A Mystifying 3-Barrel Percussion Shotgun

CountryGent · Nov 25, 2019

This one is truly wacky. Enjoy.

Howard1955 · Nov 25, 2019

Well...if I were alive back in those days, and knew how to add a third barrel to an existing double-barreled shotgun, I might do it that way.

The stock adjustment could have been added so the shooter could sit, or lie prone, behind some cover (like a rock or log, and rest the shotgun on the cover. The angle of the stock would allow the barrel to stay more level towards the target(s) while the shooter's head was more hidden. A look over the cover to aim the scatter gun would be a bit quicker that way.

That foregrip knob could also be pulled against the front side of a log or other cover, and would absorb most or all of the recoil.

If I were putting a gun together for a beloved friend or family member back in those days, it might look a bit like that, if they were likely to need a defensive weapon. Higher capacity... multiple projectiles since it's a shotgun... adjustable stock with a recoil-absorbing attachment... Yeah, I think that's how I'd build it.

And the beautiful stock would partly be my statement about the pride I took in my work - but mostly, about my affection for the recipient.

I wonder if there's a maker's mark on the underside of the octagonal barrels?

Thanks for sharing this video. Nice to see someone's unique handiwork from those days, whatever the purpose was.

Alexx1401 · Nov 25, 2019

VERY interesting and unique gun there. Sure looks like someone who was an amateur inventor type just made it. Maybe as a prototype to try to sell, maybe just some guy who wanted a 3 shot shotgun and could do it. Would sure be fun to see if it could be safely fired and be able to try it out.

Roundball58 · Nov 25, 2019

A one of a kind, outside the box Miquelet lock style SXS combined with an outside the box under hammer action combined with some nice wood and checkering. Maybe some kind of "gunsmith apprentice" graduation work.