Upon close examination and partial dissassembly of the fowler I can offer the following;
1. The fowler is totally untouched by modern hands. Original flintlock. The forestock has a piece of wood (24 inches) that has been replaced. This repair is not a modern attempt to deceive but rather a neccessary repair. The wood of the stock is beech and the repair wood is cherry. The barrel is round, appears to be Spanish, and is flared at the muzzle.
2. The fowler is very similar to the Dutch hunting gun on page 29 of Tom Grinslade's book on fowlers. Also it is very similar to the fowler on page 38 of the same book.
3. The sideplate looks to be original and is crude compared to the butt plate and trggerguard.
4. There are many handforged nails holding pieces to the stock. They are at the triggerguard, butt plate, escuction, and lock. This would seem to indicate it was in service for a long time and was highly thought of by it's owners.
5. The initials and "76" carved into the butt stock indicte, to me, colonial American useage.
6. The cock is a period replacement, again indicating American useage.
To me, the fowler could be a Dutch import that was heavily used here, possibly in the F&I War or Revolution, or both. The repairs and crude replaed side plate and hammer plus the initials indicsate that to me. It possibly could have been stocked here but I am leaning towards an imported gun.
Al