Period-correct smoothbore/shotgun?

[stombaug]

I am looking to expand my gun cabinet contents to include a smoothbore gun that I could use to hunt turkeys in both the spring and fall seasons here in Pennsylvania...

My question to the smoothbore community is relatively simple: Can someone point me in the direction of finding such a weapon that would be PC for the period 1815-1825?

Most of the guns that I have found, like the British/colonial-type fowlers, are pre-1800... would they still have been used extensively up through 1825, or was there something more popular toward the latter years of the fur trade?

 

[buffcreekforge]

You may want to consider a Northwest Trade Gun - 20 to 12 gauge smoothbore - long guns with a nice look. Would carry you into the Fur Trade era nicely!

Your Humble Servant,

Just Dave

 

[tallbear]

Click
There there are many examples of Pennsyvania/Kentcky fowlers that would work for your period.If you have a copy Grinsdales fowler book it has some nice examples from around the PA area.There are a couple of nice one from the Reading area that would work for you.There are also many New England fowlers that would fit the bill.Many New England fowlers ended up in PA as their owners moved to the west.I would pic an area that you would like your fowler to be from and them pick a builder to supply it.The two of you can finalize the details together.There are many choices to choose from.

Mitch Yates

 

[Dausener]

Check out North Star West. I'd like one but it's not in the budget at this time... :v
http://northstarwest.com/

 

[tallbear]

Sorry but I have to ask how many northwest trade guns do you think you would see in Pennsylvania in 1815?? Not many i would think!!!

Mitch Yates

 

[Many Klatch]

The British halfstock shotgun was fairly common in the US by 1812-1815. Birmingham and other British cities were exporting them by the boatload to the US.

Many Klatch

 

[Dausener]

Maybe the NSW Early English would fit. It is a mid to 3rd quarter 18th C. gun but could still be around in the early 19th C. Also, as has been said, ya can't go wrong with a good fowler. Check out Mike Brooks site. http://fowlingguns.com/ Good luck on your choice. :v

 

[graybeard]

Don't take this as advice on PC, but I hunt regularly with an LC Smith double that my grandfather bought new at least 100 years ago. Take care of a gun and it will last longer than you. graybeard

 

[pargent]

The sky is your limit ,just go pre 1825, back in the day a well cared for gun lasted a life time in fact some from your posted time line are still seeing use to-day (limited of course ).Just check that what you choose could of somehow been available to your persona eg handed down , traded or purchased , captured and kept as well.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

If you are trying to re-enact 1815 to 1825 Pennsylvania than I think Tallbear is correct; a Penn fowler would be nice.

If you just want a gun from that period a trade gun is a good choice.

The three main questions for reenactors are; Who are you, Where are you and What time period are you? This defines a lot of what is period correct for your persona.

Remember, just because you live in Penn’s woods does not mean you cannot be a western mountain man or a Voyageur from Montreal.

 

[stombaug]

WOW - I did not expect so much good feedback in such a short time! Thank you all for your input.

The more I think about this, the more I realize what a dumb question it really was. It just occurred to me that if I simply targeted a persona of my age around 1813 (easy math), and then just took a look in my own gun cabinet, the answer was right under my nose the whole time: I have a shotgun, handed down from my father, that was built in 1955 and the first rifle I purchased myself in 1979. Therefore, it's no stretch at all to think that my persona could have easily been carrying a gun that he inherited in 1755 or one that he bought himself in 1779... or anything in between, for that matter. Duh!

If I were to place this persona in southwestern PA ,where my family settled c.1785 (moving west from Philly area), I think this points more definitively toward the non-trade type fowlers, so I am going to head in that direction.

Thanks to your responses, and some of my own research, I have several builders to contact as the next step. :hmm:

Thanks again,
Scott

 

[tallbear]

Scott
You are headed in the right direction.The first thing I establish when a customer of mine want's a historically correct firearm is time and place.The his station life(wealthy/poor).Then after that where he came from (ie.. western PA by way of Reading Pa for example)Once these questions are answered it really narrows down the choices and the process of picking a specific school or maker to copy can begin.

Mitch Yates

 

[greggholmes]

I take the "where" with a grain of salt because my ancestor James Holmes was born in 1801 and died in 1880 he moved from Pennsylvania to (1860) Illinois to Kansas by 1880. So he would probably had Pennsylvania guns in Illinois and Kansas.

Henry Holmes 1738-1810 Moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio so again "where" should not be as important as when. To me at least

 

[smokepole tc]

i bought a pa. fowler kit from jim chambers and had gun builder nate mc kenzie from red rock pa.build it for me gun is awesome will be out hunting next saturday opening day in pa.nate is a great builder and will point you in the right direction check out his website you will be glad you did Good Luck!!!

 

[crockett]

ClickFlash- from the time period I am guessing you are interested in a Flintlock shotgun. A year or two ago I raised a similar question. There are a few muzzle loading shotguns around but by and large this is an area of muzzle loading that doesn't get much attention. I like the mountain man era and a fair number of double barrel shotguns are mentioned but virtually nothing is ever said about them. To do it correctly, someone would have to get in hand an original and then make a replica/reproduction that was an accurate copy. The kits that are sold- to the best of my knowledge they are just generic designs that don't copy any one particular original.
It's all sort of amazing given that a double gives you two shots, good for hunting turkey, deer in thickets, and small game. You would think there would be a greater interest. For example, let's say deer isn't your thing. In a lot of states all sorts of small game, etc are legal during muzzle loader season and anyone with a double shotgun literally would have the fields all to themselves.
Does anyone know if there are any books with detailed photographs of muzzle loading shotguns?

 

[satwel]

Don't discount military surplus smoothies. Short Land Patterns could have been either surrendered or battlefield pickups from Rev War. Same for India Patterns from War of 1812.

 

[dbutch]

Here's a half stock fowler kit..might work
http://www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com/ComponentSets/EnglishFowlerRifle.php

 

[Tommy Bruce]

I'd like to chime in on the Grinsdale book as well. It is an excellent resource. One thing I noticed about the New England area fowling pieces was that the basic architecture of the stock didn't really change, just the style of the lock. There are several guns that will fit your bill, I think in this case it's going to come down to what you like best.

 

[greggholmes]

Who goes by 'yacky'

 

[Isiah1103]

One shot, who is Nate McKensie and where is he located? I'm from that area and not familiar with him.