Maker: Joab Hapgood - Boston about 1850-1860
barrel length: 32 1/2"
calibre: .38 with a 1-30 twist(maybe for something like a Pickett bullet)
barrel dimension: breech, 1 1/32' wide, muzzle, 15/16" wide turned round at the muzzle
length of pull: 13 3/4"
forearm length: 13 1/4"
buttplate: 4' high and 1 1/8' wide
sights: very pretty hand made rear sight with elevator and complete folding aperture sight
Joab Hapgood was the son of Jaob Hapgood and was born in 1805 and dies 1890. He farmed until 1840 when
he moved to Boston and opened a hardware store and gunshop. I have no real numbers on the quantity of his
builds but did find a photo of one heavy 62 calibre flintlock gun that was signe by him. It had the same square escutcheons
on the forestock and same style horn nosecap as this one.
Jaob Hapgood (first name may have been misspelled) was also a gunbuilder in the 18th century Massachusetts area.
Comments:
Gun has a highly figured walnut butt stock, so was a higher end rifle in its day. Nice furniture. It has the single brass trigger most often assiciated with New York rifles. The double keys in the forestock are close togehter, making me wonder if the barrel was shortened by the distance between the keys and the second stock key installed to take the original barrel loop that had moved back.
Nice rifle, not really a Kentucky longrifle, but good for a New York or New England example. BUT, would like to know if signed on the barrel to verify the attribution...lock stampings are not a good indication of the maker, and without seeing the signed flintlock gun used to establish this attribution, I would only attribute it to the New England area. Perhaps someone on the board has seen another Hapgood rifle and can help verify the attribution.
