P STEVENS TE MAASTRICHT

[cigar_man]

Hello there

There seems to be a wealth of information from you Gentlemen on this site.

I know this is not an American Long rifle, but I.m stumped
 
I very interested if you would have any information on the muzzleloader in my attached pictures.
 
It says  P STEVENS TE MAASTRICHT  on the lock.
 
It looks to be about a .43 caliber
 
The metal and bore are in excellent shape.
 
No rust!
 
The wood is solid with no major dents or cracks that I can find.
 
It looks to be a very fine piece of craftsmanship.
 
Any idea on age and value.
 
I do not want to sell, I am just looking for any help on its origin.
 
Thank you, sincerely, Garth
 
Burlington, Ontario Canada

[nord]

From all indications a Dutch sporting arm. Probably c. 1840 or later with clear connections to military weapons of the time. Stock is too nice for regular military issue and constructed in the German tradition.

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For the treaty signed in Maastricht in 1992, see Maastricht Treaty.
Maastricht
Mestreech
—  Municipality  —
The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Embankment in Maastricht

Flag    
Coat of arms
Coordinates: [show location on an interactive map] 50°51′N 5°41′E / 50.85°N 5.683°E / 50.85; 5.683
Country    Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands
Province    Limburg
Area (2006)
 - Total    60.06 km2 (23.2 sq mi)
 - Land    56.80 km2 (21.9 sq mi)
 - Water    3.26 km2 (1.3 sq mi)
Population (30 June 2008)
 - Total    117,548
 - Density    1,957/km2 (5,068.6/sq mi)
     Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone    CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST)    CEST (UTC+2)

Coordinates: [show location on an interactive map] 50°51′N 5°41′E / 50.85°N 5.683°E / 50.85; 5.683 Maastricht (Dutch pronunciation: [maːstʀɪçt]  ( listen), sometimes [maːstʁɪχt]; Limburgish (incl. Maastrichtian) Mestreech [məˈstʀeːç]; French Maëstricht (archaic)) is a city and a municipality in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, of which it is the capital. The city is situated on both sides of the Meuse river (Dutch: Maas) in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, near the Belgian and German borders. The city is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, a Euregio whose other main cities include Aachen, Germany and Hasselt and Liège in respectively Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Belgium. The municipality borders the Dutch municipalities of Meerssen to the north, Margraten in the east, Eijsden in the south whilst it borders the Belgian municipalities of Lanaken and Riemst in respectively the west and southwest.

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Lock may or may not be connected to the gunmaker. Here on the left side of the pond it would only signify the lockmaker. Absent data to the contrary I'd expect a guild gun of good quality, but not a Best Quality gun by any means.

I believe that you might well find proof marks on the underside of the barrel which will almost certainly identify the point of manufacture and may well solidify the general date of manufacture.

Value? Not something we discuss here. I'd expect the gun to be worth more in Europe than here in North America. You might do well to post this gun on <Antiqueguns.com> as there are members there who live in Europe and will have a good idea of exactly what you have.   

[JV Puleo]

Stevens was an Anglo-Dutch gunmaker. He is best known as the major contractor for the Dutch Beaumont bolt-action rifles adopted in 1871 although his firm probably didn't actually make them but contracted the job. This is the first pre-Beaumont Stevens rifle I've seen and it goes a long way to explaining why he got the Beaumont contract, probably on the basis of expertise and the ability to supervise the job.

I'd say that is much more likely a rifle for military target shooting. There hasn't been anything to hunt in the Netherlands with a rifle since... god knows when. Dutch flint rifles are extremely rare because there simply wasn't any sporting application for them. Target shooting was different. The Dutch as well as the Swiss and all the Scandinavian countries have a long history of military-style target competition. I haven't thought of it reaching back into the percussion period but I see no reason why it shouldn't. In later days the matches featured many ex-military rifles. I suspect that the rules for these "military matches" stipulated certain characteristics like the rifle having or being fitted for a bayonet which is why many Swiss target rifles have bayonets. Your rifle would have had a socket bayonet which is why the stock doesn't reach all the way to the muzzle.

Joe Puleo