Shotgun - History

History

Since early firearms, such as the blunderbuss, arquebus and musket tended to have large diameter, smoothbore barrels, they would function with shot as well as solid balls. A firearm intended for use in wing shooting of birds was known as a fowling piece. The 1728 Cyclopaedia defines a fowling piece as:

Fowling Piece, a portable Fire Arm for the shooting of Birds. See Fire Arm.

Of Fowling Pieces, those are reputed the best, which have the longest Barrel, vis. from 51⁄₂ foot to 6; with an indifferent Bore, under Harquebus: Tho' for different Occasions they shou'd be of different Sorts, and Sizes. But in all, 'tis essential the Barrel be well polish'd and smooth within; and the Bore all of a Bigness, from one End to another...

For example, the contemporary Brown Bess musket, in service with the British military from 1722 to 1838, 19 mm (.75 inch) smoothbore barrel, roughly the same as a 10 gauge shotgun, and was 157 cm (62 inches) long, just short of the above recommended 168 cm (51⁄₂ feet). On the other hand, records from the Plymouth colony show a maximum length of 137 cm (41⁄₂ feet) for fowling pieces, shorter than the typical musket.

Shot was also used in warfare; the buck and ball loading, mixing a musket ball with three or six buckshot, was used throughout the history of the smoothbore musket. The first recorded use of the term shotgun was in 1776 in Kentucky. It was noted as part of the "frontier language of the West" by James Fenimore Cooper.

With the adoption of the smaller bores and rifled barrels, the shotgun began to emerge as a separate entity. Shotguns have long been the preferred method for sport hunting of birds, and the largest shotguns, the punt guns, were used for commercial hunting. The double-barreled shotgun, for example, has changed little since the development of the boxlock action in 1875. Modern innovations such as interchangeable chokes and subgauge inserts make the double barreled shotgun the shotgun of choice in skeet, trap shooting, and sporting clays, as well as with many hunters. A double from a well-respected maker, such as Krieghoff or Perazzi, can cost US$5,000 to start, and reach prices of US$100,000 for presentation grade examples.

During its long history, it has been favored by bird hunters, guards and law enforcement officials. The shotgun has fallen in and out of favor with military forces several times in its long history. Shotguns and similar weapons are simpler than long-range rifles, and were developed earlier. The development of more accurate and deadlier long-range rifles minimized the usefulness of the shotgun on the open battlefields of European wars. But armies have "rediscovered" the shotgun for specialty uses many times.