Author Topic: Interesting Scottish (?) rifle  (Read 2461 times)

Offline Dennis Glazener

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Interesting Scottish (?) rifle
« on: September 01, 2014, 06:24:24 PM »
We were at the Hillsville VA Flea Market and Gun Show this past Friday. (if you haven't been you should go at least once!). Most of the guns were modern but a fair amount of ML rifles and a few pistols. The most interesting one that I saw was a really pristine little 40 caliber rifle with Damascus barrel and a back action lock. I am guessing it was 1840-50 time frame. It had really nice engraving but no carving. The top flat of the barrel was marked "Forrest      Kelso" The owner told me it was by a Scottish maker name Forrest out of Kelso Scotland. Does anyone happen to know anything about this maker? The workmanship was extremely nice and you could tell the man was a professional.

I Googled this name and found a George Forrest a gunmaker in Edinborough Scotland but none for Kelso.

Dennis
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Offline Don Stith

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Re: Interesting Scottish (?) rifle
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2014, 06:55:07 PM »
Went Saturday.  Must have missed it.  Was too hot and crowded inside the VFW hall to spend much time in there. Probably only saw 20% of the place in 2 1/2 hours wandering the grounds

Offline Dennis Glazener

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Re: Interesting Scottish (?) rifle
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2014, 10:22:28 PM »
Quote
Went Saturday.  Must have missed it.  Was too hot and crowded inside the VFW hall to spend much time in there. Probably only saw 20% of the place in 2 1/2 hours wandering the grounds
Don,
It was a guy walking around with the Scottish rifle, not at a booth. I walked around 2 or 3 of the rows in the VFW hall but was so crowded I quite. Jim Webb once told me usually wasn't much in the VFW hall and the better stuff was up in the woods behind the VFW. There were lots of tables up there but I didn't see the first ML on any of them. All the ML's I saw were on the tables inside the VFW fenced in area.
Dennis
"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend" - Thomas Jefferson

Offline Cory Joe Stewart

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Re: Interesting Scottish (?) rifle
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2014, 06:20:40 PM »
I go every couple of years.  You never know what you will run across.  There were not as many flintlocks as I have seen there in the past.  There was one nice booth inside the VFW.  I mainly am looking for old tools when I go.  My buddy I went with picked up an indigenous South African bow of $25.00.  He is an expert so he can spot that kind of thing. 

It is physically impossible to see all of it in one day.  They also do a smaller version Memorial day weekend.

Coryjoe