Garage sale find this morning, vintage muzzle loader from the 1800s?

[releventchair]

Unless the stock shrunk more than any I have seen ,the trigger guard was not fitted to it.

Lock/ stock/ and barrel make a rifle and a whole is the sum of it' s parts ....but this rifle was repaired or upgraded or assembled from multiple rifles?

 

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[OldSowBreath]

Yep. But that stock is sweet, sweet, sweet. I would love to have that stock. Interesting that there is no patch-box in the stock. Probably a locally made gun, cheaper gun, but rich in history.

 

[d2]

It appears that the reason the trigger guard is not fitted into the stock is because the stock is broken just above the wrist of the stock about where the lock fits into it. You can see the break on the left side of the rifle. I think that has made the trigger guard protrude from it's recess a little. Great find!!! d2

 

[seekerGH]

yes, stock broken, that makes sense as these stocks had much more of an angle than this one...trigger guard is rignt, stock broken, too bad...it has a nice look..

 

[releventchair]

It appears that the reason the trigger guard is not fitted into the stock is because the stock is broken just above the wrist of the stock about where the lock fits into it. You can see the break on the left side of the rifle. I think that has made the trigger guard protrude from it's recess a little. Great find!!! d2

Having trouble enlarging , but good catch!
I can see a crack in from of the pin holding front of trigger guard. That would do it.
Did not find wrist crack ,but was looking around lock mortise area for cracks from weakened area of inletting.

 

[artslinger]

I only understood broken (), and you are correct. The rest that everybody has been talking about has left me with the deer in the headlight look.

artslinger

 

[scruggs]

A spectacular find!

 

[FC-Treasure]

All right, I've been quizzing my dad on this gun. He is a gunsmith who specializes in creating authentic reproductions of early black powder rifles. He does not work from kits, rather he is creating his guns from scratch and has studied early build techniques extensively. Here's what he says:

The rust is not as bad as it looks. Here would be my guess from seeing a lot of these; Ohio rifle, half stock, back action lock that puts in the slightly pre to post civil war time frame. Back action locks were use on a lot of the cheap hardware store guns but also on some of the fine english shotguns.
...
If it was ever a flint lock the lock mortise would be cut out for a regular flintlock, this gun was always a back action and hasn't been altered.

 

[artslinger]

All right, I've been quizzing my dad on this gun. He is a gunsmith who specializes in creating authentic reproductions of early black powder rifles. He does not work from kits, rather he is creating his guns from scratch and has studied early build techniques extensively. Here's what he says:

Thank you very much for this additional information. I sincerely appreciate it. It is great to know. Thanks to all once again for your comments, recommendations and feedback. I appreciate them.

artslinger

 

[FC-Treasure]

More from my Dad, this time about care/cleaning.

Another thing to tell the gun owner, absolutely don't strip the rust off any of the parts, no sanding or naval jelly, rub the parts down with the rough side of piece of blue jeans to knock off the red scale off then oil, you want the patina, Same for the stock and brass, don't clean it up with anything more than a damp cloth, if you do you turn a $600 gun into a $100, gun. The broken wrist is an easy repair for the right person but you have to know what you are doing.
...
OP can also post his pictures in the antique section of the American Longrifle forum. They will tell him in detail everything about the gun, these are the experts.

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php