My first longrifle is it a Goulcher or Delany or ?

[Vans Crew 303rd]

O.K. I am new to the Forum, a new longrifle owner ( my Dad left me this piece in his trust ), and i am learning. If I get long winded sorry. been thru the library and no help there.
  So here is what I think I know. It's a percussion rifle/shotgun combo. I call it a shot stock because it is not a mid stock, and do not know the correct term. Stock stop at barrel. Been told it comes from the Pa. dutch country area, Lancaster, Reading, or pottstown area. 1830-50's or so. Here is the data:
two barrel rifle/shotgun over/under rifle top/shotgun bottom
total length 52 1/2"
barrel length 37 1/2"
stock length 14 3/4"
Barrel length 37 1/2" can see no rifling
barrel width 3/4"- rifle,  3/4 + shotgun, rifle octagonal, shotgun round
rifle caliber measurements 14/32"=11.11mm or .45 Cal there abouts
Shotgun gauge measurements 21/32"=16.66 or 16 gauge @ 16.83mm, maybe 18 gauge @ 16.19mm
set trigger
hairpin trigger pull (very very light to the touch)
G Goulcher locks ( can barely make it out but this is correct )
  I have seen on line that Goulcher made rifle/shotgun combo's and even seen one very close to mine. also seen A few Nelson Delany's( rare ? ) in person, and one on line that are close too. no other marking's are on this gun besides the G Goulcher. I do understand Goulcher can be NYC and Phila. Pa., And Delany is Bethlehem Pa 1847-48, Reading Pa. 1848-85.  So is this one of those two gunsmiths? Or is this of another gunsmith? Your Input is needed.

Footnote: in doing my research I had found out that there was a Nelson Delany in Reading Pa.  during the same time period (exact) Who was African-American. his mother was there too.I even checked with the local historical places and they can not connect the gunsmith with this  African-American backround. this is a interesting twist if connected. does anyone know it if this is a connection
A few pic's to help you are on my flicker link below, please help with any info you can provide. if you know what I have please share

[nord]

Vans,

The stock is designed as such because there really was no other choice since the barrels are required to swivel. Sometimes you'll find wood panels inlaid against the barrel sides, but very rarely.

The brass furniture on this piece is pretty common. It was available generally at most any hardware-type stores from c. 1840 onward until after the Civil War. The back action locks are also considered late features, but they were necessary due to the design of this piece.

You have what we call set triggers. Once the rear trigger is pulled the front trigger takes very little pressure to release. Again, I suspect a commonly available item at the time.

As to Goulcher, I can't say much other than the name is associated mostly with lock production. As often as not you'll find this name on percussion-period locks. Without other evidence I'd hesitate to attribute the gun to anyone in particular and I'd disagree upon attribution to any one area. I say this because this gun could as easily have been made in New York State or the mid west for that matter... (Or Europe though I think not.) The fact is that this piece was made late enough to lack any regional characteristics as far as I can tell.

The "shotgun" barrel, though photos are lacking, may well be of a damascus-type construction. If so, then it's an import barrel. Likely Belgian or English. Even more likely because of being a 16 gauge as that happens to be the European standard of the time. Should I be correct this will further point to a later gun.

One further detail that may be somewhat unclear is that this isn't a shotgun in the conventional terms of today. Try to imagine wielding that thing on a grouse and you'll immediately understand. More to the point the smooth bore was intended for "buck and ball" loads. Very effective at close range on big game.

If I was to make a guess I'd be inclined toward a maker north of the PA line as this gun has features I'd more associate with use in the Adirondacks or the Green or White mountains. I'd be less surprised to find that it was made in the 1860's than before. The obvious design for function over artistry makes this a "working" piece. Thus, the obviously fine condition may well be an indication of a rather short working life as breach loaders were rapidly taking over as percussion was fading. 

[Dan'l 1946]

I believe this is a fixed breech gun--the barrels don't swivel. Looks like some New York firearms that I've seen. It really is a nice old thing regardless of who or where it was made. You're lucky to have it.
                                    Dan

[nord]

On closer inspection I agree... It should have registered the first time. I, too, would vote NY absent of data to the contrary.

Almost forgot... The trigger set appears to be a "set" profile. Since no mention was made of exactly how they work, I assume that whichever hammer is cocked is the one triggered. If this isn't the case and the triggers each fire an individual barrel, then just a double barrel double trigger gun. Much the same as our modern two trigger doubles.

If you wonder why I lean toward an "Adirondack" gun, the reason is that the timeframe and design of the gun lead toward use in the eastern mountains where there was still a population of large and fairly dangerous game. Conditions varied from open shots over distance to confrontations in a blackberry thicket. While the rifle was probably preferred most of the time, the buck and ball barrel was deadly when things got tight.

I would highly suggest reading some of the manuscripts written by Ned Roberts as he provides a wealth of insight on the hardware used in the two decades following the Civil War.