Antique Metalware 18thc Steel Double Ended Shot Charger. English C1770

This is a nicely made sportsman's steel sprung loaded shot charger....it dates from the end of the 18thc and would have been carried in the pocket of the sportsman, when he was out shooting game and rabbits...it is sprung loaded, so he can flip it open and quickly load another piece of shot into his gun....it has two compartments, so he can have two sizes of shot....for large or small game.... the spring still works very well and the shot charger is in very good condition....it is also decorated with finely incised triple ring decoration......you can still find later chargers from the 19thc usually made by Sykes with the load sizes on each end....but I like these earlier shot chargers, which were very well made and of course are getting hard to find still in such good condition.

English. C1770-90.