Gun Maintenance Quotes
Plantng tobacco was a much more lucrative endeavour than fixing guns so many gunsmiths abandned that trade for tobacco farming.
This quotation illustrates the fact that there was, contrary to popular myth, no gun culture in Colonial America. Few Americans could afford guns which cost 2 to 3 months wages of a skilled worker. And there were few guns available as there was not a single gun manufacturer in Colonial America. Gunsmiths would come over from England and find that business was terrible as most Americans did not own guns and they were not part of the culture other than the fact that they were status symbols as they were so costly. The gunsmiths would find that they could do better economically by farming and left their trade. Meanwhile, the legislature, like most in America at the time was concerned that if there were trouble with the Indians there would not be enough guns for defense. The guns then were in frequent need of repairs and there were too few gunsmiths. Thus the law. It didn’t work and so in 1662 they tried tax exemptions for gunsmiths which also didn’t work and they went back to fines.
