kettenburg
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2005
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 0
As I see once more, you either get it or you don't. There is no place for a discussion of the term 'barn gun' outside of SE PA. I don't know nor pretend to know why this is. I did not inven the term 'barn gun' and I don;t know who did. I don;t know what these pieces were called in 1790 or 1820 or 1840. Maybe they WERE called 'barn guns.' The facts of the matter are these - perhaps they are not palatable but nevertheless they are FACTS and have long since been proven: (1) There are many, many of these pieces all of generally Berks, Northampton or upper Bucks architecture still surviving. The large majority are likely attributable to Berks County and look it. (2) Most are smoothbored. (3) There is little consistency among these pieces however when studying a number of them at once, often a pattern will emerge and it becomes evident that there are multiple pieces surviving by this maker, multiple by that maker etc. A good number are even signed: I've seen about 5 marked "Angstadt" in block stamping upon the barrel (and a few w/ locks stamped "Angstadt" but these were likely commercial purchases by Adam Angstadt and Son in Kutzown), at least 4 or 5 by David Boyer of Owrwigsburg and thus stamped, 3 stamped "John Derr" etc. Most do NOT display secondary parts usage. (4) a very good number of these have, in fact, been found in barns. A farmer down the road from me a few miles was STILL using one as a prop to keep the barn door open occasionally. (5) The overwhelming majority of these, I dare say all, display 'oversized' architecture i.e. they appear to be well designed and shaped (albeit hastily) versions of more refined pieces. ((((Side note: this has led to much speculation that apprentices and journeyman were 'rough stocking' the basic shop gun and stockpiling them for custom-finishing as needed. Not a fact, just common speculation.)))) (6) The overwhelming majority of these are STILL, to this day, found in the above three counties mentioned. Again, predominantly Berks County.
Now knowing these facts, what conclusions would you thus draw? The conclusion which I have drawn is that the extremely poor German farmers of the region aforementioned were predominatly concerned with farming. The Indian threat was in the past. Large game was rapidly disappearing as more and more farmland was put to plow and domesticated livestock became the primary food source. The NEED for a firearm was no longer an overwhelmingly pressing need and the extreme poverty of a sizable portion of the population made ownership of anything more than a lock/stock/barrel a moot point. So where a very specific demand is created, a very specific supply is likewise created in response. This is my take on the situation. I do not think these were 'frontier' rifles: they would not have withstood extreme usage. I do not think these were 'longhunter' rifles or any other such silly thing. I do not think these were a 'fighting brand' and in fact I do not think these were marketed to any other than the aforementioned specific segment of the SE PA population. There are numerous examples of better-quality pieces currently exant to illustrate what more affluent segments of the population were purchasing. And I do no know why this subject inevitably aggravates many people. I would like an explanation to that mystery more than anything else!
Now knowing these facts, what conclusions would you thus draw? The conclusion which I have drawn is that the extremely poor German farmers of the region aforementioned were predominatly concerned with farming. The Indian threat was in the past. Large game was rapidly disappearing as more and more farmland was put to plow and domesticated livestock became the primary food source. The NEED for a firearm was no longer an overwhelmingly pressing need and the extreme poverty of a sizable portion of the population made ownership of anything more than a lock/stock/barrel a moot point. So where a very specific demand is created, a very specific supply is likewise created in response. This is my take on the situation. I do not think these were 'frontier' rifles: they would not have withstood extreme usage. I do not think these were 'longhunter' rifles or any other such silly thing. I do not think these were a 'fighting brand' and in fact I do not think these were marketed to any other than the aforementioned specific segment of the SE PA population. There are numerous examples of better-quality pieces currently exant to illustrate what more affluent segments of the population were purchasing. And I do no know why this subject inevitably aggravates many people. I would like an explanation to that mystery more than anything else!
