Long barrels

[Stophel]

'at's not a barrel....'at's a barrel!

Hey Mike, ever make one this long?

 

[Tim Clark]

Nice long sight radius! Wow...

 

[hawkeye1755]

In the book 'Flintlock Fowlers' on side 27 is a Fowler owned by John Tomson(1616-1696), one of the Plymouth Colony settlers, it is 89 inches long.The barrel is 73-1/2 inches long.(226cm/185cm) :shocked2:
:hatsoff:

 

[bramble]

Sight radius, heck! With that thing you could just reach out and touch 'em :rotf:

bramble

 

[Mike Brooks]

So, how long are those? I'm having a bad case of barrel envy.... :redface:
They look fairly early 1680's or 90's?

 

[blacksmithshoppe]

I met a guy once, I think his name was Tod Schroeder? He had a French Fowler with a real long barrel like that. Nice looking gun but it had to be hell to maneuver around in the woods.
Jeff

 

[Dave K]

Heck, my eyes aren't that good to even see the front sight!

 

[JV Puleo]

You guys may find this hard to believe but the longest barrel I've seen was literrally made in two pieces...The gun I am thinking of was a very long barrelled NE fowler formerly in the collecton of the late Don Andreason. It was in excellent condition and had the owners initial and name "B. Church" on the sideplate. Whether this was infamous Dr. Benjamin Church remains a question (the gun was certainly old enough) but there was no doubt that the barrel had a riveted joint roughly in the middle. Very close examination of the exterior showed the rivets but no amount of examination with a bore light could show it on the inside. How it was done I have no idea and I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen and handled it.
And as I typed this I remembered that it is illustrated in "The New England Gun" by Merrill Lindsay..described as cherry stocked and made with the lock and furniture from a French M1717 musket. The barrel, which is not from the musket, is marked "Girard" on the underside of the barrel.
Joe Puleo

 

[Mike Brooks]

I met a guy once, I think his name was Tod Schroeder? He had a French Fowler with a real long barrel like that. Nice looking gun but it had to be hell to maneuver around in the woods.
Jeff

I built that gun. It's a hudson valley fowler with a 12 bore 50" barrel.
>

Or it may have been John Brus with his Buccaneer
>
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Both of the bucaneers have 60" barrels

 

[blacksmithshoppe]

Yep, the Schroeder Gun is the one. I was thinking it had a Cherry stock but otherwise as I remember it that's the gun. But it been several years ago that I saw it, and the memory plays tricks at times. Nice work Mike.
Jeff

 

[k.jacobfrost]

:hatsoff: those are some real nice looking guns. Were did you get the barrels from? I am hopping to have a need to pick one up that is about 54-57" long within the next year or so.

Frost

 

[Mike Brooks]

The Brus barrel was made by Getz, and the clevland barrel was made by Coogle.

 

[Stophel]

The guns are "Swan" guns. Marked "Utreck" on the locks. Ca. 1680. They are described in the text as being cheaply made guns. I don't think any of them have buttplates. The two on the right have rear sights, while the first one appears to have a dovetail for one. The first two forestocks are broken off. The barrels are about 2500mm (whatever that is in real measurements), and about 16.5mm caliber. These three guns are actually marked (stamped on the butt) 16, 17, and 18, and are believed to have been used in the great royal swan shoots. This book (Dutch Firearms by Arne Hoff) also states how that Dutch emigres headed for America were advised to bring guns such as these with them, as they would be needed in their new homes.

 

[benvenuto]

.65 cal x almost 100 inches!
:hatsoff:

 

[Stophel]

The text states that "the equippage commonly carried for use with such guns would include shot in a horn or leather container, powder in a flask, a powder and shot measure, a "tow worm" for cleaning, and a folding step stool used in loading."

 

[benvenuto]

I have an engraving somewhere of someone shooting the popinjay with one of these monsters...I should scan it