Jack Sparrow's pistol
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- "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]
Jack Sparrow's pistol was a flintlock pistol owned by Captain Jack Sparrow. The weapon was constructed of a wooden frame with a metal barrel, firing mechanism, and trigger. It, unlike the flintlock owned by Hector Barbossa, was very plainly decorated.
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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 power 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 would be placed into the striker. To fire the weapon, the striker would be pulled back to the fully cocked positions, and the trigger pulled. The flint, held in place by the striker, would push the frizzen out of the way and hit the powder. This causes a spark, that ignites 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 Barbossa's curse was lifted, Jack shot and killed Barbossa on Isla de Muerta. He since kept the weapon and used it when necessary, like to shoot Jack the monkey.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Jack Sparrow's pistol was the only real pistol in the movies, which was portrayed by a real weapon, a still functioning flintlock fabricated in 1765 by a gun maker named Peri.[citation needed]
