Six-Barrelled Pistol from the Tula Arms Factory, 1840

This six-barrelled pistol was made in 1840 at the Tula Arms Factory, a state enterprise founded by decree of Peter I in 1712. The six barrels, joined together, rotate and come in turn under the single hammer.

In English, firearms of this type are called pepper-boxes, as the cluster of barrels resembled a kitchen pepper shaker. Each barrel held a single charge. Such pistols were popular in the mid-19th century, and from the 1850s they were gradually displaced by true revolvers: the multi-barrel cluster made the weapon front-heavy and hard to aim.

The barrels rotate inside a fixed drum, which is attached by two screws to the massive brass grip. The pistol has no trigger guard. It is made of steel and copper.