AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: Dave419 on December 23, 2024, 12:14:56 AM
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Hello.
First time posting. A family member recently inherited this old British flintlock rifle. I know very little about it. We're looking to see if anyone knows what year it may be from and if any of the marking stand out to anyone. We plan on keeping it the family, just looking to gather more info on it's history. Thank you.
(https://i.ibb.co/sFRXVQ9/IMG-20241222-161030.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gD9cRwZ)
(https://i.ibb.co/GVHJQ7R/IMG-20241221-185742.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mHNB5J4)
(https://i.ibb.co/k8gfLzW/15273996-02-british-brown-bess-1024.jpg) (https://ibb.co/BZVxhvS)
(https://i.ibb.co/BPW3ZNq/15273996-01-british-brown-bess-1024.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wLGgWsM)
(https://i.ibb.co/n0hcX2p/IMG-20241222-094015.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PYBh2pk)
(https://i.ibb.co/8mpw40p/IMG-20241222-093851.jpg) (https://ibb.co/6yxSJmx)
(https://i.ibb.co/DGzPpt5/IMG-20241222-093842.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Xyjf8bS)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZM53fzJ/IMG-20241222-093839.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gRNGrZ7)
(https://i.ibb.co/PxSvdLn/IMG-20241222-093832.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Q9534gR)
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I'm no expert on the old stuff, but I can say this: Resist the urge to "clean it up". Patina is half the value of old things-guns especially.
Wipe things off, but never scrub or alter surfaces until you've learned exactly what you have. That one is fairly clean anyway. Carry on.
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It is a third model brown bess that had the fore stock cut down.
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Looks like an original old cut down Brown Bess musket. Not a rifle. Not sure which model, I think third? Lot more knowledge on here than me.
Don't clean it too much
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Assume that it is fully loaded until you check.
Jim
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With the swan neck cock, it would be a Pattern 1793/India Pattern Type 1, "Brown Bess".
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Hi,
It looks to be an early 1793 India pattern Brown Bess musket cut back at some later date. It predates the India pattern guns in which the lock markings were stamped rather than engraved. Students of British muskets don't refer to models any more. That was something collectors applied during the late 19th century and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd model Brown Besses gloss over a lot of changes and differences within each model. Moreover, British ordnance never referred to models of King's muskets. It is not a rifle, rather a smooth bored musket more akin to a shot gun. Any provenance it may have to America is either from the War of 1812 or perhaps it was issued to some Canadian troops or militia during the 19th century. Thanks for posting the pictures.
dave
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Looks to be in too good a condition for the late 1790s not many battle scars maybe some restoration at a later date But a sound looking piece which looks ok for a 1.1/2 oz of shot and 3 dms of FFg of powder=
Feltwad
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It is a cut down English pattern 1793 musket. There were at least 9500 of this type musket purchased from England in the commercial copy at the end of the 18th Century through the early years of the 19th. With the Crown and ordnance markings, this isn’t one of those.
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nice old bess. 39 inch barrel?