Classic Arms pistol kits out of business? What happened?

R

Rachen

New member
I was browsing the Dixie website a couple of days ago and found a little gem that I never even paid attention to before: The Classic Arms Twister Pistol Kit. Two .36 barrels in a chassis that is turned to fire each shot. Pretty nice looking little pistol, looked like something a riverboat or saloon gambler would carry from the 1850s to the 1900s.

I wanted to get one of these as a hideout gun that always rides in my motorcycle jacket in case I am ever caught somewhere without my usual 1858 in a belt holster. The recent "flash mob" attacks in the big urban areas, and the video showing the attack on the bus in South Korea came to my mind immediately.

There is no question that I can get immediately down and dirty and absolutely vicious with my bowie knife in case of these urban youth meltdowns have me in their sights, but I thought that having some additional deterrant in the form of two nasty close up shots wouldn't hurt. I was going to shear off the tops of .375 conicals with a file to create a semi-hollow point flat point, and hollow out the base of the bullet a little too so the slug will expand and receive the full impetus of the burning charge. So in effect I am going to be firing a cylindrical shaped object with slightly concave ends out of that thing. No doubt it will put a big hurt on an attacker, drug addled or not.

But I called Dixie today and they told me that Classic Arms kits are all sold out and no date on which they were expecting new shipments. So I googled around maybe someone else like Track of the Wolf might have them. Then I saw on the Possibles Shop site that the company has stopped producing the kits:(:confused:

To add to the confusion, I thought Classic Arms INC. http://www.classicarms.us was the same company that made the kits, but they turned out to be just a tacticool rifle manufacturer and importer.

I might settle on using that Pedersoli Liege screw barrel .44 as a hideout pistol instead but maybe someone here could sell one that they have lying around, point me to somewhere that still have them, or at least enlighten me to whats going on with Classic Arms, the kit builder, not the tacticool builder? I really like the looks of that two barrel CA pistol. It looks like what a (card-table)Derringer is supposed to look like lol:)

Thanks
 
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First off the Twister has smooth bores. A patched round ball works best. The barrels aren't long enough to get a decent muzzle velocity. As a self defense weapon it would be mediocre at best.
 
First off the Twister has smooth bores. A patched round ball works best. The barrels aren't long enough to get a decent muzzle velocity. As a self defense weapon it would be mediocre at best.
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I was going to patch that little cylindrical slug too. And as a hideout/emergency pistol, it wouldn't be used at ranges of more than 10 feet. These little things were not meant to be used any farther either.
 
I forgot, it doesn't take revolver balls. Patching a cylindrical bullet in a smooth bore doesn't help anything anyway. It's still going to tumble.
 
I forgot, it doesn't take revolver balls. Patching a cylindrical bullet in a smooth bore doesn't help anything anyway. It's still going to tumble.
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Yes, but it wouldn't be a factor if it is going to be used at 10 feet or less. These pistols are literally built to be used as gunpowder-driven ballistic knives to defend against close-quarters attacks.
 
Ok, if you say so but it still doesn't take .375 balls or bullets.
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Oh okay...What do they take? I certainly can take a .44 conical and whittle it down till I get it to the right specs. I am a machinist:D
 
I think I used 00 buck in mine. It's been about 30 years since I fired it:D. If there's one thing it does not do it's pack a punch.
 
think I used 00 buck in mine. It's been about 30 years since I fired it. If there's one thing it does not do it's pack a punch.
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It's okay because the small size compensates for it. Do you still want it by the way?:D
 
Yeah, I guess I'll hang on to it. It's not in the greatest shape after spending 20+ years in moms attic anyhow. The plastic grips split with the first shot and I made a crude set out of a mouse trap.

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This was the assembled version. It came with blued barrel and polished frame. Serial number is 0003233
 
WOW that sure is purdy!!!:D

Put it on the table next to a bottle of Jack Daniels, a deck of cards, maybe a pack of Marlboros and illuminate the whole scene with nice amber light, and a Peterbilt, Kenworth or Harley poster on wall behind table. Classic BADASS style still-life right there.
 
I've got five Civil War playing cards, some Confederate money and some sitting Liberty coins. Thought about doing a shadow box but never got around to it. Actually it was one of these I had originally thought about using tho.

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I LOVE that rimfire at the bottom. Unique sidehammer design too. Imagine the stories it would tell if it can talk.
 
id use it all to make a shadow box. One thing about it no matter how you display the artifacts itll be the most unique display. :)
 
I don't have those anymore. They were both made in 1858. Top is a Bacon .31, serial number 606 out of about 3,000 made. Bottom is a .22 lipfire made by Allen and Wheelock. A direct infringement of the Rollin White patent. This one was sold before the law suit as later ones had to be marked made for Smith and Wesson by A&W.
 
I don't have those anymore. They were both made in 1858. Top is a Bacon .31, serial number 606 out of about 3,000 made. Bottom is a .22 lipfire made by Allen and Wheelock. A direct infringement of the Rollin White patent. This one was sold before the law suit as later ones had to be marked made for Smith and Wesson by A&W.
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Whew! I used to think that we have it bad today, having to deal with so much legal issues when starting a business and always on the lookout for lawsuits, code violations, and patent infringements and whatnot. Reading about the history of the Rollin-White patent changed all that. Looks like the oldtimers had to deal with just as much paperwork as we do today.
 
BP guns are cool, but modern guns have their place. For discreet street carry get a concealed carry permit and a Kel-Tec P3AT (or a pricier Ruger Elsie Pea if esthetics are important to you and you don't want to do your own fluff and buff) and you can have 7 rounds of 380 auto to deal with your problems with instead of 2 of whatever that BP thing shoots. Buy a couple of extra magazines, load em, and keep em somewhere on your person and you get another 12 rounds. It'll make you feel a lot better about yourself if you stumble into a flash mob scene.

I'm not knocking BP guns; I love mine, and nothing's cooler, but......
 
The twister is .36 cal which means it takes a .350 roundball with .005 or .010 patch. The right combo will yield surprizing results - even with a smoothbore barrel.
 
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