Historical Everyday Life: Wood Dummy Guns

The term "dummy gun" comes from the 18th century, when young militia recruits were given sticks or simply shaped non-functioning wooden guns for practice in drilling and marching in formation. Our full size wood dummy guns are faithful to the silhouette and proportions of the historic firearms each represents, and are provided with a hang tag with history. Our focus is on the living history experience of the dummy gun - ours have no working parts, no projectiles can be shot, no pop noises are made.

A working firearm was a prized possession in early America, indispensable in everyday life to the hunter, farmer, or frontiersman, and often a finely crafted, costly status symbol for the gentleman sportsman. While soldiers in the standing army might have had the latest in firearms and ordnance, the countryman and militiaman often had to make do with whatever was at hand, and so firearms and ordnance from earlier time periods are often well represented at later time periods.

Brown Bess Musket A standard civilian flintlock musket of the 18th century and the primary firearm used by both sides in the American Revolution.
Springfield/Harpers Ferry Rifle One of the standard U.S. Regulation arms of the Civil War period.
Naval Pistol/Pirate Pistol A flintlock sea service pistol, common arms aboard military men-of-war ships as well as the fast running sloops of the privateers and pirates.
Short Sword A sword favored in the North American colonies from early times by hunters, soldiers, and sailors alike.

We can also make the following models of dummy guns by special order, please contact us with inquiries: