Blunderbuss

A fellow blogger is looking for some help identifying the vintage of a family heirloom. I wouldn’t even know where to begin, except by saying that the flintlock mechanism would seem to plant it in the 18th or early 19th century. A lot of blunderbusses had brass barrels, and this one looks like steel. My understanding is that blunderbusses were not common arms, among regular folk, so I would imagine this might be worth a pretty penny. But I really know little about them. Can anyone offer some advice?

5 thoughts on “Blunderbuss”

  1. Blunderbusses, to my surprise, were very common. When I was reading through records of firearms purchased by colonial governments from civilians at the start of the American Revolution, I was startled at how often they were blunderbusses. They aren’t Pilgrim hunting weapons; they are intended as short-range antipersonnel weapons used for repelling boarders (on ship) or dealing with large crowds attempting to force their way into your home.

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