Weekend finds #1

[tokashikibob]

  Gents,   I brought home a couple of interesting (to me) antique long rifles this past weekend.   Finding these near Greensboro I wonder if they are North Carolina school gunsmiths.    This one is very short especially compared to the other which I'll post after this letter.   Did they make boy's rifles back in the 1800's?.   No markings on the barrel that I can find.    It may have been a museum piece at one time as there is a number mark on the buttplate.      Thanks in advance for comments and for looking.
Best regards,
  Bob

[WadePatton]

Those sights?!  Was it a special purpose gun? I have no answers only more questions.   Thanks for sharing.

[Chris_B]

I really like that cheekpiece inlay!
Thanks for sharing.

[tokashikibob]

Those sights?!  Was it a special purpose gun? I have no answers only more questions.   Thanks for sharing.

  That front sight post is chipped stone,  the maker must have been able to knap some fantastic arrowheads.

[WESTbury]

Bob---There are in existence a lot of what are termed "Child's Rifle/Musket" and Lady's rifles.

On your rifle, the distance from the buttplate to the trigger "looks" to be standard for a regular rifle. What does it actually measure?

Perhaps it was built as kind of a Bush Rifle for hunting in undergrowth or densely wooded areas. The end of the muzzle looks as though it is the original length barrel, in other words, not shortened.

In any case it is a very interesting, untouched as they say, rifle. You had a better weekend than I did. Thanks for sharing.

    This one is very short especially compared to the other which I'll post after this letter.   Did they make boy's rifles back in the 1800's?.  Best regards,
  Bob

[mbriggs]

Bob,
I see noting on this rifle that makes me think it was made in North Carolina.  The answer to your question about small rifles for children, is yes.  I have owned many Jamestown Boy's rifles over the years.  I currently have for sale a William Dettmar Salem School Boy's rifle.

Thanks,

Michael

[JTR]

I would think this rifle started life as a late period, full length, full stock, flintlock, made in the Upper Susquehanna region of Pa.

My reasoning; If the trigger pull measures around 12 1/2 to 13 or so inches long that's about the norm for a full stock rifle.
If you look just behind the percussion hammer you'll see a notch cut in the wood for the original flint cock, when pulled back to full cock position. Also notice the filled in holes in the forward part of the lock plate.
As for the barrel length, if you measure the distance from the rear sight to the normal rear sight position near the ramrod entry pipe, that's the distance the barrel was cut off from the rear. The normal distance for a rear sight is about 10 or 12 inches from the breech.
The normal length for a barrel from this time period is around 40 inches, give or take some. If the length you find cut off from the rear, when added to the current barrel length doesn't get to about 40 inches, then the missing amount is what was cut off from the muzzle end. I doubt the punch marks on the muzzle are original, as I don't remember seeing them in such a haphazard manner.

Just my opinion of course, and your mileage may vary.

PS, I have a fancy one just like it leaning in the corner of the room, signed S Miller on the barrel, in case you want to start a collection of cut down rifles!