Function of a stepped wrist?

[LongWalker]

I had been doing some minor restoration on fowler for a friend; when I returned it I spent some time mulling over a few pieces in his collection--which leads me to my question. Does a stepped wrist serve any functional purpose or is it just a matter of architectural style?

 

[Pete G]

I would say it’s a matter of architecture that serves the purpose of increasing drop.

 

[rich pierce]

Style. Most stepped wrists are so subtle, and Bedford rifles with huge drop at the heel did not have stepped wrists. Usually stepped wrists on American guns are hypothesized to be remnants of a specific Germanic heritage.

 

[Col. Batguano]

What Rich said. It's similar in function to toe line incises or beads. Purely decorative, but a good and subtly stated one.

 

[LongWalker]

Thanks guys! I was looking at a rifle dated 1775, an unsigned rifle from probably late 1700s/early 1800s, and a SMR from probably around 1830-1840 at a guess. I could compare them and see the step melting away, but wasn't sure if there was originally a purpose. I was almost wondering if it was supposed to be some kind of surrogate pistol grip and I just wasn't holding it correctly.

 

[rich pierce]

With a rifle guard in place the stepped wrist should make no difference in how the gun is held.

 

[LongWalker]

Thanks! (The thought did cross my mind that I was holding them wrong, sort of the equivalent of folks trying to shoot a deeply crescent buttplate off the shoulder instead of their arm.)