Snake Charmer | |
---|---|
Type | Shotgun |
Place of origin | United States |
Production history | |
Designer | Homer Koon |
Designed | 1970s |
Manufacturer |
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Produced | 1978 to 2009 |
Variants |
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Specifications | |
Mass | 3+1⁄2 lb (1.59 kg) |
Length | 28+1⁄8 in (714.38 mm) |
Barrel length | 18+1⁄8 in (460.38 mm) |
Cartridge | .410 bore |
Action | break-action |
Feed system | single-shot |
Sights | none |
The Snake Charmer is a .410 bore, stainless steel, single-shot, break-action shotgun, with an exposed hammer, an 18-1/8" barrel, black molded plastic stock and forend (aka "furniture"), and a short thumb-hole butt-stock that holds four additional 2-1/2" shotgun shells. These lightweight 3-1/2 pound guns have an overall length of 28-1/8 inches and will easily fit on the saddle of a horse. [1] They may also be easily disassembled for "storage in a back-pack or large tackle box." They are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. The term "Snake Charmer" would go on to become synonymous with any small, short-barreled, single-shot, .410 shotgun.
The Snake Charmer was introduced in 1978, by H.Koon, Inc., of Dallas, Texas. [1] [2] It originally sold for $89.95 [2] and was marketed as a general-purpose utility shotgun perfect for "Fishing - Hunting - Camping - Back Packing - Survival - Home Defense - Truck or Jeep Gun."
Koons would sell the company to Sporting Arms Mfg, of Littlefield, Texas. They added a manual safety switch which blocked the hammer when engaged and re-brand it as the Snake Charmer II. Sporting Arms would introduce the Night Charmer (disc. 1988) which featured a flashlight built into the fore-stock. [3] This flashlight equipped fore-stock was also available as an option and sold separately. [4] Sporting Arms would also introduce a larger version, the Field Gun which featured a full length stock and a 24-inch barrel. [5]
The design was later sold to V.B.E, Inc, of Clay Center, Kansas. They were later made by Verney-Carron. [6] Imported ones would have the importer (Kebco LLC) marked on them.
Snake Charmer or Snake Tamer type shotguns are also made by Rossi as well as Harrington and Richardson. [7]
The Rossi Tuffy is a single-shot .410-bore shotgun. It features half-length thumb-hole polymer stock that holds four additional shot-shells and strongly resembles the original Snake Charmer. Unlike its predecessor, it has ejectors that automatically expel spent shells.
The H&R Snake Tamer is also a Snake Charmer like shotgun. Available in 20-gauge or .410-bore/.45 Colt only. These single-shot guns have either a blued finish or an electroless nickel finish with a full-length thumb-hole polymer stock. The right side of the stock is open with storage for three 20-gauge or four .410-bore shotgun shells. It also has ejectors that automatically expel spent shells.
A shotgun is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small spherical projectiles called shot, or a single solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns are most commonly used as smoothbore firearms, meaning that their gun barrels have no rifling on the inner wall, but rifled barrels for shooting sabot slugs are also available.
The Mossberg 500 (M500) is a series of pump-action shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, stock and forearm materials. Model numbers included in the 500 series are the 500, 505, 510, 535, and 590. The Revelation 310 and the New Haven 600 were also variations of the 500 series produced by Mossberg under different names. By 2021, 11,000,000 M500s had been produced, making it the most-produced shotgun of all time.
A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a smoothbore barrel with a tapered constriction at the muzzle to regulate the extent of scattering.
The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available. A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small game hunting and pest control. The .410 started off in the United Kingdom as a garden gun along with the .360 and the No. 3 bore (9 mm) rimfire, No. 2 bore (7 mm) rimfire, and No. 1 bore (6 mm) rimfire. .410 shells have similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt cartridge, allowing many single-shot firearms, as well as derringers and revolvers chambered in that caliber, to fire .410 shot shells without any modifications.
