Halls Patent Clock Gun
Halls Patent Clock gun
Name/Title
Halls Patent Clock GunEntry/Object ID
2025.1.973Description
A mechanical device to scare birds once an hour. The clockwork mechanism and system of strings and weights, sets and releases the 12-bore pin shotgun shells. On the back is painted: Halls Patent Clock Gun, Station Road Works, Wigton Cumberland.Context
From Forgotten Weapons:'Patented by one John Hall of Cumberland, England in 1902, this is a device intended to scare birds out of a field at regular intervals. It has twelve chambers for 12-gauge pinfire shotgun shells, which are fired by falling steel weights. Those weights are held up by thin cotton strings which are connected to the face of a clock dial inside the box. The hour hand on the clock has a small razor edge on it, which will cut the strings when the hand reaches them. Once the string is cut, the weight falls and fires a shell. The clock face has slots at 15-minute intervals, so one can select exactly when one wants each shell fired, up to the maximum capacity of 12 shells and the maximum time period of 12 hours. Neat!' The Clock Gun was patented in 1902 and cost 60 shillingsCataloged By
Felix LamCategory
Game Keepers and Trapping, Country & Rural activities