Howdah pistol

A Howdah Pistol was a large-calibre handgun, often with two or four barrels, used in India and Africa during the period of British Colonial rule in the mid-to-late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, typically for defence against tigers, lions, and other large, dangerous animals that might be encountered in the jungles or remote areas. Multi-barrelled designs were initially favoured for Howdah pistols because they offered faster reloading than was possible with contemporary revolvers, which had to be loaded and unloaded through a gate in the side of the frame.

The name "Howdah pistol" comes from the sedan chair- known as a Howdah- which is mounted on the back of an elephant; hunters, especially during the period of the British Raj in India used howdahs as a platform for hunting wild animals and needed large-calibre side-arms to protect themselves, the elephant, and their passengers from animal attacks at close range.

The first Howdah pistols were little more than sawn-off rifles, typically in .577 Snider or .577/450 Martini-Henry calibre, but later on English firearms makers did manufacture specially designed Howdah pistols in both rifle calibres and more conventional handgun calibres such as .455 Webley and .476 Enfield. As a result, the name "Howdah pistol" is often applied to a number of English multi-barrelled handguns such as the Lancaster pistol (available in a variety of calibres from .380" to .577"), and various .577 calibre revolvers produced in England and Europe for a brief time in the mid-late 19th century.

Even though Howdah pistols were designed for use in the “gravest extreme” against dangerous game (such as tigers), British officers adopted them in other far-flung outposts of the British Empire, although by the late 19th century, top-break revolvers in more practical calibres (such as .455 Webley) had become much more widespread,, removing much of the traditional market for Howdah pistols.

In the movie The Ghost and the Darkness the character Remington (Michael Douglas) carries a unique superposed double barrel Howdah pistol.