Any love for the club butt ?

I'm talking fowlers here, :grin: I recently saw one for sale and found it interesting, very unique looking for sure, anybody have one or have any experience with one ? Are they as awkward as they look or is there a benefit from the stock design ?

Mike Brooks built this one for me. I haven't spent much time with it, but it handles like a dream. It obviously does not have the exaggerated club butt of some pieces. It is an interpretation of the Marshfield fowler that my Wood ancestors might have used near Plimoth in the early 1700s, but much too late for King Philip's War. Stock of cherry.

Methinks there is good reason why they went obsolete. Can we say "butt ugly" here? :wink:

That's a very nice piece, I believe yours came up on Mike's site maybe when I was doing a search on the club butt fowler, the one I was looking at definitely has the exaggerated club butt and also a tapered round barrel and not otr like your example, I have to say I do yours better.

:metoo:

Was the purpose of the club butt to make the barrel seem less heavy for wing shooting? Or something else?

Gene L said:

Was the purpose of the club butt to make the barrel seem less heavy for wing shooting? Or something else?

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American club butt smoothies were regional, a very specific arm, of which you can read some about them in Grinslade's excellent book, American Flintlock Fowlers.

There is not a whole lot of information on these guns other than that book. Adding to that, a few - with far more experience than me - believe we cannot lump club butts (like from early Mass/RI origins), Husdon valley fowlers, and French Fusil de Boucaniers into one bucket of ”˜type’. However they all appear to be of larger bore, where anything less than 69-70 caliber was referred to as a boys musket or basstard bore, long barrels, and large butts of course.

The fowling guns used for waterfowl were long barreled arms of large bores, where the heavy/wide butt soaks up recoil and balanced out the arm. They actually handle incredibly well for their size, surprising everyone that’s ever held one!

Whereas the French used their FdBs for longer range shooting, even sniping out of the crows nests high up on the ship masts.

Oh ... I love them ... have 3 of them, 48”, 54” & 60” barrels, calibers 66 to 75.

Mine is a Jackie Brown 20 bore and I love it. Shoots where it's pointed shot or ball. They may be shaped different but they fit great no need to keep your head down.

I have a Leonard Day Dutch trade gun. I thought the club butt guns looked peculiar but it is the most natural feeling gun to shoot that I own. I just love it.

I always thought them clumsy till I shouldered one a few years ago. It had a 46” half round .62 barrel. And it hung like a feather. The heavy butt offset the barrel and it was a dream to hold.

nhmoose said:

Mine is a Jackie Brown 20 bore and I love it. Shoots where it's pointed shot or ball. They may be shaped different but they fit great no need to keep your head down.

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I believe is one is a Jackie Brown gun, 20 gauge 42" barrel, would you have any photos of you gun buy any chance ?

Some really lovely stock architecture in the photo gallery here: http://www.snowshoemen.com/churchscompany

Mike Brooks used a Colerain octagon-to-round .75/11 bore barrel on my fowler.

I handled a original club butt Fowler at the Baltimore antique arms show. It was not at all clumsy. It was a bit heavy in keeping with its size. Really cool. BJH

I've a .76 cal x 48" by 1 3/8" breech tapering octagon to round, walnut stocked club butt. It has 1/2" cast off and holds very well. You're looking straight down the barrel when you shoulder it. It shoots good, too. My only complaint is it takes a lot of lead for some of those 25 shot woods walks.

I had the oportunity to handle one of Leonard Day's at Ft. Frederick about three years ago and could not believe how comfortable it felt. I had always felt they would fit like an old dead tree branch. It took considerable control to keep my wallet in my pocket. I do wonder how well they transmit recoil to one's shoulder though.

hawkeye2 said:

I do wonder how well they transmit recoil to one's shoulder though.

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To me, less felt recoil than other designs. In those w/ longer barrels, I’ve switched to 1Fg powdah even in my loads of 90 to 120-grains and they are softer shooting & better groups.

I believe that the longer barrel also improves the burn profile of these higher charges. And contrary to what one might believe, although still ”˜dirty’, I can shoot more continuous shots without swabbing.

And yes ... throwing 75-cal sized balls downrange does get expen$ive unless you cast your own ...

I've got one of those India made 52 inch barreled Cookson doglock Fowler's from Middlesex village I dream about restocking into a club butt

I have a Roy Stroh built 20 bore. Very nice and a great shooter!
Nit Wit

Love to see some photos, not a huge amount of info on the net I've come across.

This was about 5 years ago when it was newly finished.


edit: I found more pics...