I'll start the party:
She's a handmade English Fowling Piece, in 20 gauge ... Getz barrel, Chambers lock and guts, English Walnut stock with castoff ... a fine shotgun. Floats in your hand and points like a dream ... ignition is faster than many caplocks. Makes most modern shotguns feel like a 2X4 in comparison.
She's a real "blast from the past" ... an exact dimensional and mechanical replica of an English officer's gun from 1760. Unadorned, but best-quality all the way.
This gun is representative of the better examples of the most commonly found arms in Eastern Carolina households at the time of settlement. Many of these showed up in the hands of men who mustered out for the Revolutionary War.
Contrary to common thought, handmade American longrifles were compartively rare in the early days of colonization, for there weren't many gunsmiths, iron was in short supply, and making individual rifles was expensive. Guns like this fowling piece were manufactured in England by the thriving small arms trade, where individual tradesmen specialized in particular crafts ... barrelmakers, stockmakers, lockmakers, furnituremakers ... and the arms were assembled through their joint efforts. That system was both efficient and quality-oriented.
This type of gun was commonly available from American merchants, and was the most popular choice of settlers by far. Arms like it were available at much cheaper prices than handmade American guns, and the quality was very good, for English arms were unsurpassed in that day. The average colonist didn't want or need a longrifle, because they weren't versatile enough to match the needs of a settler, who needed something that would serve to hunt small game, large game and waterfowl ... and to defend the home. Many colonists couldn't see well enough to use the sights on rifles anyway (as would be the case with most of us if it weren't for glasses and contacts) ... so the shotgun reigned supreme in the colonies.
This one reigns supreme among mine.
