Why did the military prefer this gun? The Lancaster Pistol with firearm expert Jonathan Ferguson
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Double-barreled, and high powered, this pistol was the preferred firearm of British army officers as our Master of Firearms and Artillery Jonathan Furguson explains.
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Please don't stop these when you fully re-open.
Not all of us can visit, and seeing the items being handled give such a better idea of them than a photograph and description.
I offer a 3rd vote for this
4th vote
5th, I really want to visit the UK to see the Royal Armoury
Yes, these videos are cool for us in other countries.
@@daraghkennedy3994 my brothers old apartment was on the other side of the canal from the museum.
His mates would come over and they would watch the jousting tournaments from his balcony.
"I know what you're thinking. 'Did he fire two shots or only one'? Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself."
The good the bad and the forgetful
2 shots to Yuma
where's this from?
@@Nabnab153 Dirty Harry
He shot twice!!!!!
"Why did the military prefer this gun?"
Well, probably because it's a badass hand cannon.
Infantry support howitzer
When you really want a double barreled shotgun but don't have the space.
still missing a bajonet though
@@embracethesuck1041 For when a Man wants to Impress a Lady, Dear God Sir, Is that a Lancaster in your Pocket or are you Really Pleased to see me?
@@TheRampantLion bajonet, do you mean bayonet?
British Boffin "Behold our latest invention! The anti-tank pistol"
British Officer "Splendid! Erm... what's a tank?"
British Boffin "Not sure, we haven't invented them yet but we'll get around to it eventually "
German Officer 1: "According to our sources, the British have ordered 49 tanks to the front lines."
German Officer 2: "49 tanks of what? Water? Fuel?"
German Officer 1: "I don't know, it doesn't specify. It just says "49 Tanks" ."
Ah yes the real life door knocker pistol
@@MK_ULTRA420 chlorine gas
Tanks of tea!
@@fairodis that would be way over powered
Well that's a one big Derringer.
Its the Derringer you need. Not for your boot but when you are compensating for something.
A weapon hellboy would be proud of
Definitely looks howdah-pistol worthy!
A "Gentleman's" Hellboy 😎😂
Hellboy's Derringer
damn beat me to it. 😂 thought it as soon as i saw it
AYO LIL DONNIE
I think we can all sympathize with the problem of Lions climbing up our Elephants. Those guns really are very impressive.
@@madisntit6547 Elbows of death, sharpened especially to Pearce rib cages 😂
I know right?
@@madisntit6547 Wouldn't get through her umbrella or hat.
@@madisntit6547 Wouldn't get past her brolly or through her hat.
@@madisntit6547 So true, formidable ladies of a certain vintage are unforgettable. My paternal grandmother had the look plus a fox fur stole with a glassy stare and a vicious set of teeth, together with the wearer they kept small children in line.
That is NOT a pistol. It's a one hand carry artillery piece. It's also absolutely gorgeous in a steampunk way. And perfect for self defence against rampaging.....well, anything.
Aim upwards for indirect fire.
Well, it is a pistol.
@@GaiusCaligula234 honestly though
It's more "vintage" than "steampunk", steampunk implies overly-built designs with lots of moving parts... so Swiss weaponry.
Also galilean sights, if the lens isn't exposed to all elements like the gears in a child-grinding factory's machinery then it's not steampunk.
It has 2 barrels, one for the warning shot, the other for the dickhead trying to rob you.
"What if there's like 3 guys?"
Trust me, the first guy is all you need to hit. After that monster goes off, the rest scatter like roaches.
Here it is at five am where I live, I'm fixing to finally pass out as insomnia releases its grip... and then it manifests again as a video my favorite pistol. Love the content, eager to see what you guys review next! And to everyone else, I hope you have a wonderful day! Or night!
Your Museum alone would be reason enough for a UK Trip 👌
It truly is. I'd add the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and the Tank Museum at Bovington to the list as well though. Plenty of firearm examples there as well, allbeit of a slightly different variety and attached to rather large pieces of machinery! The National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth could be another one but I haven't made it there myself yet.
There's probably more of these guns in the United States! A large number of British guns, (non-American guns for that matter in general) exist in the USA, mainly shipped over to save them over the years when our legislators had seizures.
@@AdamOwenBrowning I wish they'd all had seizures, my collection would consist of more than air guns.
