History

Beginning in the late 1600’s, Scottish gunsmiths began producing what would become known as Highland pistols (also sometimes referred to as Murdoch pistols). These pistols, which soon began to be produced elsewhere also, were unique in that they were made with stocks of metal - usually steel, but also brass. They had either a ram’s horn or heart shaped butt, all metal ramrod, and no triggerguard. They became quite popular during the early 1700’s and even were adopted for use as a military weapon by British Highland regiments. It has been speculated that a Scottish style pistol may have been the weapon which fired “the shot heard ‘round the world,” starting the American Revolutionary War. They continued to be manufactured up until the early 1800’s when they fell out of popularity.