Poacher's gun

[1] Muzzle loading guns of this type were both common and relatively affordable for a working-class man as these were frequently brought back by soldiers returning from the wars with the French, and either sold or exchanged for gin at one of the many pawn shops or taverns.

With tools smuggled home from the workplace such as a tap and die and a few files, any resourceful man or boy could create his own concealable hunting weapon.

[7][8] As technology improved during the Victorian era, more advanced types of poacher's gun were commercially produced for use with paper and brass cartridges.

Poachers guns of this era included folding break action rook rifles or .410 shotguns with a barrel that was the same length as the buttstock.

[9] The .22 Armalite AR-7 survival rifle issued to both the Israeli Defence Force pilots and American aircrew personnel is similar in function to the early poachers' guns.