@@zopEnglandzip you can still buy antique/obsolete caliber firearms which the pistol you see here would also be classified as, still working firearms and no license required
@@kylianvanhoorn2859 but then I'd do a 7 year stretch when the neighbors catch me ratting with it... (My neighbors are cool but you get what I mean, always some nosey bstard with a drone or telescope)
Love that you showed it close up right at the start. A lot of these Ye Olde guns look like cute little peashooters until there's something to show real scale. We got to see first thing how this fits in a hand and appreciate what a giant thing it is. Thanks!
"These rotating cylinders are unreliable."
"What if we give it a barrel for each shot and make the firing pin rotate?"
"Genius!"
This needs to be in Hunt Showdown
Beat me too it
Hellz yea
Just wanted to write same thing:)
derringer on steroids
Kind of wondering how they'd balance it. Couldn't do a OHK (barring the head), because that in a pistol slot would be...a bit much.
Maybe just like really high damage (130ish) with kind of crap accuracy but a fast fire rate.
That way it's a close combat gun that should beat out the other pistols without perks, but with high risk if you miss.
Could be fun.
'Why did the military prefer this gun?" Because you could purchase a British officer commission up until 1871.
What do u mean? Like the pistol was expensive or something?
@@thenoblepoptart I meant that the military leadership was full of wealthy incompetents who purchased their positions of leadership.
@@benhiatt307 lol yeah, I could see aristocratic flunkies preferring that gun
@@thenoblepoptartNo, they're saying that literally anyone with money enough could and would be placed in charge of fighting men. That officer would be required to purchase their own sidearm. Inexperienced people fall for slick marketing.
@@Uruz2012 they should have gone with a Glock 19
When you run out of ammo you can beat someone to death with it...hell it looks like you could use it as a hammer and pound nails into hardwood lol
"Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it does not work you can allways hit him with it" - Boris the blade
And break up concrete too
I could listen to Jonathan all day, would be awesome to see him collaborate with Lindybeige
Thank you - I believe Lloyd did pay us a visit last year (or maybe the year before? time has lost all meaning with lockdowns :) ).
I would love to see a collab with gun jesus
@@CaffeinatedSpooder226 pretty sure there is a long chat between the pair of them over on Ian's channel about British bullpup rifles probably, considering Jonathan wrote the book and Ian's company published it...
@Rob2125
As mentioned above, gun jesus and Jonathan have a couple of videos about english bullpup rifles (including the very first prototype they know of), and has also worked together with the aforementioned book. There's also an earlier video with Ian and Jonathan and another guy from the museum talking about "homemade" guns 😋 I'm sure that as soon as the current situation is resolved or at least becomes better, they will make several new videos together.
@@CaffeinatedSpooder226 We've done a few already.
I've always thought these were really cool, regardless of whether they were practical. The 4-shot version might have seemed like a better trade-off vs many revolvers because some revolvers only had 5-shot cylinders or were supposed to be carried with an empty cylinder for safety, so the capacity difference may not have been so great. Even if a revolver did offer 2 more shots, then the ease of reloading the Lancaster compared to revolvers with a loading gate might easily compensate for that.
Many years ago I knew a man named Harry Leah, who at the time was one of the country's foremost firearms experts. He told me about someone he knew acquiring one of these complete with ammunition and taking it to the pistol range. The backstop was made from the same kind of rubber used to make self-sealing aircraft fuel tanks, the idea being that a bullet would pass through it but not have enough energy to make a return journey.
On firing the gun, the shooter heard a strange "echo" after each shot. Baffled, he put down the pistol, took off his ear defenders, and turned around. At this point he noticed two large lumps of lead on the floor behind him. It took a few moments for him to realise that the bullets had not had the velocity to penetrate the backstop but instead had bounced back, and the "echo" was the sound of them hitting the wall behind him !
Clever, although if you had an under-loaded round that big ol' bullet is coming back to you...
I am fortunate to own multiple Lancaster pistols including a 577 and a 4 bbl 455 . My 4 BBL was owned by Sir Herbert Stewart , also wounded at Abu Klea. Records are available and many were made for well known historical figures. Always worth researching. Thank you for a great video
Thank you for keeping my nation's history alive!
Oh, and for saving that skunk.
Can .577 brass be made from shortened .577 Snider cases? I.e. 24ga brass?
.577 ... when you absolutely positively want to put a large hole in something whilst breaking your wrist at the same time.
With the short cartridge and lower powder charge, as well as looking like a beefy and heavy monster, the felt recoil might not be that bad.
I wish I could try one as a range toy. Speaking of, I need more range time.
It keeps away tigers. I don't see any tigers, do you?
I wish we only had to face tigers here...
Your museum is my favourite museum of all time. Years ago we drove through Leeds and ment to spend 2 hours there. We spent a whole day and everyone thought it was not enough.
