some old fowling pieces

Now there's some cool tools! Does your friend have any of the history that goes with these?
 
Looks like similar equipment that was used by market hunters that Harry Walsh has in his book "The Outlaw Gunner". What a great piece of history that your buddy found.............very fortunate for him.
Gary
 
Those are some of the tools that men used to help feed our growing country. Very few people realize that fact today. Jump in the vehicle and off to the super market, or hit the drive thru window at a fast food place. Hey food is easy to get, right? Clueless, and very ignorant to the fact that those, and many other weapons are one of the reasons we are Free, and able to eat very well indeed.

Those are two fine pieces of American History.
 
Market hunters retailed their ducks to big city buyers, Baltimore was the largest. Between 1900-1918 a gentleman named Atley Lankford shot an average of 200 ducks/day. The only thing that limited his take was his ability to get the birds taken care of, and out of the marsh. He is credited with getting on average 10,000 birds a year, and with a lifetime total of nearly 500,000 birds, and the distinction of probably shooting more ducks than any other man before or since.


According to Walsh's book the prices at Baltimore weren't that bad either. (The market hunters probably got a lot less than these prices when they sold them)
Brant $1.25
Black Duck 1.25
Butterballs 1.00
Geese 2.00
Canvas Bk prime $5.00-7.00/pair
Canvas Bk reg $2.50-5.00/pair
Pintails .50
Widgeon .50
Shorebirds 1.00/dozen
Those guys weren't feeding their families directly with these birds......they were feeding their families with the profits from selling those birds. As one gunner put it: "I'd rather forget my shotgun when I hit the marsh, than my bag of corn"




Gary
 
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Wow, what a find! I'd love to get my hands on something like that. Very cool!!

...and a very interesting book too Gary! I have that one sitting above my computer with a bunch of others. I was reluctant to buy it due to the title, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. It was a good read for sure.

Steve
 
The Outlaw Gunner is a very good book. Dr. Walsh was one of the founders of the Easton Waterfowl Festival. Early American Waterfowling 1700's-1930 by Stephen M. Miller, is another very good book, as it deals with a broad scope of waterfowling. It also has Aldo Leopold's recipe for Wild Duck.
 
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