Blunderbuss

Blunderbusses of this type were typically manufactured for military or corporate clients like the East India and Hudson Bay Companies. They were often carried by sailors guarding enslaved Africans aboard ship or by troops defending colonial forts.

This flintlock blunderbuss features a spring-bayonet which is fired by releasing a catch. Bayonets were useful in combat in the advent of a misfire. The black powder that ignited the charge in the barrel could become damp in bad weather. The blunderbuss is also fitted with a brass barrel to prevent it rusting in the rain.