Here are some views of a swivel breech gun recently finished in the shop for a customer. This gun was made by George Suiter with a little help from the rest of us at various times. It is made in the Winchester, Va. school following the styles of John Sheetz and Adam Haymaker circa 1780's. The barrels are 38 inches long, .55 caliber. One rifled and one smooth. The lock and breech mechanism are case hardened and the barrels are charcoal blued. It weighs 10 3/4 pounds. 

This gun took approximately 750 hours to produce and as far as we know it is the only contemporary all handmade swivel gun. After finishing this one we now know why there were so few of these made in the 18th and 19th century. 

This gun has two barrels, one rifled and one smooth bored. The breech rotates allowing the shooter to choose which barrel is to be fired. This style was seen in 18th Century America in limited numbers. They were more common in Europe and generally with both barrels smooth bored. This allowed a bird hunter a quicker second shot.

Overall view of the gun.

Overall view of the left side

Close-up of the lock.

A view of the muzzles. The top one is smooth and the bottom is rifled. Both are .55 caliber and are within .001 of an inch of each other. ( Who says handmade can't be precise? )

Closer view of the cheek side.

Close-up of the sideplate.

Close-up of the engraved patchbox.

Top view of the breech. The gold band is a brass wear plate where the action swivels.

Rear ramrod pipe. There is only one ramrod. The pipes are held in place by screws that come through silver inlays on the opposite side of the gun. This arrangement also holds the two wood side panels in place.