Hunting Guns Among Anabaptists

[Pelerin]

The concealed weapons thread got me wondering: the first firearms in Europe came into use about the same time as the first Anabaptists. These would have been for the military and I don’t think they would be much use for hunting. I’m not sure when firearms started to be used for hunting. I’m wondering if anyone knows of any discussion among Anabaptists about owning firearms for hunting when they first started being used for that?

One thing that occurred to me: I know in at least some places in Europe, hunting was restricted, so maybe it wouldn’t be until they came to the Americas that Anabaptists would own guns. In that case, maybe it was just one of many new tools, and entered without much discussion.

[ragpicker]

There was at least one Amish gunmaker.

[RZehr]

Would another consideration be the difference in wild animals in America vs. Europe?
I suppose there was wild wolves etc. in Europe at that time. I wonder though if in America there was more threat from bears, wolves, and cougars.
Besides predators, Europe didn’t permit hunting. I suspect in America many poor colonists welcomed free game, and partook.

Guns were probably quite expensive initially. That would have been a hindrance.

[Ken]

Would another consideration be the difference in wild animals in America vs. Europe?
I suppose there was wild wolves etc. in Europe at that time. I wonder though if in America there was more threat from bears, wolves, and cougars.
Besides predators, Europe didn’t permit hunting. I suspect in America many poor colonists welcomed free game, and partook.

Guns were probably quite expensive initially. That would have been a hindrance.

This. There was very little public wild lands in Europe after say the Medieval era. It was all locked up by lords and nobility who held vast estates which they reserved for their own hunting. By contrast, the Americas were largely wilderness at the time of the first Anabaptist waves of immigration in the early 1700s.

[barnhart]

I suspect anabaptists learned to love gun culture like everyone else, once they moved to America where they where title to land/game/expensive machinery was at their fingertips.

[Pelerin]

So the consensus seems to be that it came with the move to the Americas.

It was just a thought that occurred to me while reading the concealed weapon thread that gun warfare would have been a new development around the time of the Reformation. It must have left an impression on people maybe along the lines mechanized warfare did in World War I. It seems strange that a shocking new weapon transitioned to an everyday domestic tool.

[steve-in-kville]

My descendants lived in the Rhine region in Germany and migrated to the States in 1725-ish. I would imagine they owned some type of weapon for hunting over there.

Without researching it, wasn't it the Japanese that invented the first firearm? Like in the late 1500's?

[MaxPC]

Would another consideration be the difference in wild animals in America vs. Europe?
I suppose there was wild wolves etc. in Europe at that time. I wonder though if in America there was more threat from bears, wolves, and cougars.
Besides predators, Europe didn’t permit hunting. I suspect in America many poor colonists welcomed free game, and partook.

Guns were probably quite expensive initially. That would have been a hindrance.

I agree. America did have an expanse of wild lands filled with fauna and compared to some nations still possesses a vast amount. Successful pioneers usually had firearms for hunting and protection. Hunting helped ensure food security for families.

Re Europe: Fox hunting and deer stalking have been the main hunting sports in the UK for a few centuries. Parabellums (semi-automatic pistols) were fairly common in the UK for decades, many were owned by military veterans.

Interesting article on the history of guns. Apparently the first recorded use of a firearm was 1364.
Caveat: Mind you that PBS‘ “history” is rife with political overtones and will slant some information thus marring their historical accuracy.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetective ... -timeline/