An early English dog lock musket

[M ELEY]

Here we have an English dog lock musket, ca. 1685-1715. This early flintlock type receded the Brown Bess and many argue that the safety mechanism (lock) was superior to it's successor.

Apart from it being a monstrous gun, the thing I like about it is its history. The dog lock musket started out life during the English Civil War. It was a lethal weapon to be sure, penetrating armor cuirass at close range. This musket was the so called 'long gonne' of the buccaneer era, where people like l'Olonais and Roc the Brazilian and Henry Morgan attacked coastal forts and sacked cities like Maricaibo. The dog lock was also a popular sea weapon, used by sailors and marines in the great tops for firing down on an enemy's deck. It was around during the time of the early settlements in North America, not quite cities yet, such as New Bern and Bath, NC (founded in 1710 and 1705, respectfully). Finally, it was the gun of the first settlers hunting elk, deer, and foul (I'm thinking about Thanksgiving turkey! Of course, this piece might ruin the breast meat- ).