From its early days in the hands of English royalty, the versatile and overwhelmingly powerful modern shotgun touches on an enriching history that stretches back for over 450 years to this crucially vital role it plays in modern times. This development has seen the shotgun undergo quite significant transformations.
Henry VIII was famous for his stormy reign and numerous marriages, but he was also an avid hunter. His collection included over 40 “Haile Shotte pieces,” sumptuously decorated breech-loaders, and among the very earliest ancestors of the modern shotgun. The guns were an elegant adaptation of the military matchlock or arquebus, ignited when a trigger mechanism pressed a slow-match onto a priming pan. Henry VIII frequently took multiple-shot versions of these guns on bird hunts, one of the most innovative ideas of his time.
Until the late 17th century, firearms remained rare in hunting. Guns with a matchlock were not suited to steep-angled shooting, and many sportsmen of the time rejected guns as hunting instruments because noise and smoke would frighten the game. The wheellock that Leonardo da Vinci sketched out around 1500 became popular in the 1600s. It was complex and expensive. While the overlap in development lies with the wheellock, the flintlock became the most commonly used pre-percussion ignition system, having better performance and lower production costs.
By the early 18th century, shooting at flying games was more common, and the first English publication showing a gunner shooting at flying games was Richard Blome’s “The Gentleman’s Recreation,” published in 1686. Guns used to hunt birds were called “fowling pieces,” and the word “shotgun” did not appear until James Fenimore Cooper’s 1776 publication, “Frontier Language of the West.”
During the 1800s, shotguns became major participants in wars, keeping laws, and defenses. Every cavalry division involved in the Civil War-which is preferably those of the Confederate and Union relies on shotguns because of their power at close range. It was also vital in the Indian Wars and a staple of the American Wild West, where short-barreled variants were quite popular with the stagecoach guards.
Revolutionary designs from John Browning in the late 19th century included the Model 1887 Lever-Action Repeating Shotgun, which became the first pump-action shotgun, and the first semi-automatic shotgun. These revolutionary designs ushered in modern shotgun designs that remain in use today.
The “trench-gun” was a dependable close-quarter fighting weapon in WWI; Marines liked their pump-action shotguns when working in the cave and tunnel complexes of the Pacific in WWII; shotguns were the guard’s best friend in the Korean War, and cut-down shotguns with side-cut chokes for wide horizontal patterns were still in use by US Navy SEALs in the Vietnam War.
Today, shotguns serve a critical combat function in urban warfare, both as a weapon and as a breaching tool. The primary combat shotgun is the Benelli M-4; fully automatic shotguns and large magazines continue in development.
Much of the military apparel worn during World War II had to do with whether an individual was serving in the European or Pacific theater of operations.
Field jackets evolved from the 1941 model to that of 1943 which was darker, more wind- and water-resistant with hidden buttons and interior pockets, a detachable hood, and an internal synching tie. Overcoats were made of wool melton, a thick, dense fabric with a soft surface. Service shirts were of the button-up type in olive drab wool flannel and designed to be worn with a necktie. P1937 trousers were of olive drab wool serge, unlined, with a button fly, diagonal side pockets, and belt loops. M1943 trousers, issued mid-war were unlined cotton poplin with adjustment tabs at the ankles and waist. M1938 leggings, worn with field service shoes, were laced up the side and secured with hooks and eyelets.
In the Pacific theater, camouflage was used for the first time by U.S. troops. Uniforms were reversible, having a green scheme for the jungle and a tan scheme for the beach. Jackets and trousers were made from herringbone twill cotton, more airy than wool and drying quicker. The jackets were single-breasted with five buttons, two flap-secured breast pockets, and a roll collar. The trousers had a button fly, belt loops, and large flap-secured cargo pockets.
The changing designs of the shotgun and military clothes alike speak to the flexibility in innovation in military technology through the ages. From the early breech-loaders of Henry VIII to modern tactical shotguns, along with specialized uniforms, these developments played an important part in setting the course of military history.