Old Pistol Found: Age or ID Anyone?

Jakeman · Mar 6, 2014

Detected this in about 4 inches of whitish powder dirt in a sand pit near possible Civ items like bullets and canteen (see weekend post). Lots of rust. Can anyone help in what marks to look for or date this? Only used a light toothbrush and toothpick so far. May go to local gunshop for help. Weighs 1.1 lbs.
Holding it, the right bottom handle has a raised square under the two holes. HH all.

whammy · Mar 6, 2014

Awesome recovery.Good luck on the IDing.

ATpro5 · Mar 6, 2014

Its Appears To Be Made Of Some Kind Of Pot Metal And The Barrel Was Made With 2 Pieces. Sorry To Tell You, But I Believe Its A Cap Gun. Still A Cool Find!

l2hunt · Mar 6, 2014

cool find, good luck :thumbsup:

l.cutler · Mar 7, 2014

Not sure about the time period, but it is a toy. What time period were other finds in the area?

treblehunter · Mar 7, 2014

Very cool cap gun, for sure because you can see it is in two pieces. I know that had to be exciting pulling that out of the dirt!

MuckyBottles · Mar 7, 2014

Pretty high quality cap gun. Since it probably had wood grips.

MuckyBottles · Mar 7, 2014

Is it possible to put a ruler from the muzzle of the barrel and align it with the far end of the grip?

mariposagold · Mar 7, 2014

Wow, it's not that far of from the one I found a few weeks ago. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/401861-more-my-relic-honey-hole.html Like someone said, it likely had wooden grips. I believe it would be older than mine, perhaps 1920's or before. Definitely a nice cap gun find.

hh
Mariposagold

Jakeman · Mar 7, 2014

It measures 8.25 from muzzle straight across to where the end of grip would be. Weighs 1.1 lbs. I will return to look for the (wooden?) cover that may have been on the grip. Thank you all who know about these things.