] They were often works of art, made without bright parts
> to provide a mark, with very light or set triggers, firing
> a heavy bakll with a light charge for maximum accuracy. The
> should be identical.

This discussion recalls a visit to the home of an antique gun collector. In the midst of a discussion on the Napoleonic Wars, he offered to show his collection which was kept under many locks and keys on a steel door (plus an alarm system). It was hard to keep a straight face as he undid them all. The dueling pistols from the early 1800s that he showed us were Mantons -- long-barreled, plain as you said and the metal seemed to have blacking covered by a dull laquer. I could be wrong. The "Brown Bess" rifle, used by Wellington's soldiers, was in excellent condition and we were told that it likely never saw battle but was perhaps used for parade grounds. The rifle was quite beautiful, especially the wood, but it was larger and heavier than I thought it would be: I could barely lift it to my shoulder much less hold it to aim it. There were women in those wars (as in later wars) who posed as men to join the army for one reason or another; I don't know how they did it.