Arab? Musket

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Jon MB

Hello All.
I always assumed the extensions to the butt of these guns was related to either:

1) Balance when carried (possible counterwight to barrel),
2) Reloading with the butt placed on sandy/rugged ground ,
3) Possible use as a club.

Obviously over time the original function could have been forgotten and the feature have been maintained as something traditional.

Just a thought on the topic. Nice piece Markku, have a similar one.

#1 above is unlikely, as the barrel would be much heavier than the (added?)wooden pad.
#2 Why would a wooden pad be added to a wooden stock to avoid contamination by sand? The folds of the skin covering (often seen on these butts) would be more likely to harbor sand than a plain wooden stock.
#3 If the gun ended up being used as a club, the existing stock would be more than sufficient to knock a person out.
Certainly the original reason for the butt "pads" remains a mystery but I do not believe that the reason is any of the above ideas. Most likely as has been said in above posts, the butt is designed to "soften" the recoil, or is just a matter of taste.
Stu