C&R · IIIA · 029
Turbiaux “Protector” palm pistol
Section IIIA: removed from the NFA, classed as an antique (outside the GCA)
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IIIA · VERBATIM · PDF P. 80 ↗
“The Protector” palm gun, patented by Jacques Turbiaux, Patent No. 732644, which includes the French made, “Le Protector”.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1898 or earlier (ATF’s dates)
- INFOAn antique under federal law, outside the GCA.
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IIIA · PDF p. 80 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Protector Palm Pistol” ↗, years: first patented and built in France in 1882 by Jacques Turbiaux, sold as "Turbiaux Le Protector"
- 2. Wikipedia, “Protector Palm Pistol” ↗, maker: Systeme E. Turbiaux
- 3. Wikipedia, “Protector Palm Pistol” ↗, type: squeeze-fired palm revolver
- 4. patents.google.com ↗, note on the ATF wording: US 273,644 "Revolver", inventor Jacques Edmond Turbiaux, filed 1882-06-29, issued 1883-03-06
- 5. patents.google.com ↗, note on the ATF wording: US 732,644 "Switch for double-filament electric lamps", Levi Lobenthal and John McCullough, issued 1903-06-30: not a firearm patent
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 2 changes · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passNote on the ATF wording updated
- Data-trust reviewEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Palm protector pistol.jpg” by Chicago firearms company, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Protector Palm Pistol”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Protector Palm Pistol is a small revolver designed to be concealed in the palm of the hand. It was unique in that the revolver was clasped in a fist with the barrel protruding between two fingers and the entire handgun was squeezed in order to fire a round. The design was meant to resemble a pocket watch to the extent of being carried on a chain.