This digital story recording was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and its Stories from Main Street student documentary initiative, called "Stories: Yes." The project encourages students and their mentors to research and record stories about small-towns and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, as well as thoughts about American democracy. These documentaries are then shared on Smithsonian websites and social media.

Curator Jason Schubert of the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Oklahoma discusses unique artifacts from the Museum's collection in this Museum Minute series. Students at Northeast Technology Center in Claremore, Oklahoma, collaborated with the Museum to explore both the job of curating at a museum and the background stories of museum objects.

Jason Schubert (00:11): Predators frequently attack the weak, maybe the wounded, in the herd. And that's no different for two-legged predators than it is for four-legged predators. And so somebody who might acquire the use of a walking stick will also need some way to protect themselves against predators.

Jason Schubert (00:32): For a long time, we've had sword canes or knife canes, but that's kind of close and ugly work. You do have to be very close to your attacker. And so the concept of cane guns came about. As we have here, it looks like any walking cane but it's actually a percussion single shot gun. Pull the trigger, the hammer falls down, strikes your percussion cap and shoots it. This one is not a muzzleloader but it's also not a cartridge gun.

Jason Schubert (01:12): The barrel unscrews, you place your powder, your ball inside that little cup there. Screw the barrel back on and that gives you compression into the barrel against the ball and it makes for a more accurate shot. Now, cane guns, weren't always used by those who needed the assistance of a cane. Sometimes they were used for more nefarious purposes, and sometimes these kinds of cane guns here will be called poacher's guns because somebody wanting to poach game would appear to have a cane gun.

Jason Schubert (01:53): And then when nobody's looking and the animals around, they could attach the shoulder stock, and shoot the animal that they were wanting to illegally hunt. Makes it a little more accurate and it's kind of cool James Bond type too.

Jason Schubert (02:16): Now, as cartridge firearms became more prevalent, cartridge cane guns also more prevalent. As we open up here, we see a chamber for a cartridge and closes up in there, twists to lock. Then we pull the hammer back and as you see, the trigger pops out there. Gently squeeze the trigger and it fires the gun. Now most cane guns also have what's called a [inaudible 00:02:52] or a removable tip. And this is so you can walk with the cane and not get mud and dirt and debris inside the muzzle, which would cause problems.

Jason Schubert (03:05): Now this particular cane gun also has a shoulder stock and it's a little bit smaller than the other one. In could be hidden in a coat pocket very well. It tightens down there, opens up there, tightens with another screw. And then from there you have a rather accurate Cane gun. I'm Jason Schubert, with the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum. And this is Museum Minute.

Asset ID: 2022.01.05