I have been to Royal Armouries probably a dozen times in my life time. Still not nearly enough times to see everything.
The Lancaster pistol is a fascinating specimen, but what really fascinates me is this man who wears a Deadpool shirt to his Very Important Museum Job. I love it.
Ha, I hadn't focused on it until I saw your comment, well spotted.
Ferguson has the ideal combo of classy and hip.
Had to go back to the video to verify it after reading this, surprised I didn't catch that the first time I watched it. But I do think the visible part of outfit work nicely here, mostly black with a few red highlights in the middle is a nice mix of colours.
Love the Deadpool shirt!!!
Why thank you :)
@@jonathanferguson1211 Ooh a personal account
0 videos :(
Don't encourage it
Pretty fitting for talking about firearms lol
@@Harkness197 Stop encouraging him 😉
Good luck to you and the rest of the staff with your reopening. The collection is awesome to see in person
Man you and forgotten firearms are my new go to channels lmao. Also my buyers guides for when I buy a (most likely expensive) firearm for my own firearms collection
I'm pretty sure the hinging manner of the barrel directly influenced the Grudgebringers used by the Dwarfs in Warhammer Fantasy.
Yes.
Grudge Raker? Is that your reference? Just curious.
Cheers for another awesome walk down history lane! I've always had a deep fascination with the history of firearms! Lancaster is undeniably a big name in British productions. That said, would love if you posted more on revolvers, I've always had a deep love for them mechanically (my preference at the shooting range remains as the S&W .44 Revolver).
Love the „Physics says no“ comment!
Its funny how the reliability of revolvers was doubted (at least by some) when they first started gaining popularity, but now a revolver is seen as the "gold standard" of reliability (compared to autos)
Makes you wonder how much better a modernized Lancaster would be.
True, it's funny how things change like that!
The dopamine has arrived.
Loving these videos, Jonathan. I'm learning a tonne about so many weird guns that I'd never heard of.
Glad to hear it, thanks for watching :)
To paraphrase an old comedy Western movie dialog:
"Colonel Burnaby carried this Lancaster into the Battle of Abu Klea against the Arabs."
"Those are four _massive_ barrels! I'll bet it must've saved his life!"
"Eh, it might've. If it had been _only_ four Arabs..."
Well, it sure would’ve if it hadn’t been for all them other bullets flying in from everywhere!
@@jonathanlee726 Got it in one!
What movie?
@@zacharyrollick6169 The comedy western _Support Your Local Sheriff_ with James Garner.
👍🇬🇧
Thanks for the presentation, I'd not seen the bore and breech in such detail before.
Thats like something an 1888 Arnold Schwarzenegger like action hero would shoot. Altho it would be chromed.
Believe it or not, nickel and gold plated versions were made...
@@jonathanferguson1211 ofcourse, the more officerier you are the more blingier you has to be
That thing is a U N I T. Kinda reminds me of Hellboy's ludicrous hand cannon. I imagine you could pistol whip your foes into the ground like tent pegs with that thing. Also, any idea of the weight? Can't imagine it being overly comfortable to carry as a sidearm, although I guess your average soldier of the era had less gear to carry.
4:20 pause quickly -
Two pounds, eight ounces. It's on the patent under the gun . The writing is vertical, on the left hand side.
Gorgeous Lancaster pistols, Jonathan!
Went yesterday, great place to visit, well recommend it!
Recently been playing vermintide 2 and all I can hear is BLESSED SHOT and RAAAAA MIGHTY DUAL
I've had the pleasure of going to the Royal Armouries and meeting a few of the keepers and curators as part of my college history course.
I love the fact Johnathan comes into work at the Royal Armouries in a Deadpool shirt on the regular
Fascinating pistols. I like your presentation style; no macho tee shirt to show how much you like the gym, no pointy tattoos. Rock on!
Back in the Mid sixties family side business was reloading ammunition. We did one complicated contract loading 16 bore short shells for a side by side pistol for a gentleman going to India in harms way for a series of control shoots to take care of animals which had a taste for humans. We had a mold built to hard cast nasty slugs with a sharp cutting edge to clean punch through the skin and tissue. Hard part was regulating the load so both barrels hit dead on at 25 yards while still being good for shooting a climber at six inches. Client was very happy with the load and had a good trip with no serious incidents.
That's still nearly 500 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. Pretty powerful even by modern standards.
"Unfortunately I can't show you live ammo with a live gun" - That is unfortunate indeed. Are you ever able/allowed to fire any of the pieces from the collection ?
rule of thumb: if you have to wear gloves to hold it, you cannot shoot it.
