Help identifying this old percussion shotgun(?)

[Gregchico]

A friend picked recently up and we are unable to find any information on it. Any help would be appreciated. All he knows is it weighs 35-40lbs and may have been a wall hanger at some point.

[CSACANNONEER]

Having that big of a bore makes me think it was a "market gun" of some sort. It would have been used to shoot large flocks of birds on the ground or water and havest as many as possible with one or two shots.

[Gregchico]

I would agree about a meat or market gun. It looks like it could have a stock attached to it but I could not imagine the 8ft tall, 500lb man it would take to shoot this thing from the shoulder without significant injury.

[CSACANNONEER]

It definitely appears to have had a traditional looking stock on it. IIRC, there is/was a large bore, single barrel, gigantic long gun at Sutter's Fort. I was told that it was never intended to be fired from the shoulder but, instead, held up against a wall and pointed toward the entrance to stop any intruder from coming in.

[Gregchico]

Braced against a wall sounds more reasonable than in someone's shoulder.

[Gemmer]

Looks like it could be a "Punt" gun. They were mounted on a swivel in the bow of a skiff. Used to shoot at flocks of ducks.

[krwada]

Not a shotgun

I am guessing this thing fired harpoons.

Here is a very good article on swivel gun harpoons

[Gregchico]

Thanks. It does kind of look like a double barrel Cordes and Recthen Swivel gun. The stories of what it could be are sounding more fun what what ever it really is.

[john myers]

is a shotgun

4 bore market shotgun shoulder fired
search large bore percussion shotguns
supposed to be a 2 bore shoot on utube which should be interesting

[AJAX22]

So are you going to get it shooting?

[john myers]

???????/

where was it found? they also used these for elephant

[Gregchico]

I doubt it will ever be restored and or fired again.

It was found in a barn of an older gentleman. He was unable to remember any details of where or how he got it.

[paratroop]

Give it to ajaxx!

[Springfield45]

Looks like it was in a fire. There is no sadder in the barrel ribs.

Is that a bolt going through both barrels at the muzzle? If it is it may have been deactivated.

[TRAP55]

where was it found? they also used these for elephant

This^^^
By your tape across the bore, it's a 2 Bore. Fired an 8oz hard lead slug at about 1500fps, and it was shoulder fired! Most were smooth bore, some had one barrel rifled and one smooth, later rifled as it transitioned into a cordite loaded cartridge.
I've seen video of the cartridge version used for an elephant cull. The shooter was about 5ft9in and 160lbs. The recoil lifted him off his feet and knocked him flat. He got back up and fired the other barrel, with the same result. Both elephants dropped where they stood.
The complete gun probably weighed about 40-45lbs, and that was probably the only thing that kept the recoil from ripping your shoulder off. Used in Africa and India for elephant.