Author Topic: Lower Hay Lake Rifle  (Read 4650 times)

Offline rich pierce

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Re: Lower Hay Lake Rifle
« Reply #25 on: September 05, 2022, 07:56:44 PM »
The narrowness of the buttplate, while still being rather flat, and a sliding patchbox, are an unusual combination. It’s being called a “rifle” buttstock because of the cheekpiece, I guess. Like suggested, a wood identification test would help a lot. I’m not familiar with Scandinavian locks, so this looks like a straight up English lockplate to me. Given it’s not falling into the usual categories, it’s easy to consider it a composite gun made of various working parts. In such a case, no one part can date the gun as the lock might date decades before it was stocked up as a new gun. Just one possibility.
Andover, Vermont

Offline Ray Nelson

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Re: Lower Hay Lake Rifle
« Reply #26 on: September 06, 2022, 12:35:58 AM »
A short update of the information I've still been working on concerning the relic information I've continued to collect...

The documentary was filmed 4 years ago and since then the small fragments of wood available were tested and the stock wood is birch.

Birch was commonly used in the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway. A few in Germany.

The missing removable pan including the screws make it difficult to rule the lock was flintlock or caplock when it was put to relic hood to be found in 1934 by Mr. Gustavson.

The area where it was found was native populated until almost 1870. at that time, closest settlement was 30 miles to the south with 3 Scandinavians listed on records for 1860.

I have found parallel buttplates of fowler type but none so narrow and parallel with asymmetric tang.

The rounded banana shape lock plate compared favorably to a few German and French examples.

It's still a curious and fun information study for me yet to be still pursuing.

Ray