Repro of early Scottish fowling piece

[Woodsheal]

I am a huge fan of Scottish shotguns, currently carry a Charles Ingram 12 bore. It's as tight now as it was when it was built in 1902. But as to this piece being a fowler, I highly doubt it. Very few small gauge guns were even made in the period and fowlers would have been 8, 10 or 12 gauge.

David

Sorry, but that's incorrect. Any number of original French fusils de chasse (i.e. "hunting guns"), Dutch trade guns, and English built fowlers of the period (early 1700's)are in the 20 gauge range, though many indeed had bigger bores. All military muskets were in the larger calibers you mention.

Check out any of George Neumann's books and articles on colonial period firearms to see many smaller gauged pieces, some from his own collection....