It's great hearing that someone else has also come up with a "found in a barn" rifle. Some may recall that I posted on the old board about one that I bought last October, which was found under similar circumstances. Mine was found around seven years ago, after a farm changed ownership. It was in the top of the barn amidst a pile of old lumber. It is also a long barreled fullstock (43 inch barrel), with a full patchbox. This rifle was beyond filthy, covered with dirt, soot, and rust, but was in amazingly nice condition underneath all of the crud. Fortunately, no one had made any attempt to clean it up before I bought it. My first thought was that this rifle was eastern, but when I carefully uncovered the script signature, it turned out to have been made by Henry Tope, a gunsmith who worked within 35 miles of my home, and who died in the cholera epidemic of 1849. It is the only known, signed rifle by Tope. It just doesn't get any better than that for someone who collects guns by Illinois makers. I had Dan Breitenstein take care of some needed repairs, and the rifle is a real beauty. I should post some pictures of it here, but had not quite gotten around to it. It is finds like these two, that keep us all looking. The scarey part is, I wonder how many old buildings have been bulldozed or burned, with treasures like these still inside?
