No, it's a muzzleloading 12 gage 1830s/1840s and up through the 1870s, the so called coach gun is a "break open" cartridge shotgun with a short barrel invented in the late 1860s, the term "coach gun" was coined in 1858 by Wells Fargo guards who preferred a shotgun over a rifle for defense when transporting money. One of the most prolific firearms in the west were shotguns one of the few "guns" that actually won the west.Is this what they call a 'coach gun'?
It looked like this only the all the metal was blued.
When I asked a friend who fires single action pistols what type of gun I should buy for home defense, he told me either a coach gun or a pump action 12 gauge. I chose the 12 gauge. I fired it a couple times and then thoroughly cleaned it, loaded it and mounted it in one of my new closets. Should I unload it and clean it occasionally?
Pop never had guns and I was not schooled in the care and feeding of them. But I figure if I'm going to keep one in the house for the 'just in case', I should be responsible and care for it properly.
By the way, that's a beautiful and impressive weapon.
This is the proverbial coach gun.
By the mid 1870s the internal hammer had been invented and basically from the mid 1880s on most shotguns were sold with internal hammers.
Unload the shotgun from time to time if it's a pump action to relieve tension on the springs, if it's a standard single or double barrel that you have to reload every time you fire it you can leave it loaded but I would switch out the cartilages once in a while.
Yes you should also clean it fairly regularly.
Here's a basic cleaning video.
What specific brand/model do you have?
It's a Mossburg 500 something.
Thanks for the information. It was a treatise on the history of shotguns and fascinating!
A VERY brief, very incomplete history, thanks for not being bored.......
Here's a cleaning video specifically for a Mossberg 500, it's not as daunting as it might appear.
