There are times when I really regret not having the option of saying to someone, "Sir, my friends will call upon you" and the thing is settled with a discussion, swords, or pistols. Usually it was by a discussion of the "friends" and a handshake between the two principals.

Should it go to swords I recommend the sabers carried by heavy dragoons. With pistols, smooth bore flintlocks in .69 caliber, loaded with a single unpatched .45 caliber ball, should suffice.

One meeting between two principals, ever, in their lifetimes and those of their descendants (if any).

A big problem today seems to be that no one takes responsibility for what they say. And by the by -- prior to the Civil War at least one US Congressman was killed in a duel and others were beaten by their colleagues, even on the floor of the House and Senate. Guns, loaded canes, and Bowie knives were regular parts of the attire of Congressmen.