Boutet 1er Empire
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 255 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.30 kg
- Introduced
- Not recorded
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Boutet 1er Empire is a muzzle-loading flintlock pistol produced by Davide Pedersoli as a reproduction of the elegant presentation-grade pistols made at the Versailles manufactory during the French First Empire. Chambered as a .45 caliber smoothbore firing a patched round ball, it features a browned barrel, a finely engraved lockplate, a checkered walnut stock with a brass buttcap, a single set trigger, and a horn-tipped ramrod. It is offered for black-powder collectors, re-enactors, and target shooters.
Nicolas-Noel Boutet ran the Manufacture de Versailles under Napoleon and became the most celebrated gunmaker of the Empire, producing lavishly gold-inlaid and engraved arms given as diplomatic and military presentation pieces. Pedersoli's reproduction revives that Empire-era artistry in a shootable flintlock.
Pedersoli catalog code S309 (standard) with an engraved Deluxe version cataloged as LL309. Named for Nicolas-Noel Boutet, director of the Versailles arms manufactory.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Davide Pedersoli & Co. S.r.l.
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- In production
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 255 mm
- Overall length
- 410 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.30 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Set trigger
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Browned
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 25 m
- Maximum range
- 50 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.
Single set trigger
Browned barrel
Checkered walnut stock
Engraved lock- Brass buttcap
Horn tipped ramrod
Muzzle loader
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 | 1.30 kg | 794 g | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 410 mm | 196 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 255 mm | 102 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 1 | 8 | Among the smallest capacities |
Answers
Questions about the Boutet 1er Empire
How much does the Boutet 1er Empire weigh?
The Boutet 1er Empire weighs 1.30 kg (2.87 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Boutet 1er Empire?
The Boutet 1er Empire is chambered in .45 Caliber Ball.
How many rounds does the Boutet 1er Empire hold?
The Boutet 1er Empire holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Boutet 1er Empire?
The Boutet 1er Empire is 410 mm (16.1 in) long overall, with a 255 mm (10.04 in) barrel.
Who makes the Boutet 1er Empire?
The Boutet 1er Empire is made by Davide Pedersoli & Co. S.r.l. (Italy). It was designed by Nicolas-Noel Boutet.
How does the Boutet 1er Empire operate?
The Boutet 1er Empire uses a muzzleloader action, and its firing mechanism is flintlock.
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
78%
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/pedersoli-boutet-1er-empire' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "pedersoli-boutet-1er-empire", "name": "Boutet 1er Empire", "manufacturer": { "id": "pedersoli", "name": "Davide Pedersoli & Co. S.r.l.", "countryCode": "IT", "foundedYear": 1957, "website": "https://www.davidepedersoli.com", "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": "20144f192b486ad0d8b566563ebd19e623aea05742ced756918e62709d25d0c8" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": null, "barrel_length_mm": 255, "weight_empty_g": 1300, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}