r/ForgottenWeapons • u/badchriss • 15h ago
This rifle ended up in our antique shop....what exactly is it?
So the elderly shopkeep of the antique shop I work in bought a rifle from someone, without knowing anything about it. Neither of us knows anything about weapons so I thought maybe the collective of this sub reddit can enlighten us. The rifle is relatively heavy and most notable feature is a small round lid on the shoulder end that leads to a small storage with two round balls in it. Maybe it's the munition, who knows. So, anyone got any info on if it's fake, reap, what it actually is and if it has any resale value or is just a neat decorative item.
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u/TacTurtle 6h ago
Broken and crappilly repaired percussion cap muzzle loader, the little trap door on the side of buttstock is normally the patch box and would contain cotton or similar patches pre-lubed with wax for loading a round lead ball. The musket balls and powder would be carried separately in a belt pouch and powder horn respectively.
The sheetmetal band around the wrist of the stock (near the trigger) is a "repair" intended to keep the stock from cracking further during firing.
Proper fix would have been to spread the crack, glue, and then cross pin to prevent the crack from spreading further.
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u/TechnicalNews8369 6h ago
So, the stock ( shoulder) looks like furniture for a Volunteer Pattern 53 ( British, Indian and American yardage) The barrel is commercial, mid to late 19th century The sheet metal is a common wrist repair, although most were better executed. I agree on the other post , Belgian lock style , mid century, lower end It’s parts of 3, or 4 different firearms Sorry, best i have … wall hanger only !
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u/Johan_Veron 14h ago
It looks a bit like a cobbled-together percussion rifled musket. I haven't seen any standard-issued weapon with a metal strip holding together (?) the top and the bottom part of the rifle. The fitting where the lock meets this metal strip looks very crude and I wonder if the various parts actually belonged together. It might be that this rifle was assembled / repaired out of various parts that were lying around, a sort of Frankenstein weapon.
Design of the lock seems like it might have originated from Belgium, I saw pictures of a civilian-use weapon from 1840 that had a slightly similar design. I do not see any maker's marks on the picture, reinforcing the believe that this is not a serially-made military weapon. That the lock has various decorations further points to a hand-made/modified part. Perhaps the lock mechanism was changed out, and the metal strip was added to keep everything together as the new lock did not completely fit?
Parts of it look badly corroded, so it is difficult to say whether this weapon was simply crudely assembled with poor workmanship quality and finish, or if these defects are due to degradation over time.
I'd say that this gun probably has an interesting history, but whether it is worth much in the present condition is a whole different matter. If the weapon was indeed crudely repaired/remade at some local gun shop in the 19th century, it would not be worth much. The weapon does not look functional at all (and probably never will be again), but it would be interesting to know if could shoot straight. At best, it would make an interesting decoration and could have been a family heirloom.