Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Meaning of 'WE' marking on German 'Puffer' wheellock pistol

Matchlock · 29th April 2012, 08:51 PM

I have heard various interpretations on the actual historic use of a ball butt on a wheellock 'puffer', the most common being that it was used as a club after the gun had been fired on horseback.

Here is a very rare image showing a detached late-16th c. ball butt and the central wooden rod for attaching it to the butt stock.

We cannnot categorically exclude that the putts of pistols and guns were employed as clubs in case of emergency but they certainly were not constructed to survive such a treatment.

Basically, the ball butt provided a safe grip for the gloved horseman's hand when reaching for the heavy pistol to draw.

The earliest, and smallest, precursor of the ball butt appeared in the 1550's, developing from the fishtail-shaped rear end, and the design was finally given up at the beginning of the 17th c.

One of the earliest pistols presenting the prestage to what was to become a ball butt is seen on a ca. 1550-55 Nuremberg pistol, struck with the mark of Hans Stopler, and the sickle-shaped dog spring running around the wheel, preserved in the Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg (attached at bottom).

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29th April 2012, 08:51 PM	#4
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	What the ball butt was actually for I have heard various interpretations on the actual historic use of a ball butt on a wheellock 'puffer', the most common being that it was used as a club after the gun had been fired on horseback. Here is a very rare image showing a detached late-16th c. ball butt and the central wooden rod for attaching it to the butt stock. We cannnot categorically exclude that the putts of pistols and guns were employed as clubs in case of emergency but they certainly were not constructed to survive such a treatment. Basically, the ball butt provided a safe grip for the gloved horseman's hand when reaching for the heavy pistol to draw. The earliest, and smallest, precursor of the ball butt appeared in the 1550's, developing from the fishtail-shaped rear end, and the design was finally given up at the beginning of the 17th c. One of the earliest pistols presenting the prestage to what was to become a ball butt is seen on a ca. 1550-55 Nuremberg pistol, struck with the mark of Hans Stopler, and the sickle-shaped dog spring running around the wheel, preserved in the Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg (attached at bottom). m Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 29th April 2012 at 09:24 PM.