Dueling pistols were traditionally manufactured in matching pairs. They had to be identical to put each duelist on an equal footing. The first pair of dueling pistols was most likely produced in England.

As the tradition of dueling was mostly reserved for the nobility, the pistols had to be quite luxurious, which is especially true of French weapons. It was important for both pistols to be reliable and accurate. When flintlock pistols were used, every possible precaution was taken when loading to minimize the risk of a misfire.

Yuri Shokarev, a well-known firearm historian, wrote, “In the mid-20th century, an expert commission studied the circumstances of Lermontov’s death and fired test shots using a dueling pistol and a powerful TT pistol used by the Red Army. It turned out that the penetrative power of the dueling pistol was only slightly inferior to that of the TT, and a jacketed pointed bullet pierced through eight dry inch-thick boards at a distance of 25 meters — even though most duels took place at a distance of just 15 paces.”

There were incidents of pistol duets taking place at just six paces. However, in some exceptional cases, the seconds wished to save the opponents from killing each other and agreed to allow some liberties in loading the pistols.

The most innocent violation was loading a double or even a triple powder charge: in this case, the muzzle would rise during firing, and the bullet would miss the target. The most blatant violation of the code of honor was simply not lowering the bullet into the barrel, which was described by Mikhail Lermontov in “A Hero of Our Time”.

Dueling pistols were always characterized by their exquisite design. They were decorated with steel engraving and inlaid with gold and silver. The stock was made of Italian walnut, ebony, or Karelian birch. Barrels were forged from the best varieties of Damascus steel and subjected to deep bluing. The grips were decorated using beautiful grooves known as cannelures.

Duels had a long history. In ancient times, one would throw a glove at an opponent’s feet to challenge them to a duel. Until pistols appeared, duels were fought with swords. In the 11th century, a tradition appeared in England that a duel could be used to solve a conflict that could not be resolved in court. This tradition was outlawed only in 1819.