Devisme Percussion Target Pistol
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 260 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.05 kg
- Introduced
- 1850
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol is a single-shot, muzzleloading percussion pistol built in Paris by the celebrated French gunmaker Devisme around the 1850s and 1860s. Chambered for a .44 caliber patched lead ball, it exemplifies the finest mid-19th-century French target and duelling work: a heavy octagonal rifled barrel signed 'Devisme a Paris' in silver inlay, a fluted ebony grip, a single set trigger for a light deliberate release, and a dovetailed blade front sight paired with a fixed notch rear sight. Sold in cased matched pairs to European royalty and gentry, these pistols combined exhibition-grade engraving with genuine target accuracy.
Louis-Francois (Jean-Louis Francois) Devisme (c.1806-1873) opened his Paris workshop at 36 Boulevard des Italiens in 1834 and rose to become one of the most acclaimed gunmakers of 19th-century France, taking his first award at the 1834 Paris Exhibition of Industry and later silver medals in 1839 and 1841 plus honors at the 1851 London Great Exhibition and the 1855, 1862 and 1867 fairs. His arms were acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, King Louis-Philippe of France, and members of the Russian imperial household. Devisme was also an inventor, patenting an unusual percussion revolver in 1854 and, later, some of the earliest centerfire cartridge revolvers.
Devisme's target and duelling pistols were made in small numbers as luxury cased pairs; bore diameters varied between individual guns, with .44 caliber representative of the rifled target examples. Barrels are typically signed 'Devisme a Paris' and the locks finely engraved. Many surviving examples feature elaborate silver inlay and dark ebony furniture.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Devisme
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- France
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1850 to 1865
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 260 mm
- Overall length
- 400 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.05 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Set trigger
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Barrel
- Damascus steel
- Stock
- Ebony
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 250 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 291 J
- Effective range
- 25 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Octagonal barrel
Rifled barrel
Single set trigger
Fluted grip
Silver inlay
Blade front sight
Fixed notch rear sight
Engraved lock- Cased matched pair
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 1.05 kg | 794 g | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 400 mm | 196 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 260 mm | 102 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 1 | 8 | Among the smallest capacities |
Answers
Questions about the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol
How much does the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol weigh?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol weighs 1.05 kg (2.31 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol is chambered in .44 Caliber Percussion.
How many rounds does the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol hold?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol is 400 mm (15.7 in) long overall, with a 260 mm (10.24 in) barrel.
Who makes the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol is made by Devisme (France). It was designed by Jean-Louis Francois Devisme.
When was the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol introduced?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol was introduced in 1850 and discontinued in 1865.
How does the Devisme Percussion Target Pistol operate?
The Devisme Percussion Target Pistol uses a muzzleloader action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/devisme-percussion-target-pistol' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "devisme-percussion-target-pistol", "name": "Devisme Percussion Target Pistol", "manufacturer": { "id": "devisme", "name": "Devisme", "countryCode": "FR", "foundedYear": 1834, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "updatedAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "version": "49442e154e51719d154c3603af8ae3d9f55e2d8391a2fd2318f02eaa8f37281f" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1850, "barrel_length_mm": 260, "weight_empty_g": 1050, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}