Historical Figures

Did flintlock pistols from the early to mid 1700s ever have rifling?

No, flintlock pistols from the early to mid 1700s did not have rifling. Rifling, the process of cutting spiral grooves into the bore of a gun barrel to impart a spin to the bullet, was not widely adopted in pistols until the late 18th century. In the early 1700s, pistols were typically smoothbore, meaning that the inside of the barrel was smooth.