cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/HistoryArtifacts/t/840713
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Flintlock sporting rifle from the collection of George IV at Carlton House, London. The gun has a single blued steel barrel of octagonal and twisted heart shaped cross section inlaid in gold at the backsight Walster A Saarbruck. The lock signed Walster A Saarbruck and engraved with a cherub offering a bird to a retriever dog and also chiselled with flowers and trophies against a gold ground. Walnut wood half-stock with horn fore-end cap and twisted horn tipped wooden ramrod. The stock carved with rococo scrolls, a sea monsters head and griffin, the butt decorated with inlaid silver wire work.The silver wire decoration on the butt is taken directly from De Lacollombe, Nouveaux desseins D’Arquebuseries Dessine Grave par De Lacollombe a Paris 1730. Se Vend Chez De Marteau Eleve De Feu Mr De Lacollombe.
If loaded with shots for wingshooting(hence the retriever dog engraving), it’s just the wadding that has to conform to the barrel. It likely was never considered that you’d use bullets or a musket ball in this, but shots.
Edit: I saw that the original page that it says it used heart shaped balls, but I don’t see how that would work. Loading it would be almost impossible thanks to that twisted barrel though. https://www.rct.uk/sites/default/files/styles/rctr-scale-1300-500/public/collection-online/9/2/456076-1400249136.jpg?itok=zvlAAvjr That baby was not really designed to be used unless you really wanted to impress someone.
Luv you! ♡
blasts you with a blackpowder propelled ball
That can’t be good for bullet movement tho, right? Like that just seems really inefficient…?
I don’t know much about guns but I’m fairly certain they need to build up pressure behind the projectile, and this design seems inherently flawed there… but it also needs a straight trajectory out or it’ll go all wonky in flight and be super inaccurate… would this not drastically impact that?
Or is this a nonfunctional thing?
Based on the description I think the function of this piece is simply artistic expression of the craftsman. You are right about pressure, a perfectly round projectile would function poorly here. But if they used a heart shaped projectile it aught to work.
That said I think this was never built to be used in anger IMO.
Get wrecked 🫶
How would that affect the airflow and pressure behind the ball?
That’s a good question. I think the answer is either it’s not meant to be shot or heart shaped bullets.
You’d probably need to keep the heart shaped bullets in a heart shaped box.
