I spent 23 years working original and repro Civil War Era Muskets, Carbines and Revolvers at the Spring and Fall National Championships at the North South Skirmish Association. I was around or part of the US International Muzzleloading Team for many years, including being the Team Armourer at two World Championships where many originals were and still are shot. I’ve owned both an original .36 cal. Percussion rifle and Swiss .41 Cal. “Federal” Rifle I used to shoot and shot some originals my best friend in life used to own – including some Flint and Percussion Hall Rifles with the notable exception I did not DARE to even think of firing the original “Civilian Model” Hall Flint rifle he owned.
In 1996 at the World Championships as the US Team Armourer, I was handed a superb original Percussion Jaeger rifle the wife of the Team Captain of the Swiss Team was shooting in the championships. It would not hold half cock at all and barely held full cock. When I got inside the lock it looked like some idiot with a SNAG grinder ground it to heck and that infuriated me because the quality of the lock was superb. Took me 4 ½ hours to fix it by hand and I told them while it would get them through the match, they needed to take it to a real gunsmith in Switzerland and have a new tumbler and sear made for it or the original parts welded up and this time PROPERLY cut and fitted. Well, the Lady shot the rifle in the Championships and WON the Gold Medal in the Ladies 100 meter prone, original flint rifle match. Needless to say it was great for “International Relations” with the Swiss, though I wasn’t sure the ladies on the U.S. Team would ever forgive me as one got beat by the Swiss Lady and only took the Silver Medal. Grin.
Heck, I almost CHOKED when I was handed an original and GORGEOUS saw handled, half stock flintlock dueling/target pistol by the Captain of the French International Team to see if I could repair it at the 1998 World Championships at Wedgnok, UK. Then I looked carefully at the inscription on top of the barrel and it read “Nicolaus Boutet.” My jaw DROPPED and I looked at the French Team Captain and his Interpreter and pointed to the pistol and asked, “ Nicholaus Boutet, le Armourer to NAPOLEAN?” They both shouted “Oui, Oui !!” Then my heart almost stopped. I shakily asked what it was worth and the Interpreter apologized for not being sure of the exchange rate from Francs to Pounds to Dollars, but it would have been around $ 75,000.00 to $90,000.00 then.
I told them I wasn’t sure if I could fix it, but I would see what I could do. I got inside that pistol and it looked like the SAME idiot with a SNAG grinder screwed up this pistol as the one who had messed up the Swiss Team Captain’s Wife’s Rifle, two years before. (God help me what I might have done to that Idiot who screwed up those guns had he been at either World Championship.) Took me over 6 hours to fix it by hand and I told them I could only guarantee it for about 25 shots. A few days later as I was “walking the line” to let the US shooters know I was there in case they needed me and that did give them more confidence, I was encircled with a small mob of Frenchmen laughing, congratulating me and kissing me on the cheeks. I could not understand a word they were saying when finally I saw our Team Captain. I asked him what the hubbub was all about and he told me the French Team Captain had placed 7th in the Original Flint Pistol match. I looked at him and said, “Gee, all this for SEVENTH place?” He laughed and told me no French Shooter had EVER done that well before and that’s why they were so happy. I asked him to also tell the French Team Captain to get that pistol to a real gunsmith back home who could weld up and fix or replace his tumbler and sear and suggested they use that Idiot with a SNAG grinder as a “live target” for a running target match.
Neither of the N. Boutet Flint Pistol nor the Original Percussion Jaeger rifle had a fly in its tumbler. The years I had spent doing “trigger jobs” on all the U.S. Civil War locks that also did not have flys in their tumblers was actually an advantage for me. Actually, working some of the cheapest foreign repro locks was of great advantage.
There are two things about firing original guns I suggest to consider. First, even when people are careful and do handle and clean them well, you can’t help but wear them more than just preserving them. You are risking damaging or even losing an original piece to history. Therefore, the more rare/valuable/important to history the gun is, the less likely I would be to shoot it. Second, I would have them inspected by someone competent to work on them and inspect them. I know some folks don’t do it or have it done, but I suggest pulling the breech plug to ensure it is good and really inspecting the barrel closely with the breech plug out.
Oh, in at the 1996 World Championships, I believe it was your Australian Team Captain who won the Gold Medal in I think the Rigby Rifle Match. (If it wasn’t the Team Captain, it was a member of the Australian Team.) A few of the newer Australian Team Members were a bit surprised how much we Americans were making of congratulating him “as if he was one of our own Team Members” that night in the hotel both our Teams stayed at. One Australian couple asked me about it and I told them we always got along great with the Australian Team. The Gold Medal Winner heard it and commented, “We and the Yanks have much in common. Both the Yanks and us had ancestors thrown out of England as scum and criminals, yet our ancestors wound up doing so much better than in the old country and they can’t stand it.” He was smiling broadly while he said it.
Gus
