When the first double action revolver came out....

[rcmodel]

Still leaning toward an early auto pistol to befuddle the BG's.

Even Tom Horn, a very nowledgable gunman, was unable to figure out how to use one as late as 1903.

"Facing a hanging, Horn escaped from jail briefly with another prisoner by beating Deputy Richard Proctor. Other residents joined in and knocked Horn to the ground as he struggled to fire the pistol he had seized along the way, allegedly a German Luger, which he was completely unfamiliar with."

Perhaps a Borchardt?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borchardt_C-93


rcmodel

 

[Roswell 1847]

I believe that there were a couple of civilian and foreign military contract model Lugers built before the German Military p08.
Those were in 7.65 luger rather than 9mm and the US Calvary tested a few of them, though I think that was around the time they adopted the 1911.

There was a Colt .45 ACP autoloader that preceeded the 1911, I think it was a 1905 model.

 

[Shear_stress]

Still leaning toward an early auto pistol to befuddle the BG's.

Yup. The bee's knees would've been an 1896 Mauser. Ever seen "Joe Kidd"?

 

[mec]

Cooper Circa 1862