The Flintlock Pistol.

Personally I prefer a smoothbore flintlock pistol of a large caliber. It is easy to load, can digest various sizes of shot or round ball or a combination of shot & ball. With buckshot at close range it is devastating & capable of taking out more than one adversary. The smoothbore pistol can also be used for hunting as well as for defence. These guns are tried & true for over 300 years, & flintlocks were the choice of the eastern woodsmen, woodland Indians & the later Western Mountain Men of the 19th century in the New World.
They are easy to use & easy to repair if required, but they are also very robust in their design. You can also use a flintlock pistol for making fire without having to use any gunpowder. You can either carry these pistols under your waist belt, or by the use of a belt hook attached to the side of the gun, or if it is a pocket pistol you can carry it in a pocket. Smoothbores are easier & faster to load than a rifled barrel, & you can use paper cartridges for even faster reloading if you wish. Used round ball can be recycled by melting & remoulding, & if necessary you can even use other items found in nature for ammunition.
Keith.

My brass cannon barrel .70 caliber flintlock smoothbore pistol. This one has a left hand lock so that I can carry it on my right side front under my waist belt. My hunting knife is carried on my left side front under the waist belt.