Fowler to Shotgun?

[Coot]

It seems that at the time of the AWI all smoothbore civilian longarms are fowlers and by the time of the CW, they are shotguns. When did the transition from fowler to shotgun take place and was this a fast process?

 

[Iron Jim Rackham]

Well, I'm just guesing here because I have no documentation for what I am about to suggest. My feeling is that the term fowler was used to distinquish a sporting arm from a musket, when both arms were smoothbored, and roundball rifles were relatively rare and "regionalized". In short I think the term fowler was simply common parlance for a smoothbore sporting arm.

By the time of the American Civil War, not only was the typical musket a rifled weapon, but rifles were common everywhere, and the term shotgun was employed to distinquish a sporting arm that wasn't rifled.

But it's just a guess, and I'd be curious if someone can document the transition in terms.

 

[tg]

I wopuld guess sometime in the late 40's early 50's it would be interesting to find some dicums on it.

 

[Okwaho]

I'm just heading out the door but will be happy to check on this question.I do,however, remember seeing some estate inventories from East Tennessee about 1800-1815 that mentioned rifle guns, shot guns and shot bags {sorry, no "possibles bags"}. I believe Wallace Gusler might have mentioned this terminology in one of his Muzzle Blast articles.I suspect this terminology is earlier than I am citing.
Tom Patton

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Earliest record I have seen calling the smooth gun or fowling piece a "shotgun".....

Buckingham Co. VA - 1782 Estate of Jeremiah Whitney lists "1 shot gun"

Other records of same general time and same area
show the use of "rifle gun" for rifles and "smooth gun" or "smooth bore gun" for fowlers, etc. "Musket" is also used when referring to a military piece.

 

[tg]

I wonder when the one word term became the norm?

 

[DCF]

Or is it that. In earlier days smoothbores were for ball, shot, military, sporting use etc. i.e. loads of purposes.

So you had to separate the gentleman’s fowling piece from the ruffians smooth gun from the infantry mans”¦..tube with a lock on it. (Now whatever you do don’t think I favour the English fowling piece will you”¦”¦”¦ :blah:

Later, mostly smooth guns were guns for use with shot. So it would be easy to refer to them as such.

Maybe the name changed when the function crystallized?

 

[Capt. Jas.]

TG,

My guess is that as the double barrel became more prevalent, the name "shotgun" follwed suit.