Here's an awesome early 18th Century English Lock Fowler which was completely custom built to represent some of the earliest guns built by American gunsmiths.
The builder of this gun wanted a weapon that could be used for a very early colonial militia impression, and this musket certainly fits the bill! This piece was built up to represent an arm built by an American gunsmith using a combination of European and domestically-produced parts. American gunsmiths relied heavily on European gun parts when producing weapons in the Colonies. Parts like locks and barrels were both difficult to produce "on the frontier" and also difficult to obtain from overseas so American gunsmiths relied heavily on "recycled" parts from worn or damaged guns when building weapons. For this reason, it is not uncommon to find American weapons produced with a mixture a of salvaged English and French parts. Or, as is the case with this musket, an early 17th Century English Lock neatly mounted into an early 18th Century "Club Butt" stock.
The 1650's English lock which provides ignition for this handsome musket was assembled from castings by Jess Melot at the Rifle Shoppe. Developed in the very early 1600’s, the English Lock - sometimes call the Jacobean Lock - quickly became a very popular ignition system for both muskets and pistols. English lock weapons offered a distinct advantage in reliability over matchlock firearms, and were less prone to derangement than other contemporary locks having their springs and other components on the outside.
Unlike the contemporary snaphaunce, the English Lock had an integrated pan & frizzen and a sear that incorporated a half-cock position. English locks were simple and reliable - to very attractive qualities to American colonists on the frontier. For this reason, noted early American Arms Historian George C. Neumann wrote: "The English Lock was the most frequent system employed by the American Colonists in the second half of the 1600's".
The distinct profile of the Colonial "Club Butt" Fowler was extremely common place in early America; with the earliest examples dating back to the 1680's. The "fish bellied" stock has roots in European design elements from France and Germany but is considered uniquely "New England" in overall appearance. The large swooping butt stock provided excellent "drop" for quick sighting when hunting water fowl. This custom fowler features a nicely-shaped American Walnut "Club-butt" stock that was carved completely from a blank - that's right this piece is completely one-of-a-kind, and was NOT made from a pre-carved "kit" stock. The overall length of the stock (61" overall), combined with the faceted styling on the stock's belly dates this gun to about 1700 - 1720; making it appropriate for just about any militia impression during the 18th Century; from the earliest Colonial "Queen Anne's War" impression all the way through the Revolutionary War, as colonial-made guns generally had tremendously long service lives - the famous "Johannes Faber Rifle" was built as early as the 1740's and was still in active use by the family who originally purchased as late as the 1860s!
To add to the gun's military styling, the stock has been cut back at the muzzle and a bayonet lug added. This type of military alteration is very common on Colonial guns, as many counties had laws of compulsory service that required all able bodied free men, aged 18 to 60 to serve in the militia. These "Provincial" soldier were required by law to provide themselves with a gun, ammunition, and a sword, bayonet, or hatchet. As a result, many Colonial militia men had their personal hunting weapons modified to accept a bayonet.
Weighing in at only 6lbs 8 oz. this handy weapon is in excellent, like new condition. The lock works as it should and provides a good spark with every pull of the trigger. The 46" Colerain barrel is in excellent condition with an attractive octagon-to-round profile and multiple "wedding bands"; all features that were common to late 17th/Early 18th Century fowlers. The .62 caliber smooth bore is in excellent condition with no major rust or pitting to speak of.
This unique musket is sure to turn heads on the battle field or the firing line, and would be a great choice for the discerning reenactor, hunter, or target shooter!
