At the time, personal protection guns were all the rage. The derringer, the pen-gun, the cane gun, and many other things we see as James Bond-style AOWs today had their origins in small shops across Europe and the US during this period.In the early 1800s saw the height of the Industrial Revolution, in which factories and mechanization took hold of the country and the human imagination. Frankenstein, one of the first depictions of science fiction, was written in 1818. People were fascinated with the latest technology and this definitely held true for firearms as there seemed to be a race to produce oddball defense gadgets.

Did it work?

They were sold with a five, six, or 7-round cylinders in either 2mm or 4mm pinfire. In terms of size, the 4mm guns had a cylinder about as wide as a nickel while the 2mm had one closer in size to a dime. The 2mm guns were typically marked ‘Femme Fatal’, and sold in small oval shaped jewelry boxes and it could be surmised that they were for the ladies, while the larger guns could be for the fellas. For a time the company sold them as a matching set, his and hers. These sets were dubbed the Les Companions.

These guns disappeared from production after rimfire pistols and small centerfire pocket pieces like the Browning FN were available. These packed a much more reliable and effective punch.

The Le Petit Protector and the Femme Fatalboth used little brass pinfire rounds for ammunition. The pinfire was one of the first one-piece cartridges ever made. Invented by Frenchman Casimir Lefaucheux in 1828, they could also be made much smaller than the rimfire and centerfire round of today. Some of the loadings went all the way up to shotgun shell, but those fired by the ring guns were on the other end of the spectrum. These pipsqueak rounds, 2mm and 4mm, were smaller than today’s .22 rimfire CB.

They sound comparable when they fire, but with just 2-5 grains lead flying at less than 500-fps from a cylinder with no barrel propelled by a tiny charge of blackpowder, the weapon only generates less than 2 ft. lbs of force. This is less than most pellet guns today, and is about enough to penetrate an inch of ballistics gel, or one side of a tin ca

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Unless it’s a ridiculously good ‘I’ll let you have that stupid thing for $20′ deal, in which case you may be the luckiest new ring gun owner ever, be sure to get it professionally appraised.

Then take it home and put your new bling in a safe place for the next person. Its really gives new meaning to the concept of a ring pop.

Why