This rifle has been hanging in my grandpa's basement since I've been alive. He can trace it back to at least his grandfather, which puts it 1870s or earlier. It is a single shot .22, with a ram rod to remove spent shells. The chamber does not seal up tight any more, so if you shoot it, you get combustion in your face.
I can't find any writing at all on it, only a few etchings on the trigger guard and plate. It doesn't even specify caliber.
His aunt used to shoot rats in the cornfield behind her house with it, so it must have been accurate. She lived in Indiana, and we suspect the gun could be from there too, if it was custom built.
I can't find any writing at all on it, only a few etchings on the trigger guard and plate. It doesn't even specify caliber.
His aunt used to shoot rats in the cornfield behind her house with it, so it must have been accurate. She lived in Indiana, and we suspect the gun could be from there too, if it was custom built.