Dueling started as a less violent way to solve ... Lincoln chose swords over pistols, in the hope that his long arms would offer an advantage. He eventually apologized and avoided the duel altogether.

While pigeon shooting never returned after the 1900 Paris Games, organizers came up with pistol dueling – in which two competitors shot at each other – for the 1908 Games in London.

Marks on the gun indicate that it was used by German mercenaries during the American Revolution. 1637 - First use of firearms proof-marks. 1750-1850 - Dueling pistols come into fashion.

In a bygone era, when honor meant more than life itself, disputes were often resolved not through words or courts, but through the flash and thunder of a pistol. The practice of dueling ...