According to historians, the term coach gun was coined sometime around 1858 after Wells Fargo opened a stagecoach route between Tipton, Missouri, and San Francisco, California. The coaches carried mail, cash, and gold across 2800 miles of the Wild West. Robberies and attacks by bandits were not uncommon. Wells Fargo hired guards to ride next to the drivers to safeguard the shipments and armed them with shotguns. But not just any shotgun.
They were armed with shotguns that were specially made to be easier to handle, load, and shoot at bandits on horseback from the top of a swaying stagecoach. These were usually 12-gauge, side-by-side shotguns with barrels between 18” and 24” long.
They were called coach guns, and the men who wielded them were called shotgun messengers. Even after John Browning invented his pump action and lever action shotguns, Wells Fargo stuck with reliable hammer shotguns out of concern that the newer types might be prone to mechanical failures.
The coach gun today
Fast forward to today. Some might ask themselves why would you want a coach gun these days. Well, coach guns are popular with Cowboy Action Shooting competitors and as collector pieces. They are relatively compact, very reliable, simple to operate, and pack a punch.
This 12g Russian made hammer shotgun is believed to be made by Baikal and is in good condition. Action of chamber have been polished for ease of use and extraction.
20 inch hammer guns are rare in the UK so this a snip at £350
A Pedersoli or CZ coach gun would cost up to £1500
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