You have an interesting rifle, that presents several possibilities. The patchbox is not a true National Road style, but a variant. There is a good chance the gun was made in New York with this style box and a single trigger. The box can also be found on PA and OH rifles at times...but it is not the normal National
Road style box, so caution is needed when assigning a mfg. location. The rifle was probably percussion to begin with; the single lock bolt with only a small lock washer is a good sign of percussion era if a more eastern gun, such as NY or PA. A few late flints were made with single bolts in Ohio, but usually the single bolt flint is a more southern rifle...which this is not.
The current lock does not fit the existing lock mortise well, so is most likely a later replacement for the original. However, that said, the single lock bolt on this style gun still strongly suggests it was made as a percussion gun. The graceful stock architecture and long-appearing barrel length (at least it looks 40+ inches to me in the angled photos) suggests an early percussion rifle that may well have been a full-stocked rifle initially, perhaps mid-to-late 1830s and slightly later if made in a more western (PA or OH) location. The barrel may have been shortened about two inches based on current location of the rear sight in relation to the rear ramrod pipe. I cannot see any trace of a faint stock line on the side barrel flats in your pictures, which is at times present when a full-stocked gun is cut to a half-stock, but the somewhat non-standard placing of the current ramrod pipes suggests they may have been installed well after the gun was made, perhaps when the forestock was cut to a half-stock and a new under-rib installed.
On a well-made rifle like this, probably from the early percussion years, the single trigger again suggests an eastern, or NY, origin. Most Midwest guns such as Ohio pieces usually had double set triggers by this time. The photo showing the muzzle shows a large bore and I cannot see any rifling grooves around the edges (a more direct photo may show more details of bore). This suggests the original bore was smaller, and reamed out later in life to make the gun a "buck and ball" piece that could shoot either a solid ball or buckshot...a somewhat common occurrence to these old rifles, and a more functional gun as the frontier disappeared. Note the original rifle front & rear sights and raised cheekpiece that indicate the gun was originally a rifle. Overall, I think you most likely have a New York rifle made in the early percussion years that has seen some normal modifications as it has come down through the years. Regardless, it has nice stock architecture, a good box, and was probably a better than average rifle in its early years. Hope this helps you understand the gun a little better. Shelby Gallien
