What would the repercussions be of using this?

[SnoringFrog]

I want to know what the physical repercussions would be for using something like this: http://neveryetmelted.com/2008/11/09/pin-fire-ring-pistol/

As soon as I saw it, I realized it might be an interesting item to include in a story at some point, but I'm not really sure what sort of damage to expect to the finger/hand of the person firing it. I'm hoping someone here with more firearms experience can give me a answer.

[Yuki-Anne]

I imagine the heat would burn your finger at the very least, and I think there's a good chance the recoil would at least bruise your finger, if not break it. But I don't know much about guns, so...

I can see this ending up in a manga.

[Kaligraphic]

If it's sized to be worn as a ring, I can't imagine it would be very powerful. Still, I'd think the most likely repercussion would be that you end up digging a tiny bullet out of your hand.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I'd so wear one of those. In a rifle, a .22 doesn't really have noticeable kick, so I don't think you'd break your finger with this. You might get a burn though.

[Fish and Chips]

This would make fist bumps awesome.

More awesome.

[MomentOfInertia]

Small caliber, low power. Short barrel, accurate to about arms length I'd guess.
Recoil would hurt, really hurt, but not as bad as the fistfight you'd get into without it, also you might also get some mild powder burns off the muzzle, though six shots wouldn't be enough to heat the gun itself noticeably.

Since it's hidden on a ring you could probably get close enough to get a good shot at what ever part of your target you wanted to hit, you could possibly take a swing at the guy, shoot him, and then hit him all in one motion.

It looks lit it was made back in the day when concealed weapons for personal defense were more common and better crafted, look at the engraving this is a piece of art, due to this fine craftsmanship it should also be reliable, as long as it doesn't fire all barrels at once like the old pepper-box guns were known to, and since it uses pinfire ammo like many of the old pepperboxes this is a distinct possibility

Also it looks like you need a workbench and screwdriver to reload it.
After you empty it I suppose you could also use it as sort of a "brass knuckle"

There is also something to be said about the intimidating quality of just having a gun regardless of how effective it may or may not be.

Sorry about the ramble, in answer to your question; it would sting and there might be some minor burns, but it would still be an improvement over fisticuffs, and again "I've got a gun" tends to have an effect on people.

You might also be interested in:

Palm-squeezer pistols
http://www.genitron.com/unique20.html

Or the infamous Apache revolver/knife/knuckle duster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_revolver
The iphone of 19th century arms:cool:

I can see this ending up in a manga.

I think this one's more likely to turn up in a manga:
http://neveryetmelted.com/2010/11/24/rube-goldbergs-48-shot-revolver/
...Or a deleted scene from Back to the Future III. I dunno.

[ich1990]

If it really is a .22 it wouldn't hurt much at all. The kick on .22, even with such a small gun, wouldn't be enough to cause you damage. Further, the ring wouldn't heat up or cause enough muzzle flash to cause you any burns (assuming you have it pointed away from you of course).

The worst thing this gun would do to you is deafen you. The shorter the barrel, the louder the bang, and even 6" .22 pistols are loud enough to make your ears hurt.

Accuracy, as noted by other users, is only good enough for targets an arms length or less away. I would take a suicide special over it any day, if only for the increased accuracy.