This 12 gauge double barrel shotgun was made by Pietta. It was originally made as a sporting weapon with 30" barrels, but with its lightweight and high quality construction, we thought it would make an excellent platform for a custom Confederate Cavalry Shotgun, and gave it to master gunsmith Steve Krolick to work his magic on.
The Southern states pressed thousands of civilian weapons into military service as a result of the large scale arms shortages faced by the Confederacy at the beginning of the war. Among the most popular of these makeshift military small arms was the shotgun; as its smoothbored large caliber barrel was ideal for the popular "buck and ball" cartridge which was so devastating at close ranges. According to author Russ A. Pritchard's book Confederate and Southern Agent Marked Shotguns civilian shotguns were commonly used by both the infantry and cavalry.
Many of the guns adopted for cavalry use were modified for military service. These modifications typically involved the shortening of the barrels to make the gun more handy for use on horse back; as well as the addition of custom saddle bar.
Steve began the work of converting this shotgun by shortening the barrels to 16" - a common barrel length for original Cavalry shotguns. The barrels were trimmed and the ribs were re-soldered to insure that the barrels remained firmly joined together. A custom bead was also turned and mounted to the top rib of the barrels to serve as a front sight.
An original wooden tapered ram rod was sourced and installed in the stock. Next, Steve custom-fabricated a saddle bar which is held in place using the original wedge pin lug on the barrel; making it very strong and secure. This saddle bar is truly one-of-a-kind; and while it is not an exact copy of any original CS saddle bar, it is heavily inspired by those pictured in Pritchard's book, and was fabricated using 19th materials and methods.
The stock was then re-shaped and refinished and a Southern inscription was added to the left side of the stock to further reinforce the "Confederate" motif.
The finished shotgun is an excellent representation of the rare Confederate Cavalry Shotguns used during the Civil War. This shotgun is truly one of a kind and would be right at home at any shooting range, reenactment, or antique gun collection. This shotgun is sure to be the pride and joy of anyone's Southern gun display - don't wait on this one!
