Who Used Fowlers?

[FlinterNick]

Trade gun, fowling piece, musket, smooth rifle. It’s not always multiple choice or simple. Often we do not know the intended purposes of smoothbores. Only military muskets clearly made in first work to be used with a bayonet are really straightforward in classification. A fowling gun could become a musket by making it bayonet-capable or be used in militia as is. Any smoothbore could shoot shot, ball, or buck and ball. Broad or comprehensive statements that don’t reflect this fluidity are trying perhaps too hard to categorize guns.

To the original question, “Who used fowling pieces?”, the simplest answer is, “their owners.”

Next follows, “who owned fowling pieces?” and then, “how did they use them?” The answers are as varied as people are.

I’m a big believer in considering the term as its applied in its relevance today and in the past. In the past, Ive often read the terminology “fowling piece” today we call a certain group of guns a fowler simply because that’s how they marketed by builders and suppliers. Makes me wonder if they had the same conversations back then.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Here is a picture of a fowler holding his fowling piece

 

[Stophel]

And here's a picture of a Jaeger with his Büchse. (I despise the misuse of the term "Jaeger" far more than the misuse of the term "fowler" )

Ok, actually, it's not really a Jaeger (it's just the best picture I could find at short notice)... it's a poacher with his Stützen.... the Bayrische Hiesel. A poacher/robber Jesse James type character in Bavaria in the 1770s... I'm not good enough with German, plus Bavarian is weird, so I don't really understand the whole story...

 

[Coot]

Here is a picture of a fowler holding his fowling piece

View attachment 34395

I guess that a card shark might "use" (or abuse) a fowler - maybe even cheat him out of his fowling piece!

 

[paul v]

Cpt John Parker may have carried one at Lexington

Parker Firearm