A longrifle or fowler of any description will be hard to nail down to a maker if it is unsigned. Starting back when Dixie Gun Works began offering American-made gun parts (1950's?) till now, there have been thousands of rifles and fowlers that are unsigned for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, if he was a beginning builder, he'd likely not be accomplished at engraving or have the money for a set of metal stamps to sign his name on the barrel. Since he was building for himself, the need for a signed gun would not be necessary. Even a name does not guarantee where and when it was made. However, if he found himself in demand to craft for other people, he'd concentrate on spending the funds for the metal stamp set or be investing in Joe Meek's book. "The Art Of Engraving".
His workmanship and reputation might only be known locally and not on a regional or national scale. The late Carl Hanneken of Shallotte, NC made over 300 muzzleloaders and yet, he was only known in the Carolinas & Georgia.
Sometimes, a well-known gunmaker would refrain from putting his name on the barrel if the customer were going to furnish the parts instead of the gunmaker. The customer does not always have the same "educated eye" for finesse and workmanship as the maker, but the maker chooses to build the rifle, stipulating that his name will either appear on the bottom flat or not appear at all.
I have a beautiful Hawken-style .50 caliber rifle built by John Bergmann, but no signature on top or bottom flat. The clincher was the previous owner provided me with a dozen letters between the original owner and Mr. Bergmann over a year. The initial letter from Mr. Bergmann also included photos of himself and early works of his. I contacted Mr. Bergmann and emailed him photos of mine and one of the letters, and he indicated that it was his work. If it had not been for the letters, it would not be as valuable as it is today.
As to the Getz barrel, it could have either been bought by an individual five years ago, for example, or purchased along with two dozen straight and swamped barrels for a mail-order catalog outfit like Track Of The Wolf, for example. A barrel is hard to trace down to the buyer.
Hope this helps,
Buck Buchanan
