[Lenny]

Originally Posted by Philip

First thing that comes to mind is whether it is necessarily a military weapon. I'm looking through Robert Held's The Age of Firearms (1957) at the moment, and note that some pretty large fowling pieces, full-stocked in the manner of military muskets, were made in England and Holland in the 17th cent. On p 81, fig 171 is a line drawing of a Jacobean-era piece, first half 17th cent., with a caption quoting an old text, "five foot and a half or six feet long with an indifferent Bore under Harquebus", the last point being interpreted by Mr Held to be somewhere between .63 and .80 caliber. The length of your gun falls within the parameters described, although the design of your stock is a bit more modern than fig 171 shows. Have you measured the bore diameter of your piece?

In fig 192, p 92 are photographs of two big fowlers with stocks more resembling yours, one is Restoration-era English, 63 in. overall, the other Dutch, 65 in.

Keep in mind that though these guns were used for shooting birds (generally, big ones like waterfowl), sporting practice of the era did not object to taking them sitting. The art of wingshooting is thought to have originated in Italy or somewhere else in southern Europe, and by the 18th cent. it became THE way to take birds of all sorts among British sportsmen. And the gun makers there have come up with designs which in terms of proportion and ergonomics have become a sort of world standard, still followed by high-end makers of sporting arms today. If you're not familiar with Robert Held's book I suggest you read it because he covers this topic in excellent detail, replete with historical anecdote and excerpts from the shooting literature of the day.

Do you have some close ups of the outside of the lock? Any markings anywhere?

Hello Philip and thanks for your reply....I suspect you are right. The bore is .75 calibre the standard (if one can say that) military bore but it is 5 foot 8 inches long from butt plate to muzzle which seems a foot longer than a more usual military grade weapon. I attach a close-up of a marking on the lock. I ma also going to get my hand on Held's book.
Best Wishes
Pádraig