A Big Gun

[Feltwad]

Bought at auction here in the UK .This big gun weighs 29 lbs has a 36 Damascus  4 bore barrel , the barrel is rifled with 8 grooves .The stock which is plain walnut has seen some hard use, the back action lock is 6.1/2 inches in length , with the trigger guard and butt plate  made from steel Although not in pristine condition it is a example of a ships swivel gun or rampart gun.Enclosed are images
Feltwad

[Majorjoel]

Nice find Feltwad! I can still hear the ships captain.......This'll fix them pesky seagulls!

[alyce-james]

Feltwad; Good afternoon Sir. Always enjoyed Rampart and large Swivel guns. Great auction find. Thanks for sharing the images with the ALF. AJ

[mr. no gold]

Just looked at the catalog for the up coming 'Olde Barne" auction. Some really fine things will be sold. Among them is a huge English fowler in percussion. It is an 8 bore with a 48 inch barrel. Looks like quality piece with some mounts in silver. It is Lot Number 873 and will sell on Saturday, April 27 starting at 8:00 AM, EDT  US. The gun is described as likely being a market gun. Photo is rather small, but shows a quality piece.
The above is for your benefit and interest, Feltwad. And, thank you for bringing your really 'big' here for us to see.
Dick

[Dphariss]

Nice find.
These special purpose guns are always interesting.

Dan

[Feltwad]

To mr. no gold

Thank you for the info on the "Olde Barne" auction ,although I could not locate the gun for what you describe the gun is a 8 bore standard fowling piece and not a market gun or has we call them punt guns. There are still a lot of these 8 bore guns in use by UK wildfowlers loaded with a modest load of 4-5 drms of Fg to 2.1/2 oz of shot can take geese up to 60yards.I have several of these 8 bores in my collection
Feltwad

[Feltwad]

Enclosed is a image of a conical 4 bore bullet used in this rifle compared to a 577
Feltwad

[Canute Rex]

It's odd; the swivel actually looks kind of undersized for the bore. I can't imagine that little rod standing up to even one shot. Maybe that swivel is a replacement for display purposes.

So is this actually a military weapon or for elephant hunting? Or is it for finishing off a whale?

Again, an oddness - I wouldn't think that a military weapon would have a pattern welded barrel. Likewise any utilitarian market gun, which I think of as smoothbores anyway. Perfectly willing to be contradicted but it says big game hunter to me.

Thanks for sharing it.

[Old Ford2]

Question?
What would such a gun be used for?
Not for ground squirrels...I think.Fred

[Dphariss]

It's odd; the swivel actually looks kind of undersized for the bore. I can't imagine that little rod standing up to even one shot. Maybe that swivel is a replacement for display purposes.

So is this actually a military weapon or for elephant hunting? Or is it for finishing off a whale?

Again, an oddness - I wouldn't think that a military weapon would have a pattern welded barrel. Likewise any utilitarian market gun, which I think of as smoothbores anyway. Perfectly willing to be contradicted but it says big game hunter to me.

Thanks for sharing it.

Its not an Elephant gun. Whaling is a much better fit and this would be my guess. 
Conicals were found to be inadequate for heavy game when fired from a ML where than were necessarily too soft and to slow in velocity. Sir Samuel Baker found this when he tried a conical in his 6 bore "Devil stopper". Nearly got him killed so he resumed the use of the belted ball the rifle was made for. Whales are less likely to attack the shooter than Elephant so the criteria are different. They are not really "stoppable" for example unless the projectile is an explosive shell as described by Forsythe.

Dan

[Feltwad]

This swivel gun was used for blasting out the enemy ships rigging ,loaded with shot it was fired at the  sailors on the enemys deck .On castle ramparts it was mostly  loaded with large shot.
yes the  original swivel has been removed and the one in the images is only for display.
Feltwad