Priceless Antique Pistol Shoots Startled Owner

Inspect the silver inlay and the finely engraved steel
Rich carved ivory grips with checkered lines that you can feel
You'll find it premature to call the calibre obsolete
When olden time design and modern treacherousness meet

It's a curio that's slipped between our current laws, as read
Priceless as an artifact but leaves you just as dead
Craftsmanship like this is not displayed much anymore
And there ain't too many gangsters shooting Russian .44

To think a learned chronicler like you would be the one
Whose eye for detail failed to see him reaching for your gun
You must be the first in ninety years to meet his death
By way of antique archaic black powder pistol's breath

Despite your recent injuries you must admit that still
It remains an elegant and stylish way to kill
Yes, despite my injuries, good sir, I cannot lie
It remains an elegant and stylish and way to die