For safety reasons. The two together are dangerous,
@@robinclarke9978 And that logic is why we have these asinine laws , no assessment of actual risk just the danger ban.
Any live ammunition has potential danger but an expert holding a round or placing it next to the weapon for a comparison shot isn't adding to the risk, and the videographic record would be invaluable
If an expert from the Royal Armoury cannot be trusted not to accidently load and discharge a weapon he is making a video presentation on..........then no member of the human race be trusted to do any of the tasks they have spent decades perfecting.
@@Evilroco no, laws never prevented any deaths. Common sense and procedure stop accidental discharge and death. To put firearms and ammunition together anywhere except when needed is a risk, however small.
@@robinclarke9978 I disagree with blanket bans of any "risk,however small"
An expert giving a historical lecture/video without audience is too great a risk for you?
By that logic we shouldn't fly,drive,swim,cycle or perform many of the tasks necessary in society due to the "risk"
There's a very famous country song about an Arizona Ranger, called Big Iron (great song, especially the Johnny Cash version imo) now THIS would make the Ranger jealous!!
What a beauty, hard on the wrists though I'm sure :-(
Fascinating look at a piece of history, love the "stopping power" argument, which is still ongoing ..
Thanks for sharing!
P.S. LOVE the Deadpool shirt ;-)
This needs to be a mod in Fallout New Vegas.
Indeed the stopping power arguments are interesting, especially that they are going back this far and still to this day there is an ongoing debate.
This is a true BBBG (Big Beautiful British Gun)
I looked at this gun , thought it was gorgeous
entered it in youtube and my favorite Keeper of guns talk about it
this was a treat
ty
Love the little history stories that he includes in his descriptions.
This are absolutely wonderful. Thanks. :)
These remind me of the actor Ian Hendry's superb pistols in the movie 'the southern star'. Beasts!
When you have fired all your shots you may then use your pistol to bludgeon the armoured vehicle to death.
Reminds me of the M-4 survival derringer.
It honestly depends on the revolver you had to use otherwise.
S&W No. 3 and I'd pick the revolver.
Reichsrevolver and I'd pick a singleshot of this, I'd take a bow and arrow honestly.
I was at school with his granson, who during the holidays designed the Lancaster bomber !.. Very clever family.
Well, I wanted to get back up to Leeds soonish anyway, may as well start planning and set a day aside for mooching around the Royal Armouries while I'm at it :)
I live in the states and as such have access to a lot of things firearm related that a lot of people across the world do not. That being said about 10 years ago I bought a black powder muzzleloader version of a Howdah pistol chambered in 20 gauge or .62 caliber.
I find it interesting that out of all the British designed double or four barrel weapons that you were talking about the Howdah is the only one that had any success anywhere.
Great looking gun. Thanks for showing us.
Awesome ! And 700 fps might seem slow compared to modern pistols , but with such a chunk of lead it is seriously devastating.
All thanks to our old friend, _F=ma_ . :)
Loving the Deadpool shirt. Nice choice for a featurette about big bore handguns.
I've been wondering for ages if a gun like this actually existed. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Lancaster "howdah" pistol.....I've considered carrying a modern version for grizzly encounters where I live.....I love this
Never heard of the Lancaster. Thank you very much for the interesting information.
Am now subscribed.
I note the reference to polygonal rifling and instantly think of the Whitworth sniper rifle.
Wow those pistols are in great shape
someday I will do the trip to the museum. will be in 2 to 3 years though
I have a 4 barrel 455 a bit of an anomaly as its the first model but was sold as records state in 1892 about a decade after the stronger second type came into use
"A revolver?? Nonsense, that's completely unreliable! I'm sticking with my 2-shot pistol!"
A few years later:
"An automatic? Nonsense, that's completely unreliable! I'm sticking with my revolver!"
A sub machine-gun? An awful, crude useless gun.
_Makes a bazillion stens_
I would say that both hypothetical statements are true, depending on when they were uttered. Until cartridge revolvers were introduced cap-and-ball revolvers were very unreliable. And in the early days of semi-automatic pistols they were also unreliable in comparison to older cartridge revolvers.
"9mm? The .45 served and won 2 world wars not that weak cartridge so no thank you."
Few decades later:
"9mm is the best & versatile round for your daily carry"
thank you
That thing is just massive!
I really like the 4 barrel version that was shown briefly.
Really liking these videos.
