Original Bucks County: Insights and Comments Requested (Pic Heavy)

[SR James]

 I was visiting my sister and her family over the holidays and remembered my brother-in-law mentioning many years ago that he had a longrifle that had been in his family for generations.  I asked to see it and was pleasantly surprised when he brought out a beautiful Bucks County gun in very good condition.  The story, as he remembers it, is that the rifle was given to his great-great-great grandfather during the AWI by "a Russian".  The family farm at the time was located in Titusville, NJ across the river from Bucks County, PA so the location is appropriate. The rifle has been very nicely converted to percussion so either the time it was acquired is off or a family member had it converted later.  The gun is in very good condition.  There is a crack at the rear lock bolt and another crack in the forend near the muzzle cap.  Then there are the usual dings and scratches.  The gun is actually a smooth rifle, about .50 caliber (I didn't have any calipers but it measures right at a half inch on a ruler).  Overall length is 56" with a swamped barrel 41.5" in length.  The gun shows classic Bucks county features but unfortunately, it is not signed.  The conversion to percussion was very nicely done using a drum/nipple and a replacement commercial percussion lock rather than converting the existing flintlock. The percussion lock appears to be marked Ashmore.  There is a slight, curved gap in the lock inlet in front of the percussion lock's shoulder that indicates the original flintlock's inlet.
The gun is nicely engraved and carved in Bucks county fashion.  I apologize for the quality of the photos; they were done in poor light with my cell phone which was all I had.
Any insights into this piece would be greatly appreciated, especially as regards a possible maker, etc.  Thanks for looking.

[Big Wolf]

Nice rifle, what a great gun to inherit!

[WaterFowl]

Wow..Very Nice...thanks for posting ...Nice to see one not diddled with......No help on pedigree..Just can appreciate what you have shared. Looking forward to responses...

[Tom Currie]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Beautiful rifle. The very nicely Patch box engraving is the traditional Bucks County " propeller " but done a bit differently which makes it all that much more interesting. I would say the incised carving on the cheek side is a little less artfully done,and maybe just a bit more folksy,  than what we today consider a Shuler to be. 

[Arcturus]

Very nice.  Thanks for sharing this here, as others have said.  It's always a treat to log into ALR and see another original rifle.  I like the patchbox engraving a lot.

[b bogart]

I'm just a band Waggoner on this one ,I like it very much.

[Buck]

Nice gun.

Buck

[Eric Kettenburg]

Well, ditto here too.  Very nice old gun, I'd reiterate what was said above in that the original lock was switched out/replaced in entirety when converted to percussion but I don't think it really detracts too terribly much from the piece.

[Spinner]

That is a nice gun and very typical of the Bucks style. The only detail I found unusual was the tail of the trigger guard. It has a triangular shape rather than the typical tombstone. Matches the tang detail, I guess.  I don't think I would date it as early as the Revolutionary War. More likely around 1795 - 1805.