I'm gathering some info for an article I'm writing and I need some help from ya'll so I actually appear to know what I'm talking about. Is it true that, historically, most folks hunted squirrels with a blackpowder rifle as opposed to a smoothbore gun using shot? If that is true, was it because the rifle was preferred or was it because the rifle was available? It is my understanding that fowling pieces were used more by the gentry than the common man.
If the rifle was preferred because it was more readily available, did the people on the frontier use the same caliber for everything or did they try to use smaller bores for small game. I've heard the 32 and 36 caliber rifles, preferred nowadays for squirrels, referred to as "gentleman's rifles". This would suggest to me that they were a luxury and not in regular use by folks living hand to mouth.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Darren
If the rifle was preferred because it was more readily available, did the people on the frontier use the same caliber for everything or did they try to use smaller bores for small game. I've heard the 32 and 36 caliber rifles, preferred nowadays for squirrels, referred to as "gentleman's rifles". This would suggest to me that they were a luxury and not in regular use by folks living hand to mouth.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Darren