We had a joke poster on the wall at work about littering that was a kitchener your country needs you poster with the words changed to be about litter. We took it down because we gained a regular with Sudanese heritage who pointed out that Kitchener was a bit of a naughty boy. No point here, just an anecdote that came to mind when he was mentioned
Jonathan, you're an extremely cool dude. Please continue these super educational videos
Thanks many times for this excellent vid! Keep them coming!
Master Furguson doesn't look slightly to highly aggrieved as he goes over the weapon! It's a nice change of pace from his video game weapon breakdowns.
Sheesh, that is some fuckin heat
"I can't show you live ammo with a live gun" oooh dammit
Remember: This is an English video. We are not allowed such things. Our firearms laws make California's look liberal. He could have had an inert round made from plastic to give an idea of what it fired.
But still i'd like to know: What .577 case and bullet combo? Cut down .577 Schneider brass with a full size bullet maybe?
I thought that these were for when hunting Big Game, fired at point-blank range to save your sorry arse from becoming food for something with really big claws/teeth/tusks. An animal which you had annoyed by only wounding it.
Michael Douglas fires one, or something similar to kill a man-eating lion in the climax of the 1996 movie 'The Ghost & The Darkness'.
@@NJPurling True, but they do actually fire some of the arms from their collection for archival purposes. Jonathan himself has fired some of the guns. A big reason would be because the ammunition would have to be custom-made. Even in the United States, you'd need permission from the ATF to make ammunition greater than .50, which costs a $200 tax stamp and waiting like a year for the stamp to come back, unless it was deemed to have "sporting purpose" or they use some sort of historical loophole, or they somehow have special licensing to avoid all those fees and wait times (which is only possible for dealers, collectors are explicitly forbidden).
U.K. bullshit . That's why U.S. law is better. You can't have self defence weapons here in U.K. I've been a knife enthusiasts since I was young and some off my collection which is decoration on my walls is illegal. Total bollocks.
Their ancestors would be ashamed
I would assume its due to the firearm being an 'antique caliber' meaning no FAC (Firearms Certificate ['licence']) is required to own/obtain, however when the ammunition is with the firearm it then becomes a FAC applicable firearm that would need registering and a correct FAC variation applied to it. This being a pistol would make it a section 7 firearm also.
That mini Gatling gun behind you is absolutely adorable lol
I want that side-by-side Howdah! Though not that practical, cool as all hell! That's not a gun... that's a gun.
We see Jonathan Ferguson, We like the video!
There are records of 577 four barrel Lancester Howdahs, though I've never seen one, they seem to be doubles in the larger bore.
That's so cool how I carry two other 4-barrel and shoulder holsters
I wanna see that big game pistol next!
Royal Armories is a great place, Britain needs to relax its stupid firearms laws we use to create such brilliant firearms.
In the film Ghost and the Darkness, the Howdah pistol there was the star.
Thanks that was brilliant
Those weapons are superb.
For demonstration purposes you might consider scanning a live cartage and then rendering a 3 D version.
insane bullets
Question if I may.
Is it a museum policy that you can't show live ammo with a live gun or is that a law?
'Heavy is good, if it does not work you can hit him with it.'
Boris the Blade
You have to have seen the film Snatch 😉
Very interesting firearms. Thanks for sharing them with us.
That thing is badass looking
This looks like an absolute monster
I was hoping for a series with Jonathan (like some sort of "Forgotten Weapons UK" XD) since I first saw him in FW's improvised weapons special at the Royal Armouries, I'm glad the RA made it real!
It reminds me of the north American firearms Derringer that shoots 45 long colt and 410 scatter round. Except a Little bit larger.
Great video. I learned a lot. Thank you!
Just stumbled across you and was instantly charmed. And fascinated. Also love the Deadpool shirt. Thumbs up of course.
Videos from the Royal Armouries? Instant subscribe with thank you. Now to get caught up....
Not surprised you know Ian from Forgotten Weapons, Jonathan. Love to see a collaborative video after the planetary plague has run its course.
Cheers from Canada.
Sir Ferguson, idk what kinda hardcore education on steroids you received in college/university but lemme just say it only took you a single video to basically become a celebrity. That goes to show hard work and talent pays off. Unlike those pea brained people over on tik tok (who become famous not for their **lack of** talent but for having a big butt and dressing suggestively) you actually earned it!! You needa pump out more of those firearms expert reacts to [insert video game] videos.. you’re topping forgotten weapons for my #1 go to TH-camr for entertainment and for my “Gucci gun bucket list”
Had I seen this in a movie I would of assumed it was a fantasy piece.. really cool
Love to see a modern version of the Lancaster two barrel pistol in .410/30 cal.
loved the howdah in battlefield 1
What an absolute unit..