"J Mason."
It belonged to my great grandmother in Ayer, Mass. I am unclear which J Mason this is; the military fellow who moved to Con. is a possible but I believe it is a gunsmith who lived in Worchester, Mass. whom Silas learned the trade from.
This rifle was turning to dust so I had to make a decision as to it's future and decided to take it to a local gun and precious metals dealer here in Eau Claire, WI.
The fellow at the counter was with another customer but looked up as I entered the store and said "..that is a New England rifle" before I was all the way in the door.
I ended up allowing him to do some work on the gun and it is now in condition to be fired. What he did:
1 replaced the part that holds the flint, as the screw was rusted out
2 installed a flint
3 fixed a crack in the stock, roughly above the trigger and going to the rear, much as in the fowler pictured
4 cleaned the interior of the barrel making it usable
He is a machinist by trade and has an extensive collection of flintlocks and caplocks.
I will post pictures on the board when I figure out how to post. I saw a name I know from a previous contact when I knew nothing about the rifle. His name is "Whiskers" and I believe he has written books on guns. About eight years ago I emailed pictures to him and he said he was not sure of J Mason but wished he had had the pictures earlier to include in his newest book at that time.
Comments:
It appears to be a good quality New England rifle with interesting details, a slender wrist, and great curly maple...but the photography is excessively focused on details, rather than larger shots that really show the gun's architecture. With the barrel signature and multiple New England details, it should go to the virtualy library...BUT...we should try to get "standard" half-shots of the gun to submit with it, showing from the butt plate up to about 8 inches past the lock plate area, on both front and back sides of gun. Shots should be taken directly over gun, not at an angle, since angled shots distort dimensions and details.
