- "Now Will, when a man is marooned he's given a pistol with a single shot. One shot. Well it won't do much good hunting, nor to be rescued, but after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look real friendly. But Jack, he escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous First Mate."
- ―Joshamee Gibbs to William Turner[src]
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[edit] Design
- "No additional shot nor powder…"
- ―James Norrington[src]
The weapon was loaded with a single shot. To load the weapon, a small amount of powder would be poured into the flash pan, which is covered by a piece of steel known as the frizzen. Powder, followed by the round, are forced down the barrel. A piece flint was held by a screw in the hammer. To fire the weapon, the hammer would be pulled back to the fully cocked positions, and the trigger pulled. The flint, would strike the frizzen and create a spark while simultaneously knocking it back giving the spark access to hit the powder. Then the small fire travels through a small hole into the barrel. The flame ignited the powder in the weapon, and pushes the round out of the weapon. it then must be reloaded to fire again.
[edit] History
- "Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot."
"He didn't waste it." - ―Hector Barbossa and William Turner[src]
When Jack was marooned on Black Sam's Spit following a mutiny aboard the Black Pearl, he was given the pistol with a single round. It was expected that Jack would commit suicide to end his suffering from thirst and starvation. However, he was able to escape the island, and kept the weapon and its single shot. He vowed to use it only on one man; his mutinous First Mate, Barbossa. When he encountered Barbossa again, Jack shot and killed Barbossa on Isla de Muerta, finally using the last shot. He since kept the weapon and used it when necessary, like to shoot Jack the monkey to prove his immortality.
Jack's Pistol also had other famous shots:
He used it both to knock a crewmember from his rope, and shoot the chest from Jones's grasp.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Jack Sparrow's pistol was the only real pistol in the movies, which was portrayed by two real weapons,still functioning flintlock pistols which were purchased from an antique store in their original boxed set. They were fabricated in 1765 by a gun maker named Perry London who's name appeared on the barrel tops and on the side plates with the hammer. These originals were replicated in a number of different way's for use in the movies with the actual working pistols only ever being needed in scene's where they were fired.
