Old Rifle "used hard"

[codger]

Found this old rifle at a farm sale in Central Indiana. Bought for fifty dollars; it need a good home. The barrel is 38-3/4" oal, .920 at the breach and .870 at the muzzle about .775" mid way. About .43 caliber.
 
The lock is very likely a replacement as there is no provision for the front nail ;but the stock is drilled.
the lock is marked T.Davidson Cincinnati and has some engraving.

I have tried to read the signature but it is so faint as to be illegible. Have not built a rifle in 20 years; this might be a good one to copy.  I expect this is just one of many used up old rifles
any help would be appreciated
Don


   

[Shreckmeister]

Post a good photo of that faint signature.

[Hlbly]

I like old untouched junkers like this.

[rich pierce]

What’s the width of tge buttstock?  Very little curvature to the buttplate. Is the guard brass?

[codger]

Shreckmeister;  My photography is probably insufficient for a legible copy so this is the best I can do sorry.   



Rich ; the butt is 1-5/8" at the wide point all the furniture is brass and the lower 1" of  butt plate is broken off.

The metal around the drum is seriously eroded however the bore looks pretty bright with a light.
It has nice balance in hand; wish i could build on as good.

Would you think this to be a southern rifle?

Thanks Don

[Rufus]

Have you tried "rubbing" to read the signature?  Place a white sheet of paper over the signature and rub it with a #2 pencil.  Just a suggestion.

[codger]

Rufus; No success with a rubbing. While going over the stock with a magnifier I found a date lightly scratched in the wood just below the rear of the cheek piece. appears to be 1776.. see if you can enlarge the photo attached.
I haven't a clue if it could be original.
I thanks for your suggestions.
Don

[Robert Wolfe]

My dad had an old powder horn that he played with as a boy in the 1930's. When I looked at it as a boy in the 1970's I noticed the date "1776" on it and excitedly asked him about it. He just mumbled something and walked away with the horn. The next time I looked at it the date was gone. Apparently he had added it in the 1930's and now felt he should correct that. I suspect your date had a similar genesis. No way that rifle dates to the 1770's.  Cool to see.

[rich pierce]

Just a very cool rifle, guessing Midwest, 1820’s -30s.

[flinchrocket]

Any more pictures, the longer I look at this rifle the more it looks like a Lancaster! Except for the lock.

[Dennis Glazener]

I see a resemblance to this rifle in the butt stock butt plate area http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=14832.0

[codger]

flinchrocket ... I'm not a very skilled photographer.   Adding a few more pictures for you of the butt stock and the thimbles ... they appear to be made of thin sheet iron. the fore stock is worn away and exposes much of the ramrod; so much so that the area where one would expect a entry thimble is nonexistent.
 
Dennis .. thanks for the link there is a similarity in the shape of the cheek piece. Not a lot more I can add; given my lack of knowledge of original rifles.

 Thanks for your interest
  Don 



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[flinchrocket]

I see the resemblance Dennis is talking about and I will have to admit the G.O.B rifle is one of my favorites. The rifle that Don posted has those straight lines in the buttstock,along with the triggerguard, that reminds me of the Lancaster. The cap box looks like a later addition that didn't get finished. Thanks for posting Don, very interesting to say the least. Jerry

[longrifle]

I like the looks of that old rifle.

[JV Puleo]

At the time of the centennial in 1876 a lot if items that people wrongly associated with the Revolution had "1776" carved on them. I've had at least 2 muskets decorated that way, neither of which were that old. In fact, I seem to remember both were 1808 contract arms.