The Duck’s Foot
To wrap things up, we have a pistol that is as strange in name as it is in design. The Duck’s Foot or Duckfoot Pistol, as it is called, was invented during the 18th century when arms manufacturers were getting a little bit too ambitious with their improvements to firearms. Although the original designer and their origins are unknown, it is believed Germany was where they began to pop up.
The function of the pistols is to shoot many bullets with one shot. The multiple barrels were designed to each hold a small bullet that would be paced against the gunpowder and firing mechanism of the gun. Once the trigger was pulled and the hammer fell, it would ignite the powder, expelling all four bullets.
The people buying such kooky weapons were mostly guards who worked with valuables. The idea was that thieves who were after such valuables never really worked alone, so the one shot pistols of the time would be inefficient against a group. If they could shoot many criminals at once, then that would greatly help them with security. In practice, most duck’s foot pistols were highly unreliable. The most common complaint was that firing mechanisms would fail at a moment’s notice, something no guard wants in a weapon. When they did work, they lacked accuracy and power, so they were abandoned quickly.