Ed, I agree, Mantons were "Cutting Edge" technology at the time. I do think you should shoot yours...they are just too much fun. It is hard to put into words how much fun it was and the feelings I had during this hunt with a flintlock. To be in the field with this 200+ year old gun was just wonderful.
Here is a picture of my two Mantons. The top one is a Joseph Manton, a 1814 20ga. converted to Percussion.
The bottom is the one a used in this thread. A John Manton 1818 16ga in it's original configuration.
Those brothers could make some nice guns!
They are wonderful and I always have a little too much fun when I shoot them at clays or hunting. I would love to get a group of us together for a muzzleloading shoot periodically. I think that would be a lot of fun and give people a chance to get their guns out more as well as introduce others into these remarkable early shotguns.
The one thing a think I am missing is a 12 or 10 percussion shotgun. Something I might use at shooting events when I might want to shoot for score.
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