Identifying a Percussion Halfstock

[Southpaw_Jim]

I recently inherited this.

I am trying to find more information on it.

No markings visible at all except for something engraved toward the front of the lock.  Which isn't legible.

In the first two pictures it is the one at the top.  the other is a Springfield model 1816.













Any help that you all could give would be much appreciated.

It was probably purchased in Indiana.  Not sure when though.   It looks like it was my great-grandfather's.

[nord]

Without a signature this little rifle will be difficult or even impossible to say much about, except in generalities. That is unless a signed duplicate somehow turns up.

Yours is a fairly late piece. Probably made within a decade of the Civil War. Likely 1850's would be my guess. The furniture and style of the cheekpiece are consistent with an Ohio or Midwest piece of that era. Oval patchbox and furniture are commercial items available at that time from many different sources.

Tacks are interesting and often associated with indian ownership. Probably not so in this case, but I doubt original to the rifle.

It's nice that this little gun has survived and its history remains largely intact. I'm sorry that the particulars of its origin may not be readily discoverable but they really aren't all that important.

About the only suggestion I can make is that the barrel will very likely have a stamp on the underside naming the manufacturer. Chances are about even that you'll find it to be a Remington barrel... Which, again, was commercially available at the time this rifle was made.

There's an outside chance that you'll find proof marks of course. Usually Belgian. Given the general style and flavor of this rifle I doubt this will be the case.

Enjoy your little piece of history. Given that it belonged to family it's value can't be calculated in dollars.

[Southpaw_Jim]

Yeah i looked for proof marks but didn't see any.   Unless they are under the stock.

It looks to be something like a. 40 or. 45 caliber.

[Gaeckle]

I don't beleive the brass nose cap is all that old......I have yet to see an old original with a brass nose cap, as MOST had a lead poured nose.....

I have an old coffe can full of those rosette uphoulstery tacks that are 60's vintage. I see that the toe plate is very thick.....

I wonder if this little piece was restocked using old original peices/parts in the 1920's, 30's, 40's or even later.
It is hard to say. By pulling the barrel and examining the underside you may see some interesting marks or the remnants of grind marks if the barrel was manufactured from a barrel mill.

It does have nice lines, but gthe tacks are a bit....'tacky'......

[heinz]

I am going to agree Mr Gaeckel.  I think I see evidence that the nose of the rifle stock was broken off.  Does the iron underrib end short of the nosecap with a small brass extension piece added?

It is a nice little rifle, possibly made in southern Indiana.  Could be restored easily but take care of the nice patina on that rifle.

[Southpaw_Jim]

I'll check it when I get home tonight.  Maybe I can get a close up.  I think i see what you are talking about with the nose,  but not sure what a patina is.   

I thought those looked tacky too. If i remove the tacks,  what can I replace them with?

Thanks for all the help guys.  I want to clean it up and make sure it lasts long enough for my son to have it.

[heinz]

Jim, Patina is that accumulation of age and dirt and corrosion that you are thinking about cleaning off.  Leave it alone.  Unless you really know how to clean it without removing the honest signs of age and use, you would be better served to leave it alone. 
That may sound harsh but I meant it kindly

[Southpaw_Jim]

No harshness taken at all. 

With one of the older guns I usually just blow the dirt out of the nooks and oil it. 

I have to say though this is one of the oldest I have to take care of.  I was going to wipe it down with rem oil. Is there something else I should use?   Also should I wipe the wood with oil too,  or use something else?

[heinz]

I would use a weak solution of Murphy's oil soap on the stock or vinegar and don't get too enthusiastic :-) Machine oil can damage the wood although that stock has probably see it before.

[Hungry Horse]

 Tacks can be replaced with brass nails from the hardware store, but build yourself a fixture to make them flat headed. This is easy, just take a piece of mild steel, about a half inch thick, drill a hole the size of the shank of the brass  nail through it, and then make a countersunk head by drilling with a drill the size of the head, just enough to allow you to hammer the round head into a shape like a flush mount screw. Clamp the fixture into a vice, and stick a brass nail in the hole, and give it a whack with a light hammer.
 Oh, while your replacing stuff, find some low dome steel screws to replace the brass ones in the cap box.

                        Hungry Horse

[vtbuck223]

wow...even the model 1816 has some tacks....must have been a sale going on at the upholstery store...you might want to remove those as well.

[Tanselman]

Without a signature or initials on the top barrel flat behind the rear sight, the gun's identity will probabaly remain unknown. However, the square shank on the percussion side lug often suggests a "southern" origin, and the very high, prominent comb along with pointed toe and the comb/toe lines closer to parallel than on most rifles with more triangular butts, plus almost geometric shaped cheekpiece, suggest this might be a late North Carolina rifle. The late hardware is commercial, so gives us few clues to origin.

As to the many suggestions on how to "clean up" this rifle, the best advice is to do the least to it. I can see no reason for cleaning this rifle. It looks fine as it is, and the risk of damage to its value as an antique gun is high with trying to clean it with any solutions. The gun is best served by leaving it along. If you pull the late/modern tacks out of it, you will of course leave small holes. But from a collector standpoint, refilling those holes with smaller nails/tacks is detrimental to the value of the gun. If you decide to remove the tacks, I would suggest simply filling the small holes with a good wood filler pre-stained/colored to match the surface color of the stock wood. Your objective is to make the small holes disappear as much as possible and make the gun appear closer to its original condition; you do not want to add any new "problems" to the old rifle.    Shelby Gallien

[oakridge]

You got some great advice here. But, as to removing the tacks, it appears some tacks may be holding that wear plate on. If that's the case, they would have to replaced with some kind of nails. I would be very careful prying those tacks off, as you could do more damage than good.

[Curt J]

Hard to say about that nosecap, from the pictures, but I have a couple of percussion halfstocks with brass nosecaps that are definitely original.  They aren't common, but neither are they unheard of.

[Steve-In]

Is it just me or is the hammer different shaped than normal?  It seems to dip way down and the tumbler pivots high on the plate.

The plate also looks to be cutout for a bolster.

[Curt J]

The lock is indeed cut out for a bolster.  This indicates two possibilities, either the lock is not original to this rifle, or the barrel has been set-back at the breech. It may have originally had a bolster, which would have been lost if it was set back.  This might also explain the lack of a signature on the barrel, which could have also been on the section of barrel that was cut off when it was set back.

[Hungry Horse]

I've seen a couple of hammers with this strange shape. Both were hammers with a lot longer throw that had been adapted to a smaller lock. Some early breechloading shotguns used hammers like this as well. In any event I think this hammer is not original to this gun.

                        Hungry Horse