Blanket Guns

[frenchfusil]

I keep thinking I should have a blanket gun to play with. Any one on the fourm own or played around with a one?


Mkui Medal
Guerre Abenakis

P.S. I would also like to see any pictures of blanket guns people may have

 

[flinttim]

You called it by the right name. Or another name would be "pony" gun. I don't have one but do have what has become known as a "canoe" gun.

There tends to be some melding and confusing the two. The blanket gun really did exist and the canoe gun by most accounts is a product of our active imaginations. No collector or museum or reference has one or can offer proof it existed. You blanket gun surely did as evidenced in Hanson's Book.
Now here's where I do believe the "Canoe" gun was born. 'Bout 8 yrs or so ago at Friendship, Chuck Oder brought down a unique gun to show us. He had won a blanket gun just like your's , about 20 years previous at a 'Vous. He did not like shooting it the way it was shaped and all, so being the handy guy he is, he fashioned a buttstock extension that slippped on and off. Wood and buttplate and all. It looked just like a "canoe" gun as we know it now. There were several gun makers down at the Armory where he was showing it off. Lo and behold the next year at least two of them were producing and selling "canoe guns", that in essence looked like the one in my picture. Chuck's gun gave me my idea and them too I guess. One of the builder's was Jackie Brown because I handed the gun to him to look at.
Fun guns, sorta not too practical but fun. And that's what it's all about.

 

[musketman]

Almost like a blunderbuss without the belled muzzle... :winking:

A quick pointing, fast shooting, large bore musket...

 

What is shown in Hanson's books and what is on display and in storage at the MFT ar two different things. I doubt that they called them canoe guns, but they existed, short barrels with full buttstocks. I have seen origional full stock guns with barrels as short as 10".

They are also evidenced as grave goods at several sites along the Mississippi valley. I believe that is in Colonial Frontier Guns, along with some 6' barreled dutch muskets.

 

[flinttim]

Interesting Ghost. I've never been to the Museum of the Fur Trade but would like to some day. I am surprised that Hanson neglected them in book. It does make sense that a gun could get damaged on the end and cut down. I would be surprised that a gun was intentionally built that way though. You say there is historical reference to them ?

 

I know that I have seen pictures of cut down TGs in Hanson's work or Russel's. I have read so much over the years I can not keep up with all of the sources. I envy folks that have only read one book so they know exactly who they are quoting and where they got their stuff!

I remember one short barreled buffalo gun with no ramrod and a vent they said was over 1/8". A handful of powder down the tube, spit a bare ball on top of it, thump it against the saddle to seat the ball and fire it before the ball could roll foreward off the charge! Life in the fast lane!

I suspect that these were damaged weapons, repaired and returned to service in some form. Someone could have possibly cut one down on purpose, but most were probably field repairs.

Butstock splintered beyond rawhide repair, cut it off at the end of the trigger guard! Barrel split or bulged, cut it off at a solid spot! Use it until it's used up. I have seen lance points made from TG buttplates and rough saws filed from the trigger guards.

The concept of a canoe gun is to make it possible to load from a kneeling position. It's a bit hard to stand up in a canoe, for me anyway. Only time I ever had trouble with gun length in a canoe was during a "woods walk" station were time was a factor. Any other time I got loaded fine with a standard length barrel. Course my standard barreled smoothie is only 32" to start with!

I know that Rogers Rangers were cutting down Bess barrels to 30" as early as the F&I War. That was on purpose.

T-guns were a well developed type by the start of our Revolution. They were available to settlers as well as Indians, though the cheaper surplus muskets were probably more popular with the anglos.

Hacksaw development and sawed off smothbore development are probably parallel technologies!

:imo:

 

[Rob M.]

Made these ... Fun guns . P.S. Yes , I know this is an old thread . More interesting going through the old ones then the current ones ....

 

[Brokennock]

Some truth there,,, but you missed the opportunity to start a new thread that might be more interesting.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Those are attractive, gotta be the best blanky guns I ever seen. So you hip shoot bunnies with a blanky? I never heard anybody do anything practical with them in the past 100 years at least.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I think you should knock them around a bit to age them up some. They are already nice and warm, a few scars would be just right.

 

[Rob M.]

Those are attractive, gotta be the best blanky guns I ever seen. So you hip shoot bunnies with a blanky? I never heard anybody do anything practical with them in the past 100 years at least.

Exactly ! They are fun little guns but just darn near useless . No ,wasn't me . A customer of mine shot that rabbit with the blanket gun I made for him , sent me that pic. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[Rob M.]

I think you should knock them around a bit to age them up some. They are already nice and warm, a few scars would be just right.

My personal guns get antiqued automatically , I'm clumsy

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I enjoy thinking about the injuns riding alongside buffaloes blasting them behind the ear with those. Maybe in my youth....not now, I'd fall off my horse before I got near any buffs!

 

[Flanders]

It makes me happy you used my bunny pic Rob, use it anytime for advertisement

 

[Flanders]

Mike Brooks, I flushed the rabbit from brush, watched it run till it went under a deadfall tree. Circled behind the tree looking for the rabbit. Spotted it at about ten yards, and got it. I have gotten 2 others with it since using about the same method. I won’t risk a running shot on one with it, but it is so fun to try and outflank them with this gun. And the eating afterwards is good as well

 

[Rob M.]

I enjoy thinking about the injuns riding alongside buffaloes blasting them behind the ear with those. Maybe in my youth....not now, I'd fall off my horse before I got near any buffs!

LOL !! Me too ...I'm not very good on a horse . I owned three horses and finally figured out ....they aren't for me ...

 

[Rob M.]

Mike Brooks, I flushed the rabbit from brush, watched it run till it went under a deadfall tree. Circled behind the tree looking for the rabbit. Spotted it at about ten yards, and got it. I have gotten 2 others with it since using about the same method. I won’t risk a running shot on one with it, but it is so fun to try and outflank them with this gun. And the eating afterwards is good as well

Mr. Flanders ! Here's the fellow that got that Bunny Mr. Brooks

 

[Rob M.]

Mike Brooks, I flushed the rabbit from brush, watched it run till it went under a deadfall tree. Circled behind the tree looking for the rabbit. Spotted it at about ten yards, and got it. I have gotten 2 others with it since using about the same method. I won’t risk a running shot on one with it, but it is so fun to try and outflank them with this gun. And the eating afterwards is good as well

Thats so cool !

 

[Rató:rats]

Pretty sure Obwandyag had his men cut down their guns to be hidden under blankets at the taking of Michilimackinac. Or maybe it was the siege of Detroit.
Either way, historical precedent

 

[Rob M.]

Pretty sure Obwandyag had his men cut down their guns to be hidden under blankets at the taking of Michilimackinac. Or maybe it was the siege of Detroit.
Either way, historical precedent

Oh yeah ! Exactly ! Fort Michilicamackinac . ive always wanted to go there ...haven't yet