Author Topic: Help me date this original half stock  (Read 836 times)

Offline Brazos de Dios

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Help me date this original half stock
« on: September 04, 2022, 07:52:25 AM »
This is a converted to percussion restock of an 1803 Harper’s Ferry.

Lock is dated 1814. Barrel is 32 inches in length and shows to have been shortened at the breach end about 3/4”. The bore is smooth and about .60.

Stock appears to be walnut and is very sound. You can see the butt plate and the patch box.

I’m guessing 1845-1850? Any opinions would be appreciated.







« Last Edit: September 04, 2022, 08:11:14 AM by Brazos de Dios »

Offline Tanselman

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Re: Help me date this original half stock
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2022, 12:43:40 AM »
Based on the guard style, butt profile [not too crescent], and nice sized capbox, your estimates appear about right. One detail seems out of place. The cast pewter inlay at the barrel wedge appears later based on being "attached" with two screws, both of which are brass and have what appear to be modern, flat bottomed machine-cut slots. If this observation is correct, the inlay must be more modern than the rest of the gun. Perhaps it was a later "clean-up" of badly worn/chipped wedge holes.

Shelby Gallien

Offline Brazos de Dios

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Re: Help me date this original half stock
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2022, 10:12:54 PM »
That’s an excellent point. The wedge inlays appear to be a different material than the nose piece. The camera doesn’t pick it up but the wedges are grey and the nose is silver colored.

The toe also appears to be of the same material and has the same screws. See pics below.

The trigger guard is pinned, but also screwed. I wonder if the brass screws were added later? Perhaps when this other metal was added to the toe and the wedge plates.