Trafficking Shotguns

Former percussion vancharging shotguns, handmade. These weapons were manufactured by the blacksmith of the village recovering any piece of metal pipe for the manufacture of the cannon. There are very few pressure bars that withstand these weapons so they burst very often resulting in large wounds to the neck and face. The ammunition and gunpowder used are also handmade. They are named after shotguns or rifles of trafficking, being similar to those used by slavers during the time of the capture and slave trade. Sometimes it's the same hunter who makes his shotgun.

This percussion or piston shotgun belonged to one of the hunters who accompanied the author of these lines in the vicinity of the Comoé Reserve. These hunters are hired as trackers, they distinguish the footprint of an animal tens of meters away, they know the weight of the animal by the footprint and they know how long it has passed through the place, if it has eaten any weeds or where it has stood and is oriented with mathematical precision in places totally unknown to it. He claims with his voice to call certain animals and knows the remedies against snake bites.

This shotgun carries a amulet hanging. It is a sack of skin with perfectly sewn sides, inside the magic substance that will keep away the dangers. He also has two cauris hugged with a piece of cloth on his butt. They are protective amulets, they protect against animal attacks and they favor good hunting. The shotgun is equipped with its stick, the needle to clean the chimney and a shoe to avoid contact between the chimney and the hammer and, worth the redundancy, the shoe is in this case the heel of a shoe that ensures this need. The clamps are formed by animal gut, probably goat, which is usually the most common. It is placed fresh and when drying it has more capacity to tighten than any metal clamp. The strap is made of untanned leather. A strip of stretched skin and let dry in the sun. Old patina.

These shotguns are called “trafficking weapons” because they were used by slave traders. This shotgun belonged to my tracker Kouassi. Currently most hunters have a "simplex" shotgun, that is, a single cannon.