Hawker on Shotgun barrels

[Many Klatch]

I was reading a copy of Lt. Col. P. Hawker's Instructions to a Young Shooter printed in 1846 and ran across this description of the correct way to bore a flintlock barrel for shooting shot. Detonator guns were bored differently. This is fairly long but I didn't leave anything out to shorten it.

With the common-sized guns, which are now made for the sports of the field, the usual mode of boring is, to leave a cylinder for about 3/4 of the barrel (always taking care, in a flint-gun, but not in a detonator, to preserve a little tightness or contraction just where the shot moves) and let the remaining part of the barrel be gradually relieved to the muzzle. For instance, suppose a barrel to be two feet eight inches long, we would say, (beginning at the breech end) about 6 inches tight (if for a flint); 21 inches a cylinder; and the remaining 5 inches relieved to the muzzle. All this must be done with the most delicate possible graduation, and in so small a degree that even some gunmakers can scarcely discover it. How natural is it that many sporting authors should be deceived, as to fancy the best guns are bored in a true cylinder to the very muzzle, and, therefore, argue in it's favor! This relief has the effect of making the gun shoot as close as it can do, compatible with the strength and quickness required; which should however be increased by the best constructed breechings. But with the new alteration, for short detonators, a mere cylinder, or nearly so, with a few inches of relief forward is now found to answer best; and therefore we require more weight of metal, in order to ease the recoil of the a charge that is longer retained in the barrel.

Page 27 He lists some of his best shooting guns with some dimensions

A Single Gun
(Musket Bore, and the average weight of a musket)

Cylinder 1 foot 10-1/2 inches
Relief 1 foot 0 inches
Opened 7-1/2 inches

A Common Fourteen Gauge Double Gun

Cylinder 1 foot 9 inches
Relief 5 inches
Tight Behind 6 inches

Q. Why is the common sporting gun tight behind, when the other guns are opened behind?
A. Because a sporting-gun requires to be fired so many times in a day, that we must adopt an inferior mode of getting friction, in order to prevent the barrel from getting leaded; and therefore to make it shoot, through the whole day, nearly as well as when clean, and without recoil to the shoulder. Again a sporting-gun must, of necessity, be short, for the convenience of covert; and snap-shooting; and therefore the length that would properly suit the relief which must follow an opening behind (in order to prevent recoil and preserve close shooting) would generally be objected to as an inconvenience.

[Here I allude only to flint-guns; as a detonator must, in a great degree, be debarred from this advantage; because, if too tight behind, without any subsequent check, the powder would be blown away so quick as not to be half kindled. This is the new discovery in boring for detonators, which I before alluded to, and which has probably saved them not only from being wholly abandoned, but has brought them into general use in almost every part of the world.]

Now here is my question, what in the world is he talking about? It seems that he is recommending that a barrel be undersized at the breech, be bored to cylinder size in the middle of the barrel and then to open out at the muzzle. Now I didn't include all his guns that he did this with, Col Hawker had some 69 pound swivel guns that he used for Punt gunning that had this system.

Then he says that the 14 gauge is restricted at the breech, opens to cylinder and then is restricted at the muzzle. That sure sounds like a choke to me.

I also found it interesting that flint-guns should be restricted at the bore, but it doesn't do detonator guns any good.

Comments?

Many Klatch

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Relieved at the muzzle sounds like slight coning--the exact opposite of what you'd want. Of course this was a time of great experimenting with smoothbores and the shorter barrels weren't throwing the patterns that a long fowler did. Another thing that could be happening here is that we're running up against an outdated or arcane use of words.

 

[Many Klatch]

We had an earlier thread where someone posted a Portuguese gun making book with pictures of a relieved or coned muzzle for a shotgun. This book was from the 1600's if I remember correctly. I think the relieved muzzle may have been the hot setup for that time. The arcane terminology is one reason why I posted this. If there is any group that knows arcane it would be this group.

Many Klatch

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

Was not the Greener method of choking a shotgun well established at this point?
Don't know for sure but I think it was posted on this board not too long ago.
:v

 

[Many Klatch]

Griz, I think Greener's choking system came in around 1880.

Many Klatch

 

[robinghewitt]

I've wondered about this, Hawker says he got this info from Joe Manton, could it be he simply misunderstood what he was told? He seems to be a lot better at talking than listening, but he was also an incredibly brave and resilient man so we must forgive him the odd foible.

Manton would not have sold it as choked because the word didn't mean anything. Perhaps "extra close shooting".

 

[Many Klatch]

From reading Col. Hawker's book I see that he didn't care much for patterning on paper because it didn't tell the whole story. He was more interested in killing birds. So when Col. Hawker recommended three different bore sizes in one gun I immediately took notice. Even if what he says seems to be counter-intuitive, he was the kind of person that would have tested it extensively.

I found this passage particularly interesting because here was a man who was closely associated with the best of the gun makers at the time of change between flint guns and detonators. He knew the men who knew the secrets of making a good gun and he was able to put it in writing for those of us who are following behind.

Many Klatch.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I notice he talks of flushing birds from coverts.
In other words walked up birds like woodcock and pheasant in timber. One of my favourite pass times and 25yds or less is the norm. Maybe he desired some spreading.

Brit.