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Originally Posted by colin henshaw
Giving a bit more thought to the subject, a couple of further reasons for adding the wooden butt pad could be :-
1. From memory, the matchlock I owned had a very heavy long barrel. The butt
pad would be a counterweight to the barrel when holding and firing.
2. Indian people tended to have relatively small frames (ref. tulwar hilts); the
butt pad addition would suit an Arab man with a longer reach.
Here is a rather more "high status" gun, that was in auction in Britain earlier this year, for comparison.
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Hi Colin
Item 2 you mention above is something I believe is often over-looked when studying these shoulder guns. With the exception of the thick, leather pads which would seem obvious to reduce recoil, the separate wood butt cap, whether Arab, Coorg, or even Ottoman leads me to believe you are correct. Should the gun be traded or sold, the user could change the Length of Pull (LOP) to accommodate a different shooter by just extending or shortening the butt cap. It's why I believe the Ottoman guns butt stocks were always made in two pieces.
It's also what makes these guns a bit difficult to shoot today. The LOP typically being between 11 and 12 inches. Whereas the European guns would be closer to 13 to 13.5 inches. Today's shooters average 14 inches.
And, as you mention, the grips on the tulwar swords are smaller than their European counterparts. Quite interesting.
Rick