Being the complete and certified gun nut that I am, few thing excite me more than coming across unique and exotic firearms, the more unique, exotic and arcane the better!

Sucang, a resident of Xinhua, Taiwan, sent me these photos of his antique shotgun. He was hoping some readers of the blog could identify it. I was very excited when I opened the attached photos, I had never seen a rifle or shotgun with an action like it.

The shotgun is 170 cm (67″) in length and weighs 4.5 kg (10 lbs).

The action.

I presume a percussion cap is inserted into the removable breech block (see below), then the striker is pull back to cock the action. Click the photos to expand them.

Load information was been engraved onto the gun in English. Not necessarily when it was first made.

Markings.

I don’t know what that cartridge-esque thing is.

One striker cocked.

Breech Blocks removed.

Sucang thought it could be from the 1600’s when the Dutch, who were fond of hunting, occupied Taiwan. This is not likely as the 17th century would place it squarely in matchlock territory and the striker design is quite advanced. I suggested mid 19th century. My buddy Mehul, who knows far more about classic firearms that I do, suggested early 20th.

Has anyone seen anything like it before?