Thompson/Center Arms was an American firearms company based in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company was best known for its line of interchangeable-barrel, single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson/Center also manufactured muzzle-loading rifles and was credited with creating the resurgence of their use in the 1970s.
Harrington & Richardson Arms Company is an American brand of firearms and a subsidiary of JJE Capital Holdings. H&R ceased independent production February 27, 2015.
The Stoeger Condor is a double-barreled shotgun. It is an over/under gun, with one barrel above the other.
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel(s) are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be required for the cocking of a hammer to fire the new round. There are many types of break-action firearms; break actions are universal in double-barreled shotguns, double-barreled rifles, combination guns, and are commonly found in single shot pistols, rifles, shotguns, including flare guns, grenade launchers, air guns, and some older revolver designs. They are also known as hinge-action, break-open, break-barrel, break-top, or, on old revolvers, top-break actions.
The Winchester Model 21 is a deluxe side by side shotgun. The shotgun's initial production run from 1931 through 1959 yielded approximately 30,000 guns. Winchester Repeating Arms Company ceased the main production line of this shotgun in 1960 and the Model 21 was sourced to the Winchester Custom Shop until the gun's retirement in 1991. New Winchester Model 21 production continues under license to Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company.
The Browning Citori is an over-under double-barreled shotgun. It is marketed and distributed by the Browning Arms Company in Morgan, Utah, and manufactured for Browning by the Miroku Corporation in Nangoku, Japan.
The Model 1200 is a pump-action shotgun that was manufactured by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation, starting 1964. It was redesignated the Model 1300 in 1978 with minimal changes. Production ceased in 2006 when the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, the subsequent manufacturer, went bankrupt. A militarized version of the Model 1200 was acquired by the U.S. Army for use during the Vietnam War. It is still in active service within various conflicts throughout the 21st century.
The Remington Spartan 100 is a single-shot, break-action shotgun. It is a variant of a classical Russian IZh-18 shotgun manufactured by Izhevsk Mechanical Plant for export under trademark "Baikal", in Izhevsk, Russia. It was marketed and distributed by Remington.
The Ruger Gold Label was a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun that was made by Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated, at their manufacturing facility in Newport, New Hampshire. It was designed to be similar to traditional English shotguns used for upland bird hunting and for clay target games such as sporting clays.
The Stoeger Coach Gun is a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun. It is marketed and distributed by Stoeger Industries in Accokeek, Maryland. It is manufactured by E.R. Amantino (Boito) in Veranópolis, Brazil.
The Taurus Judge is a five-shot revolver designed and produced by Taurus International, chambered for .410 bore shot shells and the .45 Colt cartridge. Taurus promotes the Judge as a self-defense tool against carjacking and for home protection.
The Marble Game Getter is a light, double-barrel (over-under), combination gun manufactured by the Marble's Arms & Manufacturing Company in Gladstone, Michigan. The firearm features a skeleton folding stock and a rifled barrel over a smooth-bore shotgun barrel. A manually pivoted hammer striker is used to select the upper or lower barrel. Three generations of the system were/are produced—First Generation, Second Generation and the Third Generation currently manufactured by Marble Arms.
The Cooey 84 is a shotgun manufactured by the H. W. Cooey Machine & Arms Company in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. The shotgun was sold as the Model 84 until 1967 when, following acquisition by Winchester, it was sold as the Model 840 until production ended in 1979. Today, the 84/840 is considered a collector's item to those who collect Canadian-made firearms.
Amadeo Rossi SA, founded in 1889 in São Leopoldo, Brazil, is a Brazilian arms manufacturer. Rossi produces pistols and revolvers used by both civilians and security forces, and exports worldwide. It is considered one of the largest weapons manufacturers in Brazil.
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The Chiappa Triple Crown is a family of Italian-made triple-barrel, break-action shotguns, chambered in 12-gauge, 20-gauge, 28-gauge, and .410 bore. The barrels have a triangular arrangement with one on top and two below. This gives the Triple Crown a single-barrel sight picture.