blunderbusses

Short-barrelled shotguns with a wide bore expanding gradually throughout its length, typically terminating in a flared or thickened muzzle, and often carrying a spring-activated bayonet that folded back along the barrel when not in use. They were designed to fire a quantity of shot at once against a mass of opponents, and were popular weapons for defending stage coaches, ships, and prisons from the 17th to the 19th century.