While in near-artifact condition and modified it is felt that this rifle is worthy of exhibit. Enough remains of the rifle to give a good overview of Samuel Meir's hand.
Comments:
An interesting rifle, to be sure, and it is a Mier. It has a nice patch box with unusually good engraving on the door. Mier was an odd fellow who did not seem to follow the hard and fast conventions of his craft. No two of his rifles ever seem to look quite the same.
This gun has a long barrel, but is half stocked. It appears to me that it was originally a full stocked rifle which was cut back and a pewter nose cap installed. I have never seen a legit half stocked Somerset rifle, or other than a handful of Bedford rifle, (always 2x side by side barrels), that were half stocked. Another odd feature is the turned down muzzle. It looks to me that this gun was made either as a target rifle, as is, to order, (subtracting the damage), or it was a standard rifle that was altered at some point after Mier made it. Wish I could see it up close. My opinion is that it deserves a place in the Library, but not sure which department it belongs in.
