A newly acquired English Rifle

[smart dog]

Hi Mike,
You acquired it from Holts, a European auction house.  I wonder if it was restocked in Europe, not the UK.  That might explain some of the odd architecture and decoration.   I saw that the auction house dated it 1775, which is absurd.  The restock might have been then but not the original rifle.

dave

[Mattox Forge]

I suppose Holts might collect stuff from all over Europe, so I suppose it's possible it was reworked in Italy or Germany or some other European country. I think it was done more recently than 1775 though. Does the wood work look Continental to you?

I found another example of a Pendrill built gun aside from the NRA breech loader. The stock was carved very much like the one in the NRA collection. The carving is very similar in design to the carving on this stock. The carving one this gun's stock is not as well executed in the carving details and all of the details are slightly larger in form than the two I found photos of, which are presumably original stocks. Both "original" guns do not have the front lodes nor the lining under the lock panels, more in keeping with other 1740-50 vintage guns I have looked at photos of.

Mike

[Pukka Bundook]

Mike,
I think it is a wonderful rifle and a wonderful project.
You have some room to play to make more fitting.
Re Holts and a possible Continental stock,
Two things;
First, there was plenty of time for this gun to go to Europe and be later "liberated",
also,
A provincial gunmaker or even the village carpenter (Like Col. Hawker's "Keel" or "Kreel" was it?)   could make a fully serviceable stock without it
being exactly what we now think it should look like.
I have an old John Twigg, converted to percussion and re-stocked with apparently the original hardware.
It's a good job, but cannot be original.
So much happened to so many old arms, that figuring what and when can be difficult to determine.

Can I ask if the trigger is off-set to the right?
As Dave says, sheet pipes are quite common at this earlier age.
The lock is near identical to one I have on a pistol by Lowe, and likely from the later 1740's.
Congrats on it finding you!

[smart dog]

Hi,
Here is an example (on the left) of a sheet metal rear pipe with separate soldered cast tang.  It is silver and from a high end gun by Heylin from the late 1760s. Note that the pipe is not together just pinched together in the stock.

[Jim Kibler]

I don't think soldering tabs together was a period practice at all.  Not just on English guns. 

Jim

[Mattox Forge]

Thank you all for the continued comments.

I have been comparing my rifle to photos of two other Pendrill built guns I found photos of on the internet. The first is a breechloader in the NRA Museum, the other a fowler sold out of Canada posted on Guns International. I would say that both are undoubtedly by made by the same gunmaker that made the metal parts for my rifle. I think that the stock of my rifle is based on the original as the overall stock architecture of my gun follows similar lines to the NRA gun. The details, are obviously different, particularly in the execution. I am unsure of the period of the restocking, but I tend to believe it was done recently based on the condition of the holes in the brasswork, those wtill being bright, and undimmed by tarnish.

NRA Museum rifle

Guns International fowler


The engraving styles are remarkably similar on all three. Here is the buttplate for example:
NRA Museum's buttplate engraving

Pendrill Fowler posted on Guns International

My rifle's buttplate engraving


Regarding the tail pipe construction. I believe that the tailpipe was also constructed by Mr. Pendrill in the mid 1700's using a formed pipe, and a cast tail, as shown by Smart Dog. Comparison to the photo of the NRA museum's tailpipe shows there to be an almost identical pipe on that rifle.
NRA Museum tail pipe

enlarged

My rifle's tail pipe


More pipe details
Note the engraving style is in keeping with the butt plate, and it is in keeping with the rest of the gun. Probably done by the same engraver.

The shiny new pin hole is evident, along with the much smaller original pin hole.




The trigger is offset to the right. The left side of the slot seems to be set on the stock center-line.



Mike

[James Rogers]

Just due to the stock work I had wondered about a re-stocking in the last 75 years.
This is a most interesting piece, especially being an early English rifle gun.
Rollason's Birmingham business directory dated 1781 makes reference to Pendrill perfecting rifled barrels circa 1740 (The Gunmakers of Birmingham 1660-1960, McKenna)

[Mattox Forge]

Thanks for the reference James. The metal work is excellent. Pendrill's stock work seems to have been excellent as well, based on the two example I saw photos of.

Mike

[Mattox Forge]

Here is another English Flintlock rifle that appears to be of a similar vintage.

http://www.flintriflesmith.com/Antiques/English%20Rifle.htm

It is remarkable how similar all of the brass hardware is. The tailpipe could be a twin for the one on mine, just un-engraved. Clearly the gunbuilders were procuring their fittings from suppliers. The Birmingham trade was very well established even in the 1740s and 50s.

Mike

[James Rogers]

Here is another English Flintlock rifle that appears to be of a similar vintage.

http://www.flintriflesmith.com/Antiques/English%20Rifle.htm

It is remarkable how similar all of the brass hardware is. The tailpipe could be a twin for the one on mine, just un-engraved. Clearly the gunbuilders were procuring their fittings from suppliers. The Birmingham trade was very well established even in the 1740s and 50s.

Mike

I came so close to buying that rifle from Gary about 13 years ago. I think Chris Laubach had plans to produce that lock on cnc some years back.

[Mattox Forge]

I wonder where it is now? It is a nice looking one.

Mike

[James Rogers]

I think Chris ended up with it but that  was some years ago so I dont really know where it is now. 

[Jim Kibler]

This gun was part of a pretty detailed discussion at WKU one year and I believe the consensus was that it likely started out as a fowling piece and then turned into a rifle by piecing together other parts.  Now, I might not be completely accurate, but I do remember it being suspect at the very least.  Both Gary and Wallace were part of this.

Jim