An interesting subject!
I think most of these spring guns were used by gamekeepers.
Someone sneaking through the coverts at night might get a nasty surprise.
The trip wire of course, swivels the gun into the direction of the trespasser before it goes off. They were also used against animals, to protect game.
Laws of 1824 forbade their use against humans and also banned the use of man-traps. An old pal at home still had two man-traps. One with overlapping teeth about 2 inches long, and the other the later "Humane " version, that merely broke your leg. :-)
Best,
Richard.
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