Guns of my father

[Shadetree]

So after a weekend visiting with my father who is having some health issues right now, he decided it was a perfect opportunity to pass on some family heirlooms. He didn't have much info on this except that it has been past from father to son in our family and believed to have been civil war ear. Anybody here have any information on it, possible make, year ect.?

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Any markings? At all even partials?

 

[Shadetree]

No markings at all. No mfg tooling marks on the barrel and nothing on the trigger guard as well.

 

[Melnic]

Barrel looks pinned to stock
If you remove barrel from stock it may have marks under barrel.
Almost looks like it used to have a band at the front end at one time or another.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Weird, do you have good pictures of any of the screws, bands etc? Its beyond my skill at this point but sometimes the style of the screws can help identify if this is someone's 50s kit gun, a relic that has been worked over until markings are missing, or some sort early local smith special.

Also is it rifles or smoothbore.

Love a good mystery!

 

[Threeband]

It's a very sad looking percussion sporter; probably a smoothbore farmer's gun, suitable for shot or round ball.

Circa 1840s - 1860s, for a guess.

 

[metalman3006]

Looks like a flintlock to percussion conversion that was fitted with a new stock and trigger guard than later had the stock modified again. Maybe even had the back of the lock plate cut off and squared as well.

 

[Blacksmith101]

What caliber? Length of barrel, rifled or smooth bore, type of butt plate, any details may help. You have checked to make sure it doesn't have a charge in the barrel I hope.

 

[Shadetree]

My father stored his guns with little to no regard for preservation. Even though he was a "gun guy" he always viewed them as just another tool, nothing more nothing less. The downside to that, is these hand me downs that I cherish aren't in the best of shape. I always treat every gun as if loaded and have done my best to ensure the gun in question is unloaded. But aside from running a ram rod down the barrel only to discover it was home to a nest of dead stink bugs, I cant say with a definite that the gun is unloaded. The barrel is rusted over both inside and out and appears to be smooth bore. If there was rifling I cant see it! The butt stock does not appear to be cut down as there is a brass plate over the end that imo looks "factory". It does appear that at some point there was a strap around the barrel from the grove cut across the top.

 

[Machodoc]

Outside my level of expertise, but that distinctive buttplate ought to look familiar to someone here.

 

[Threeband]

I think it's a utility gun some country gunsmith knocked together out of old parts. As metalman noted, the lock may be from a flintlock, the barrel might be an old flintlock rifle barrel bored out smooth (old sight dovetail?). The stock is recycled from older guns.

 

[Shadetree]

Thanks for the help! For the most part my family has been in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia as far back as we can trace. Does anyone know where I could take it to be looked at by someone who would have historical knowledge of gunsmiths and guns from that area?

 

[Machodoc]

Thanks for the help! For the most part my family has been in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia as far back as we can trace. Does anyone know where I could take it to be looked at by someone who would have historical knowledge of gunsmiths and guns from that area?

I'd strongly consider contacting Ken Farmer's group and asking them about it. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/appraisers/ken-farmer/

 

[ca18thc]

Hi, Metalman 3006 is correct. What you have is is a flintlock to percussion conversion from the late 18th to early 19th century. If pinned down, I would date it to circa 1805 - 1815

 

[Threeband]

... If pinned down, I would date it to circa 1805 - 1815

The original flintlock, you mean. That's way too early for percussion caps.

I still suspect it was cobbled together from miscellaneous parts that had been used on other guns. Look at the inletting for the tang: that stock had a different barrel with a longer tang on it. There seems to be a dovetail for a sight: maybe it started out as a rifle, and the barrel was later "freshed out" smooth.

 

[amoebicmagician]

MELONITE!

No, I'm joking...

this time

 

[Threeband]

And a Tapco stock.