1820s Flintlock Chunk Gun by Grandstaff

[Rasch Chronicles]

Fellows,

I have amassed an extensive collection of pictures from many of the auction houses that specialize in fine arms. Usually and regrettably they rarely, as in "I think I found three or four so far.", have any American made arms. This is the first I have found from a known maker. The rest are unidentifiable, and usually working men guns.

Unfortunately there was only one photo, the above, available. Older auctions usually have all the extra photos removed from their servers to conserve space.

Here are the auction house details:

"The 46 inch octagonal barrel with seven-groove rifling in .42 caliber, brass fore-sight and open rear sight; breech signed J. Grandstaff; left flat with indistinct markings; unusual two-step tang. Engraved lock signed Joseph/Golcher. Double-set triggers. Brass furniture, most components engraved with skip line border; patchbox with three piercings, the finial a simplified scroll and blossom, the engraved lid with button release. Full stock of dark, striped maple, the rounded cheekpiece with fluted lower edge and inlaid with a brass compass star; behind the cheekpiece four brass inlays, one in the form of a pointing hand, the other four circular. With older, and possibly period, hickory ramrod, the lower 12 inches a separate pinned piece. Condition: Very good plus. Barrel with dark patina and some light pitting. Patchbox lid with old repair to hinge. Wood has been cleaned and possibly revarnished; fore-end with several small hairline cracks and one 7/8" x 1/8" piece missing to left side 14 inches from muzzle; small chip to right side of barrel tang, small crack to left side and small chips at rear of tang; repaired chip above rear of lock.

Footnotes Note: Illustrated in Plate 112 of Kentucky Rifles, Capt. John Dillin. In his listing he misreads the maker's name as Grandstatt and notes he was a workman of great merit... Note: John Grandstaff, 1789-1853, Shenandoah County, Virginia. See pages 110, 111 and 112 of Gunmakers of Virginia by John Biser Whisker, for examples of Grandstaff's work. The gun illustrated on page 112 also has the pointing hand inlay motif and a counterplate of somewhat similar form."

I thought you all might like to see a nice flintlock example.

Best regards,
Albert A Rasch

PS: I'm STILL in Afghanistan... AAR
PPS: If this post should go elsewhere, please do so.

[Long John]

Nice rifle.  Just too heavy for an old guy like me to carry around.

Albert - be careful over there.  And thank you for your service to our country and the cause of freedom in this world.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Daryl]

Thanks for that wonderful picture of a heavy flinter, Albert.  What company is it you are working for?

[Ezra]

Godspeed Albert.  Keep your head on a swivel and thank you for your service.


Ez

[okieboy]

 Good to hear from you Albert.
 I have a question for those who are collectors. Grandstaff lived until 1853. This gun except for the lock looks like a percussion target rifle. I keep wondering how many of the "original " flintlock rifles of today are percussion rifles that were "reconverted".

[Daryl]

If the 1820 date is indeed correct, then it is probably a flintlock rifle pure and simple. Too, some chunk shooters today see to prefer flint as being a more reliable ignition form due to the constant wiping/swabbing of the bore.  Back in the early 1800's, reliability of cap locks were not as good as today- so it could indeed be a flint from just about any period of the makers life, but probably made well into the 1800's - just a guess.

[nord]

Nice rifle, though I'd probably place the date a bit later by at least a decade and perhaps a bit more. This mostly due to the style of furniture and certain details that would be somewhat unlikely to be seen in the 20's.

[Number19]

What I find interesting, because of its failure to be acknowledged, is the aperture sight. I've gotten in a few discussions over the use of aperture sights, and even when I acknowledge that all documented cases are competition guns dating from the 19th century, I still get resistance that apertures were ever used during the flintlock era. So it's good to see another flintlock with an aperture.

[JTR]

I'll agree with others as to the question of originality of the rifle as a flintlock. 
Of course anything is possible, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

John

[Kermit]

Albert, did the auction house call it a "chunk gun?" I don't see it in the quote from the listing that you included. Seems a lot of folks these days see a heavy target rifle and the first thing out of their mouth is "chunk." I've even seen slug guns with all the goodies, false muzzle and all, called a chunk gun.

IIRC, the NMLRA was not around to make rules for chunk shooting in about 1820, so the use of an aperture sight might not have created problems in competition. Does today, though. No apertures in NMLRA chunk shooting.

Nice rifle. Thanks for the photo.

[Bob Roller]

We have a short Jaeger style rifle in the Huntington Museum of Art that has a peep sight that looks like the rest of the rifle and it is also a flintlock.

Bob Roller

[bgf]

I can't figure this one out, but I'm willing to bet that it is well into the 1840's, based on esp. the triggerguard (don't know what to do with the peepsight).  That style lock shows up in England around 1815 or 20, I think (please correct me if you know more, as it is an interesting topic to me), but it is not usually found here until much later. 

There is, of course, a good chance it was made percussion and reconverted.  The large rounded-tail plate lock, many times with flint-style curve in front of frizzen -- and often two lock screws -- shows up on later percussion rifles in Tennessee also.  My guess this one was built with one of those percussion locks and re-converted at some point, although if it was originally flint (maybe some old school shooter preferred it), that would be the latest and greatest style of flint available.

[JCKelly]

With respect to the ignition system, am I the only one who seems to remember that, for a round ball bench gun, some feel flint is more accurate than percusson?

[Curt J]

Everything about this rifle suggests a date of around 1840, give or take five years. Being original flint at that time is within the realm of possibility, but there were quite a few rifles "re-converted" to flint, fifty years or so ago, that were never flintlock in the first place.