This is a topic dear to my heart, lately. I think
Treestalker (post #5, above) summarized the concept very nicely. I do believe "Southern Bear Pistol," in reference to a specific type of firearm, is a name generated by modern-day enthusiasts, sort of like the term "Plains Rifle." However, as long as we know what we are talking about, why not?
I am
not an expert, but from the study I've done, I would suggest that this term, "Southern Bear Pistol," appears to be applied to single-shot muzzleloading pistols, flint or percussion, with relatively long barrels, rifle sights, and sometimes (but not necessarily) double set triggers. Calibers, as noted above, vary a lot. I think Dennis Glazener has one used by an ancestor that is .54 caliber, but I have heard of these pistols in .40 caliber or perhaps a little smaller. Horace Kephart had a whole chapter on bear hunting in his book,
Our Southern Highlanders. He pointed out that the hunters did not want an over-powered firearm, for fear of shooting through the bear and killing a dog on the other side. He described this actually happening at least once.
I've collects a folder of images of these pistols... A few old ones, but mostly modern made. Here are a few. First up is one by Frank House:
... and one by Herschel:
Next is the Gillespie pistol shown by Dennis Glazener:
This modern-made pistol is by Joe Schell, and was shown on the ALR forum a while back:
This original was by John Bull:
This one may be the most famous of them all, owned by Mont Plott:
I contacted John Bergmann about eight months ago, and discussed having one built similar to the Plott Bear pistol. Not an exact replica, but one similar, in the spirit and image of the original. This is the result of that discussion, just delivered three days ago:
This one has an 11" swamped barrel by Robert Hoyt, .47 caliber to shoot a .457" ball. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but you can bet I will, the first chance I get! That's a Davis Goulcher lock and a simple, single trigger set by John for a very crisp release. The stock is maple, stained very dark, as was the original. I was able to communicate with a Plott descendent who had handled and examined the original pistol, to get a few of the necessary details like that. One thing you can't see in this photo is this pistol has a very long tang curving down the back of the grip, to within about 1/4" of the butt. This reinforces the grip, like the long tang reinforces the wrist of a Hawken rifle.
In handling this pistol, I will say that 11" will give
plenty of barrel length. Eric, you may want to suggest that to your nephew. Try laying a ruler along the barrel of the pistol in this picture, and then add 28% to the length and you'll get an idea of how a 14" barrel would look. Also, this pistol has a swamped barrel, like the original, and I am very glad we did that. As it is, the gun actually balances and holds very nicely. A straight-sided barrel in this length or longer would add a lot to the total weight as well as the muzzle weight. Rice Barrels makes swamped pistol barrels in a variety of calibers in 10", 12", and 13". I would suggest one of those unless he gets a custom barrel done.
Anyway, please keep us informed of your progress on this project! I'm sure a lot of us are interested!
Best regards,
Notchy Bob