Pistol-whipping is a method of hand-to-hand combat, in which a pistol or revolver is used as a melee weapon or a blunt object used for self-defense (most often its handle, and not the entire weapon). A blow is delivered in much the same way as a blow with a club or a baton [1] . Strikes with pistol and revolving handles date back to the days of using muzzle-loading weapons: in situations where there was no time to reload weapons, they often turned to just such a technique of warfare.
In English, such strikes are called the word " buffaloing " (from English - "buffalo"), which was used in the 19th century in the Wild West . The modern terms “ pistol-whipping ” and “ to pistol-whip ” go back to the 1940s and were officially recognized as new words in 1955 [2] .
Application
In the 15th century, when muzzle-loading firearms were invented, the practice of using weapons in hand-to-hand combat appeared. A single-charge weapon, which was recharged for a long time, was used to deliver blows to the body of the enemy in close combat. The less time the soldier had to reload the weapon, the more likely it was that the gun would have to be used as a melee weapon: the body was hit with the hilt itself with the same technique with which it was hit with a club or a club. Historians have different opinions on the effectiveness of these weapons. Paul Wellman noted two factors: firstly, when a blow is struck, a shot can happen by accident, and a bullet can get into the body of the attacker and in the worst case lead to his death; secondly, pistols with a capsule lock were more fragile compared to single-shot rifles and could not withstand the impact. In addition, it took precious seconds of battle to intercept a weapon.
In order to minimize the risk of suffering from an accidental shot, the gun is held in the hand in the same way as always, and in self-defense, a blow is applied from above either by the barrel or by the side of the barrel above the trigger . Since the mass of pistols and revolvers in the 19th century was large enough, the force of the blow was quite sufficient to inflict serious damage on the enemy and incapacitate him [3] [4] . However, modern research and testing has shown that hitting a pistol with a revolver or a pistol can kill a person: the impact force of a Colt Single Action Army revolver can cause fatal head injury to a person [5] .
The protruding parts of the gun upon impact leave unusual tissue damage [6] . When striking with the handle of a pistol, and not with the barrel and not with the side of the weapon, semicircular or triangular lacerations are formed. Rectangular damage is formed if a blow was inflicted by the lower part of the handle of a self-loading pistol, where the magazine is inserted [7] . The depth and severity of the gaps vary, but the nature of the fractures remains the same.
See also
- Bayonet attack
- Butt kick
Notes
- ↑ "Pistol whipping" , Random House Unabridged Dictionary
- ↑ "Fifty Years Among the New Words: by John Algeo, p. 142 , from vol. 30 (1955), no. 4 of the American Speech , the journal of the American Dialect Society
- ↑ The Trampling Herd: The Story of the Cattle Range in America by Paul Iselin Wellman (1988) ISBN 0-8032-9723-8 , p. 196 .
- ↑ The True Life Wild West Memoir of a Bush-popping Cow Waddy , by Charley Hester, Kirby Ross, 2004, ISBN 0-8032-7346-0 , Chapter 14: “Buffaloing” .
- ↑ Deadliest Warrior , season 2, issue 3
- ↑ “Pistol whipping” , in Forensic Pathology , by David Dolinak, Evan W. Matshes, Emma O. Lew, 2006, ISBN 0-12-219951-0 , p. 185
- ↑ "Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques", Vincent JM DiMaio, 1999, ISBN 0-8493-8163-0 , pp. 270—271