The Palm Pistol

[WildBill]

I would think the recoil would be more intense when firing the palm pistol as all of the force is directed directly into the palm and wrist. I remember firing a 44 Mag out of a Thompson Contender pistol, which had a square-ish grip. The recoil was brutal, much less than a Ruger Blackhawk or a S&W Model 29. I know the velocity out of a 12 inch break-open action is more than a revolver, but still, it was very uncomfortable to shoot. I guess the good news is that you won't flinch on the second shot.

Edited: I forgot that this Palm Pistol uses a 9 mm cartridge, so I would not be overly concerned about recoil.

[mcarmel]

Steve:

The barrel held between the index and middle fingers creates the maximum possible low bore axis. Recoil forces are transmitted directly rearward inline with the ulna/radius for absorbtion by the users shoulder and upper body. This will be more comfortable for those with hand weakness.

Matt

[mr.72]

I would think with a design like this there would be very little if any muzzle flip because the bore axis is very near to the center of gravity. I think much of what you might feel as "recoil" in a pistol is actually the rotational force aspect and not the straight-bore recoil. So I suspect the perception of recoil would be far less for a pistol like this.

And similarly, there is no impact of the recoil to any follow-up shot. It's a one-shot weapon! There are no sights.

This is kind of like brass knuckles with a bullet.

[nuparadigm]

Another thought:
If this product is to be marketed to senior citizens with arthritic hands (some of whom most probably suffer from osteoporosis), the manufacturer may want to consider investigating insurance. Specifically, insurance which would protect against civil suits for product liability because of broken bones. Even with a pipsqueak 9X19 recoiling directly against the palm, older bones may not be able to absorb the shock as much as those of us who are younger are able to do.

I'm not an insurance salesman, but I'm just sayin' ...

[srothstein]

Nuparadigm,

That is an interesting thought. I like the idea of the niche marketing to people who need the most help defending themselves, especially if they cannot use a normal pistol. I am not sure how the product liability laws would work on this.

I think I would get a real measure of how much actual (as opposed to felt) recoil there is, then a study of how much force it takes to break bones, both normal healthy ones and the older weaker bones of someone with osteoporosis. I am not sure if the hand bones are as fragile as some of the others, and the angle of the force would make a difference. As Matt pointed out, the force would go through the palm and then lengthwise down the arm, so the arm would probably be safe. There might eb the possibility of compression type fractures though. The force would go through the bones in the palm to get to the arm, and I think those would be more likely to break if any.

I am not a doctor so I do not know if this is correct or not. A good lawyer would also be better able to figure out what the risk is.

Obviously, I would think the risk would be from people practicing with the weapon. If it was needed for a real life situation, they are better off alive with the broken bones than injured from the assault/robbery with no weapon to defend themselves. At least, if I am on the jury, that is how I would see it.


BTW Matt, this is all more matter of academic curiosity for me now. I am sure you and your lawyers have worked all this out. When you propose something new like this, we will start thinking about a lot of different aspects of it. I doubt this will affect you much, but there is the off chance we might think of something that has slipped your mind. Feel free to use it if we do and ignore us if we do not.

[bonehead1185]

Just wanted to post and say that I have seen that same design during a show on the History Channel I believe. The one they talked about was actually able to have about 8 rounds in a wheel enclosed in a case. After each shot the wheel would turn to allow the next round to be fired. I want to say it was DaVinci that came up with the design. Don't hold me to any of this, but I do know for sure that I have seen a video on it, it is an ancient technology to have a gun that fits in your palm.

[WildBill]

Just wanted to post and say that I have seen that same design during a show on the History Channel I believe. The one they talked about was actually able to have about 8 rounds in a wheel enclosed in a case. After each shot the wheel would turn to allow the next round to be fired. I want to say it was DaVinci that came up with the design. Don't hold me to any of this, but I do know for sure that I have seen a video on it, it is an ancient technology to have a gun that fits in your palm.

Here is a little history of the palm gun. This gun was made in France in 1882. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... CBoQ9QEwBA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Embalmo]

This is probably in one of those many lengthy posts that I didn't want to go through the trouble of reading, but what is the range? It's looks like maybe even less than a derringer.

Embalmo

[RECIT]

It looks like an incredible idea to fit a niche market. I wish the best to you and your design.

[Embalmo]

It looks like an incredible idea to fit a niche market. I wish the best to you and your design.

It look like the creator joined on 10-5-08 and made 3 posts, the last of which on 10-6-08. Looks to me like he either went on an ad campaign and joined every gun forum he could find to talk about his product, or he Googled his product, found a posting, and decided to give a sales pitch here. I looked around and couldn't find a video of one being fired. Looks like it fizzled. Does anyone know information to the contrary? It looks essentially barrel-less to me, and if that is true, you would almost have to touch it to the aggressor.

The last most recent post prior to today was 10-11-08.

Embalmo

I like this barrel-less model better 'cause it's got a knife and knuckles.

apache pistol.jpg (2.85 KiB) Viewed 1105 times

[Mando'a]

I'm curious about the venting of the gas, I would be afraid of my fingers getting burnt.

I've also seen a device similar to this. It gets attached to the end of a spear, and you strike it against your target.
Supposed to be popular in the bayou for gators.

[RECIT]

I'm curious about the venting of the gas, I would be afraid of my fingers getting burnt.

I've also seen a device similar to this. It gets attached to the end of a spear, and you strike it against your target.
Supposed to be popular in the bayou for gators.

That there spear idea is where its at I bet. Like an exploding or projectile gig. Bull frogs and flounder better watch out.

[The Habernatho]

I'm agreeing with the others here, in saying that finding a large enough market for such a niche firearm is going to be one of your main problems. Multi shot capability imo is a must, but obviously that requirement exponentially drives up the cost which is probably why it wasn't designed around such. Also your claim to 30,000 people losing their fingers every year, how many of those 30,000 lost fingers on both hands? Simply learn to shoot with the other hand. If you researched small pistols, I'm sure you've run across the now no longer made Downsizer, which was a single shot .45acp and smaller than a playing card. I do commend you in all the hurdles you have or are going to encounter with any such endeavor. GL

[Abraham]

$300.00?

Gotta be kiddin...

[RPB]

Wouldn't mind having one of those with a light mounted and a CCI snake shot shell in it when I am carting my kayak through the brush to and from the lake at night and hear a rattlesnake near my feet.
Then I wouldn't need snakeshot as the first round in my Glock.

I can see arthritic people buying them too.
I know another forum recently started a section for handicapable people on how to rack the side, sights for poor vision, etc etc etc.