I was talking to my #3 son, Angus, on the way back from a week's deer hunting yesterday. We were talking about the guns we'd like to buy. I mentioned the Gerstacker Special.
Streif- und Jagdzüge durch die Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika (Rambling and Hunting in the United States of North America), 1844.
Back in the late '30's and into the '40's Gerstacker roamed the frontier looking for good hunting. He was a German who just thought America sounded cool. He caught a boat to New York and then traveled down the Mississippi, walking a good part of the way. He spent most of his time between Cincinnati and Arkansas hunting whatever he could find and taking odd jobs. He was kind of the German Daniel Boone.
He carried with him a double-barreled gun. It had been made for him in Germany. One barrel was rifled, and the other was smooth. The former he loaded with round ball meant for deer and the latter was filled with shot, mostly for turkey.
This sounds like a cool gun to put on the bucket list. Does anyone know if these are still made? If I get a zilch here, I may crosspost in Muzzleloaders.
