H.B.C Pollard in his book; History of Firearms, published in 1926, page 104 , describes the following gun in his collection:
"A hammerless flintlock sporting gun made in Bohemia in 1730, by Stanislaus Paczelt. the gun has a very thin steel thimble brazed into the muzzle as an internal liner to the barrel. This is the first known specimen of a choke or restriction at the muzzle to concentrate the pattern of shot." An example of this gun exists in the Tower of London collection.
The book, "One Hundred Great Guns",by Merrill Lindsay, page 186 carries an illustration of the hammerless flintlock made by Paczelt.
My appologies for repeating this post,but it represents a very important step in the development of choked barrels.
