well.
I was hoping some others could dig up better info than I could find.
so I basically did a little research and just told him what the mold was used for.
here is a copy and paste of that post.
it's a shot mold.
a really old one, I'm going with the name on it not being the makers name.
it is possibly for an air rifle, or two air rifles as it were, and also useful for fowling pieces.
yes air rifles were around back then and very popular for hunting, Lewis and Clark took one on their voyage of discovery.
those 2 sizes would be used for geese/swan's and sea ducks mainly, and probably in 10 or 12 Ga. black powder shot guns if the family was well-to-do.
or at the time a .69,.72, or .75 cal 'rifle' since most of them were smooth bores at that time.
considering the size of the shot, and the family name associated with them the fowling pieces would have been the molds main use, and probably come with the
gun.
those sizes could have also been used in a punt gun by market hunters, but I doubt the Abbott's were market hunters.
there is a possibility that the owner here was the father of a Senator with the same name.
he would have been in the senate in about 1804.
