Miniature armsmaking dates back to the 16th century when artisans made working tiny wheellock pistols. The Kolibri pistol, with its own centerfire cartridges, took this into the early 20^th century.

Artisans made the miniature weapons for two reasons. In the days of the European guild system, a journeyman gunmaker had to craft an exact and fully-functioning miniature in order to become a master of their trade. Because of the exacting work, few made the jump from journeyman to master.

Secondly, the miniature weapons were used for marketing their full-size doppelgangers. The smaller arms served as samples for traveling salesmen and could be offered as an incentive for a good-sized order. Some of these miniature pieces have found their way into museum collections.

The tiny Kolibri pistol and its cartridge, the 2.7mm Kolibri, is the smallest centerfire pistol and cartridge to be produced. This example has fine scroll engraving and silver plated grip panels and arrives in a French fitted case. Kolibri translates from French to hummingbird.

The most popular size among collectors of miniature firearms is one-half to one-third scale, with some going as small as one-eighth scale. As working firearms, the artisan must make cartridges for these smaller versions of existing weapons.

Photos of modern miniatures show their intricacies and are often accompanied by a coin — a penny, dime, or quarter — to show just how small they are.

That said, what if an itty bitty gun isn’t a miniature but a full-size version of itself? Meet the Kolibri pistol, perhaps the most ludicrous and whimsical handgun ever made. The semi-automatic pistol dating from before World War 1 fires 2.7mm cartridges that the gunmaker, Franz Pfannl, patented.

This Kolibri pistol is a Model 1 single shot measuring less than 1 3/4 inches long. Rock Island Auction Company sold this tiny pistol in 2022 for $2,644.

Kolibri Pistol History

In 1897, Pfannl started making watch fob single-shot pistols and rifles, called berloque, for clock pendant, and his company grew to 50 workers. Pfannl’s company was successful enough it made parts for other manufacturers that would finish the guns with various markings and grips, according to Bob Urso’s “The Tiniest Guns.”

Many Austrian manufacturers produced berloque firearms that fired blanks or even acted as flare pistols. Multi-charge revolvers were produced around the turn of the 20th century in France, Belgium, and Germany. Pfannl also made a double-action miniature revolver that never made it to mass production, but he did supply parts to a German company that made them.

This semi-automatic Kolibri pistol with a nickel finish was sold by Rock Island Auction Company for $9,200 in 2021.

In 1910, Pfannl and a friend, George Grabner, seized on the popularity of small self-defense handguns like derringers, pepperboxes, and palm pistols. They came on the idea to create a small defensive purse pistol for women. Pfannl and Grabner’s gun, the Kolibri pistol, would have little power but be plenty loud, ideally scaring off would-be attackers.

At a time when gunmakers like John Moses Browning and Hiram Maxim were designing semi-automatic pistols and machine guns, about 1,000 of the Kolibri pistols were made. The gun was discontinued in 1914 because of World War I. Many were lost or later taken as souvenirs during World War II.

This Kolibri pistol, designed by Friedrich Pfanni of Austria, is accompanied by a case finished with green leatherette material and a green silk and felt lining.

Kolibri Pistol Defined

The Kolibri, meaning “hummingbird” in several European languages, is the smallest semi-automatic pistol ever made, weighing less than a half-pound loaded. The 2.7mm cartridges were the smallest centerfire ammunition of all time, fitting several within the circumference of an American penny.

A penny has a diameter of 19.05 mm. Pfannl’s patented cartridge had an overall length of 11 mm and had a base diameter of 3.6 mm.

As a watchmaker, Pfannl was accustomed to working in miniature. The Kolibri pistol has a gas blowback system for self-loading and because of how small the barrel is, has a smooth bore. The magazine, designed for six cartridges, realistically holds five with one in the chamber.

This handsomely engraved Kolibri pistol accompanied by a “coin purse” style holster realized $6,900 at Rock Island Auction Company in 2021.

Kolibri Pistol Performance

While the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket semi-automatic pistol had a 2-inch barrel and the Remington Double Deringer’s barrel was 3 inches long, the Kolibri’s barrel was nearly half that long, just 1 1/4 inches. Even another odd gun in the world of self-defense pistols, the Chicago Firearms Protector Palm Pistol’s barrel was 1 3/4 inch long.

The Kolibri pistol fires its teeny 3-grain bullet at 650 feet per second (FPS). By comparison, an air pistol’s muzzle speed is 350 to 600 fps and the Colt M1911’s .45 ACP has a velocity of 830 fps. Also, the average human punch packs more, well, punch than the Kolibri, unleashing 150 Joules of energy to the puny pistol’s 4 Joules of energy.

The Colt Model 1911, like this U.S. Marine Corps contract pistol from World War 1, fires its .45 ACP round with a muzzle velocity of about 830 feet per second, while the Kolibri pistol’s 2.7mm round fires at 650 feet per second.

Having a smooth bore and tiny bullets made the Kolibri pistol inaccurate and ineffective. Someone wearing a heavy coat would be unaffected, but if that person is shot in the face, damage may ensue.

The diminutive Kolibri pistol doesn’t offer much recoil which is good since it is generally wielded with just two fingers. The gun doesn’t have a trigger guard.

Production of the Kolibri pistol restarted after World War I but with slightly larger cartridge sizes of 3mm and 4.25mm. The 4.25mm pistol was called the Erika. Production was finally discontinued in 1938.

A similar gun made in Germany at about the same time, the August Menz Liliput, was chambered in 4.25mm like the Erika. The company even offered a 6mm.

This August Menz Liliput semi-automatic pistol fires a 4.25mm round, diminutive but still larger than the Kolibri pistol’s 2.7mm round.

A current Austrian company, Berloque, took the name of the artistic style has been making tiny, 4 centimeter-long pistols as watch fobs since 1905. This writer couldn’t determine if this company is related to Pfannl’s early 20th century company. The company’s guns are available in gold and nickel plated finishes and shoot flares.

The company continues the work of Pfannl, and other craftsmen who have embraced the artistry of making miniature reproductions.

The penny offers a good perspective on the size of the Kolibri pistol.

Video Games and the Kolibri Pistol

Fast forward to 2016 and the Kolibri experienced a resurgence thanks to a video game. Battlefield 1 is set in World War I and includes war guns like the Winchester M97 trench gun, Mauser C96 Broom Handle, Gewehr 98, as well as the tiny Kolibri pistol, that offers the least damage of any weapon in the game.

In the first-person shooter, the player runs with the Kolibri held in two fingers and changing out ammo with minute magazines. It is obviously not a first-choice weapon. One writer describes the Kolibri’s place in Battlefield 1 as part of the game’s “outrageous, dramatic, take on total warfare.”

The Kolibri pistol in the video game Battlefield 1.

Pfannl is considered the father of berloque guns, first making single shot pistols, then to show he was a true artisan, the semi-automatic Kolibri pistol was unveiled in 1910. Though more of a curio than a truly defensive weapon, the Kolibri is an amazing piece of gunsmithing and a peculiar bit of firearms history. Its appearance in a 21st century video game has introduced the diminutive Kolibri pistol to a whole new generation of firearms enthusiasts.

One final glimpse of the Kolibri pistol, the smallest centerfire pistol to reach production.