I have been interested in these guns for many years. I've handled several, hunted with one I used to own and read many articles about their history. All the British ones were around five and a half pounds and I've come to believe that perhaps a big reason they were developed was the large number of men with missing limbs as a result of the war. It's quite possible to shoot these guns one handed. While smaller bore guns could be just as light, during that period there was a feeling that only women or old men would use them. The 2" gun looks like a standard 12 bore. I think keeping the chamber short was to insure that a standard cartridge couldn't be used in such a light gun, not so much for reasons of excessive pressure but for excessive recoil. It's quite possible to build a sub 6 lb. gun with 2 3/4" chambers. I've fired one and a quarter ounce loads through such a gun but I wouldn't want to do it often So what do you think? Was the 2 inch gun just a whim dreamt up by a marketing genius or was there a real need for it?
