How to load a shotgun - 1783

Going through my library I found this book that I had overlooked. It appears to me that the author was probably a British officer during the AWI. He was hunting on Long Island during the war and one of his hunting buddies was killed storming Bunker Hill. This book was printed in New York in 1783 and may be the first ever book on shotgunning that was printed in this country.

One of the interesting things is his use of "square pieces of paper" to patch his load. One piece went over the powder and may have functioned much like the paper sleeves that have been mentioned on this forum a number of times. He certainly carried a lot less items with him when hunting than most of us do, but he did have a servant carrying the rest of this stuff along with a horse and carriage and his dogs.

His thoughts on priming before loading are interesting. :shake:

The Sportsman’s Companion; or, an Essay on Shooting ”“ By A Gentleman ”“ 1783

Chapter 10 ”“ Shooting Apparatus recommended, method of loading, and Precautions to used in returning Home.

Of these there are great variety, and most commonly are chosen more from fancy than for utility; some use spring steel chargers for their shot, I own they are handy and convenient, but, as they weigh almost as much as the shot they contain, I would recommend and prefer the pudding shot bag, with a brass head, and a horn or leather powder horn with a spring top; such as have the spring stopper are best; those with the stopper outside waste and spill the powder. ”“ I disapprove of loading out of the top of the horn, it is both uncertain and dangerous, by the powders clogging between the stopper and the head of the horn,, and thereby often admits a greater quantity of powder than you intend, - I will here endeavor to explain my method of loading, and hope that habit will make it both expeditious and safe to such as chuse to practise it: - Being provided then with a powder horn and pudding shot bag, as above described, the former in a pocket on my right side with the cord belonging to it on the left shoulder; my shot bag on the left side flung with its strap on the right shoulder; my bird net fixed pretty high, to avoid catching in the brush and cover, with a certain number of square bits of soft gray paper run through the middle with a thread and sewed to a convenient part on the right breast of my coat; a turnkey and a couple of flints in my pocket. ”“ I first of all, prime, 2dly, fill the head of my horn with powder and empty it into the top of my shot bag, (Which should contain the exact charge I intend, and serve as a measure for powder and shot and be equal to the full of my powder horn top) put my horn, empty the powder in my gun, take one of my square papers for wadding, and, ramming it down, I, 3rdly, fill my measure with shot, put it in the barrel, take another bit of paper, ram it down, and, returning my measure and rammer, I am ready. All this may, at first, appear complex and tedious, but, by a little practice, will become easy, expeditious and safe: I have invariably loaded in this manner; I found that I was in general, as quick as others. ”“ Many of the best more experienced shots, object to priming first; I cannot see wherein the danger consists, unless it may be supposed to proceed from the heat of the barrel, or something touching the trigger while you are loading. How must it be with the Army, who always prime first, and fire very often so quick, that they can scarcely hold their pieces in their hands, with the heat, yet it’s extraordinary to see one of them going off whilst loading, without some other cause than the heat of the piece. ”“ Bad powder leaving a sulphurous sediment in the breech of the barrel, is a more frequent cause of such accidents. I have often seen a battalion from five to seven hundred men, fire sixty rounds on a field day, without one accident of this nature; though I once saw a whole Grenadier Company’s pouches on fire, by a spark communicating to a broken cartridge in one of the men’s pouches; it was in the instant of firing and the pouch was open. However I shan’t insist on the propriety or impropriety of priming first or last, only insist that priming first is most expeditious; and Gentlemen seldom fire so quick; when fowling as to engender any accident of this kind; - it never happened to myself; - every one’s own discretion may guide them in this particular as they please.
If you have a servant, when out shooting, let him carry your shot bag, (those that I have described contain 4lb. some more some less) and you may carry half a dozen steel spring chargers in your waistcoat or jacket pockets, which, being double, will contain twelve charges. Many use cartridges containing both powder and shot. I would recommend your carrying a few charges of large shot, No 3 and 4, as many opportunities frequently offer making use of them. ”“ I shall conclude this chapter, by hinting, that the portable pocket bottle, covered with twigs, and the collation of cold meat and bread, or biscuit, are always safe and useful companions, as well as the sportsman’s knife and fork.
It is needless to caution you against carrying your piece home loaded; it is dangerous and should always be guarded against, by either drawing the charge or firing it off.

Very interesting and entertaining.

As I've mentioned before, people don't change much if at all over the generations.
We still have folks who poo poo suggestions about safety and I notice, speaking of priming the pan before loading the main powder charge possibily causing a unintended firing of the gun, he uses the same logic that modern folk use, "it never happened to myself". :grin:

I'm betting his "portable pocket bottle" wasn't filled with fresh spring water either. :rotf:

thanks for posting, it was an interesting read.

-Matt

Very cool, thank you. I wonder if in this fellow's case, he might have been using a "hammer stall" and not mentioned it, assuming everybody did so..., which would be additional safety if the lock moved off of half-cock.

LD

How early would you date the use of a hammer stall LD?

I can understand his poo pooing, he "often" watched 500 men fire off 30,000 rounds in one day all using the prime first method with no ill results! Most of us will not see 30,000 rounds fired in our lifetime! That said, you couldn't pay me enough to ram a load home on an already primed or capped gun!!! :youcrazy:

It is interesting that he never poured direct from the flask his powder! He does mention a form of ignition igniting powder and seemed to consider that more of a risk.

