Unusual "coaching carbine"

[Lindisfarne793]

Hello, all
  I was told this was a fine community to go to for information on antique flintlocks. Recently, I acquired what was sold as a coaching carbine. It is unsigned, and indeed there are no names or marks of any kind save a griffin on the inside of the lock. I believe the barrel to be a repurposed pistol barrel, especially as it has two eyelets for pins, but only one pin is used in the stock. All of these things are in the attached gallery. Are any of you familiar with the makers mark on the lock?
Thanks much













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[Seth Isaacson]

It certainly could have been made for defending a coach/carriage. Blunderbusses and large bore pistols were fairly commonly used for that job. To me it looks like it was once a longer gun and has been cut down and altered. The stock flats for example look crude.

[Hungry Horse]

I suspect you have a gun that is at least two guns combined into one. The barrel, and the lock, could have been part of an early trade gun. The stock, and trigger assembly, look like they might have been from an English, or possibly French, fowling piece.

  Hungry Horse

[smart dog]

Hi,
IMO the gun was cobbled together from old parts.  The lock looks to be from the late 17th or early 18th century.  The barrel could be from a pistol but the proportion of octagon to round suggests to me that it may be cut back from a longer barrel.  The engraving on the barrel looks a bit like typical English work from the late 17th century but the photos are not very clear.  If it is English there should be proof marks. The stock checkering is entirely out of character for a gun from the late 17th or early 18th centuries and was either added later or the stock is from the 19th century.  It certainly looks like a crude restock possibly during the 1800s.  The quality of the stock work is poor and does not look like what you would expect from an English craftsman to me.

dave

[Seth Isaacson]

Agreed!

[Lindisfarne793]

It sounds like you all suspect many of the same things I do. I got the impression that this was a parts gun put together for whatever purpose its creator intended. It's quite small, as well, measuring just 25 inches from muzzle to butt. For a while, I thought it might have been a child's gun cut down into its present form. Either way,  I am certain that the parts weren't made for each other so much as made to work with each other.