32 gauge half stock fowler

[texcl]

I'm thinking about buying an English half stock Fowler in 32 gauge it is a flint conversion in pretty good shape. My question is what was the intended purpose of a 32 gauge Fowler? Seems odd to make a full sized Fowler in such a small bore, it has a 40" barrel.

 

[Stony]

Save on lead & powder

 

[Jason Lewis]

low recoil maybe?

 

[Rifleman1776]

32 gauge is about .550" caliber. TMF member Squire Robin has a fowler that is about 40 ga., if I remember correctly. He brought it here when he came to muzzle load hunt with me and some other wuthuless types about ten years ago.
Those small gauge shotguns/fowlers were often used by scientists and artists to collect birds for study without tearing them up too badly. There is a term for those guns which I forget. "collectors" maybe? I dunno. :idunno: Being easy on shot, powder and recoil it was fun to shoot. Hopefully yours is in shooting condition. Enjoy.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Why do they make .410 shotguns today? Because many feel it is all they need. I once built an over & under combination gun with a 32 gauge smoothbore over a .45 rifle. It shot 3/4 ounce loads very well with very little recoil and although I never hunted with it the patterns on paper appeared deadly at 25 yards and a cylinder bore 12 gauge can't do very much more. The original Northwest trade guns were commonly 32 gauge, Pennsylvania smooth rifles were often of .54 caliber or smaller. Shooters of old were not yet infected with Magnumitise. :haha:

 

[BrownBear]

A 32 gauge has a .526 bore according to the chart here on the site. If it would shoot RB as well as any other smoothbore, it certainly would do the job on lots of game.

As for using shot, that will be a dandy small game gauge in my experience. I've hunted seriously for over 40 years with modern 410's and 28's using 1/2 to 3/4 oz of shot, and they're dandy with the range limits. If I come across one of the 410 SxS that surface now and then, I'm pouncing on it. Same if I could find a 28 SxS. Inside 25 yards it will be dandy for birds and such, adjusting pattern density with shot sizes suitable for the target.

Can't say whether those traits will meet your needs or not, but if they do, I'd jump on it and never look back.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Those small gauge shotguns/fowlers were often used by scientists and artists to collect birds for study without tearing them up too badly. There is a term for those guns which I forget. "collectors".

I know this was the case with breechloaders - specimen collection without excessive damage and alerting other animals - so I guess it could be so for earlier smoothbores. They even made insert tubes for larger gauges to accomplish this. Birding for collections was a great pursuit in Victorian times. "I say, Wadsworth, there is the rare Bustofus crumbhorni. I must kill one for my collection."

And for things like shooting glass balls in a country garden you don't need much horsepower.


Below is J.J. Audubon with a shotgun.

 

[trettie]

I have a 32 ga. fullstock flintlock put together by John Buck (he reused an antique barrel). It's very handy and fun to shoot, and eats much less powder than my 12 ga. English Lock. I usually refer to it as a "bird gun" though I guess it would be fine for squirrels and such as well.

 

[arw22lr]

Perhaps, here in the US, they were used to shoot passenger pigeons.

 

[justtim]

I found a Belgium made half stock in 32 ga at Friendship a few years back. It was actually scaled for a woman or young person. It was rough but Igot it restored and shootable. Neat little gun. My grandson now owns it. I did take it to the club one day and shot clays with it and it done just fine. I'd have no qualms letting the Boy go after squirrels with it. More punch than the .410 nnow uses.

 

[Rifleman1776]

A 32 gauge has a .526 bore

Yeppers. I read the line above in this chart: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(bore_diameter)

.526 it be. :wink:

 

[BrownBear]

A 32 gauge has a .526 bore

Yeppers. I read the line above in this chart: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_(bore_diameter)

.526 it be. :wink:

And truth be known, his is probably different! :rotf:

Bottom line, we all gotta measure old guns if we want good-fitting wads and balls.

 

[texcl]

A specimen collection gun is what I was thinking of. I will be shooting it. The stock looks to be solid but it will need a couple small repairs. The lock was sort of crudely coverted to percussion which is a shame because it is a really elligant gun.

 

[ohio ramrod]

A 32 gauge is only a little smaller than a 28 gauge which I use for cotton tails and barn pigons. Plus back when they were around I took several pheasants with the 28 gauge. :idunno:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Our kids grew up shooting am old SB Stevens Little Pet .410 for taking fool hens and snowshoe bunnies and it made them better shots for it.

 

[texcl]

What do yall think I should use as a proof? I was thinking 1oz shot over the same bulk of powder. I gun was made prior to 1790's from what I can gather so that seems like a pretty stout load for it.

 

[BrownBear]

Dunno about "proof" but I'll translate that load for you. And ounce of shot is 440 grains and the same measure of powder is 70 grains.

Consider that it's nominally a 52-53 caliber, that would be considered a moderate charge by most who so shoot conicals that heavy, while a .520 ball weighs 212 grains. You could think of it as a double ball load on top of 70 grains.

I'm betting those pressures are pretty low by today's standards (reference the Lyman manual to confirm), though I can't say for an oldy but goody.

 

[Deadeye]

textcl, I have a .520 smoothbore and shoot 70 grs. 3F with PRB or 3/4 oz. shot, shoots great,
Have taken rockchucks, rabbits, chuckers, grouse, squirrels and one deer. It's a great little gun.
Looking thru "Rifles of Colonial America" I was surprised at how many .52 cal I found there. I doubt that they were used to collect anything except meat for the table.
Deadeye

 

[texcl]

I have seen quite a few trade guns in 52 but this was the first english fowler. Can't wait to shoot it.

 

[BrownBear]

Can't wait to shoot it.

We're counting on you for full reports! :thumbsup:

I've been watching for the right sub-28 gauge gun for my needs and 32 falls right in the pool of possibilities. My hangup so far has been finding a source of suitably light "fowler" barrels for a build that would result in a very lively, light gun. Sounds like you have it without going through the build headaches.