I do load a double with the unfired barrel still capped. However the hammer is all the way down on think leather betwixt the hammer and cap. My components slide down, now hammering on the rammer needed, the gun is under no duress what so ever. I still believe there is more danger driving a car and or using a ladder. Put differently, how many car accidents do we hear about and how many hands lost from a muzzleloader accident do we hear of?

I thank the gent for posting this and I will try a few shots with just paper squares. This is the second account only that I have read about this apart from torn newspaper squares rolled into balls.

B :thumbsup:

I was wondering what the paper was. He specifically calls out a "soft gray paper". I am wondering if that would be a thick paper almost like a felt.

If the squares were big enough, then if pushed into the barrel with the ramrod, it would form a "sleeve" for the shot. Stringing the paper on would put a hole in each piece that would help eliminate compression while loading.

Many Klatch

Morier shows hammer stalls here: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/405597/grenadiers-1st-and-3rd-regiments-of-foot-guards-and-coldstream-guards

Bill

Britsmoothy said:

This is the second account only that I have read about this apart from torn newspaper squares rolled into balls.

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Writing in 1767 Thomas Page said:

"But I cannot yet find any thing better, or so ready as thin brown paper rubbed soft, and cut into pieces about one inch broad and two inches long; so that when it is once doubled, it is an inch square. I punch a small hole at the corner of each piece, put a sufficient quantity upon a key-ring, hang them into my button hole, and tear off one as I want it. This being doubled, put it into to the muzzle, and close the corners up about the rammer (the end of which ought to continue of the same bigness for at least half an inch, or rather somewhat smaller just at the end) and thrust the paper thus put into the barrel gently down upon the powder. Your rammer will come back without danger of drawing the paper back, and will leave it closed against the sides of the barrel like a half cartridge. Put in another in the same manner after the shot. When your gun is quite clean, it is necessary to put in a second wad after the shot, to prevent its getting loose."

In 1789 Cleator wrote:

"Next to hat, therefore, experience teaches, that nothing is better for wadding than soft brown paper; it combines suppleness with consistence, and moulds itself to the barrel; and it is further observable, that such wadding never falls to the ground, in less than twelve or fifteen paces from the muzzle of the piece. "

I've tried Page's method, it isn't my favorite of the old type waddings, but it works.















Spence

Excellent photo's Spence :hatsoff:

I tried it today and was not impressed! The gun sounded phuty as though a poor burn was taking place. After a couple of shots and nothing to show for it I returned to a lubed fiber wad and started connecting again with a positive BOOM :thumbsup:

If the choice was brown paper shown or OS cards I would pick the OS cards to use as wads also.

If I only had brown paper I would make scrunched balls with it, that I do know works!

B.

Britsmoothy said:

I tried it today and was not impressed! The gun sounded phuty as though a poor burn was taking place.

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Exactly the same thing I noticed. Even with my regular loads of powder and shot I was obviously getting low velocity, with a strange soft, hollow sound and low-power impact on the paper.

I never tried these for hunting.

Spence

Thanks M/K,
Interesting read. In regard to loading, don't seem like a whole lot has changed over the years.

Jeff

Biz said:

Morier shows hammer stalls here: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/405597/grenadiers-1st-and-3rd-regiments-of-foot-guards-and-coldstream-guards

Bill

Click to expand...

You've got better eyes than I do. I see wangs/laces to attach the slings to the trigger bows but can't spot anything on the one frizzen that shows.

The only place I have ever seen a hamer cover is on a modern drawing (1970) of a Hessen musket sling.

You can see the brown wrap over the frizzen on the musket that is grounded in the center of the painting.

I have for years used a double cartridge system..., I make a blank powder cartridge out of good bond paper, and pour the powder down the smooth bore, and ram the empty tube down to form a wad, then add a newsprint cartridge of shot, whole, on top of the wad. Works well for a speedy and simply reload, but doesn't seem to tighten the pattern at all.

LD

Dave: About those paper cartridges.....how do you carry them? How durable are they when carried?
Do you have any pics for reference?
I would love to try the idea but am concerned with the things coming apart in my bag/pocket.
Pete

He doesn't mention a size for the paper as far as I can see. It could be pieces anywhere from perhaps 2" square to 8" to 10" pieces. I can't tell, but I would bet the paper had to be relatively large in order to get some sort of gas seal or at least cause a build up of some pressure behind the shot in order to have some sort of reasonable velocity. Likely, he would have had to wad it up to some degree to make it useful. It looks like I may have something else to try and to play around with. Happy New Year!

So you can , eaiser to see blown up.

allot of people (pilgrims and non MLers both) have poo pooed one of my fave movies, The Patriot w Mel Gibson.
I bring this up here because of a line in the movie that till now had confused me;
They had just captured the wagon with Cornwallis' dogs and effects. Mels' friend said " I say we drink the wine, eat the dogs and use the pages for musket wadding"
Never having had a musket (Only once fired a Charlieville pistol once) I chalked it up to one of those oddities that were known to musket owners. But I now have a Howdah hunters pistol and am lookin rather fondly at a Bess carbine or a Fussil and am realizing I needs me some more home work and research.
any further advice / suggestions?