Possible Purchase

[Rawhide Rick]

I just started discussing the purchase of a J. (James) Buswell half stock rifle from a friend.  As best I can tell, it is a 42 caliber full 1 inch octagon barrel.  Although I didn’t have a bore light small enough to check the bore, my friend says the bore is good.  He is unsure of twist rate but was told it was a “picket rifle” when he bought it.  The gun was made in Glens Falls NY, near where I live, so that adds to my interest.  Buswell apparently built guns in the late 1800’s but not much info is available.

The gun is in overall very good condition, front site globe appears original, furniture is engraved silver, even the threaded holes on the side flat near the breach appear to be old.  I haven’t been able to find much on the builder, a couple old auctions without selling prices listed.  Seems he built a few over/under rifle shotgun combos.  All of his guns I’ve been able to find pictures of, are on the fancy side.

My friend is unsure of value, other than knowing what he paid for it many years ago.  I don’t want to make an insulting offer, so we are both curious about approximate value.  At this point, I have to take his word on the bore condition.  He’s never shot the gun, just cleaned it and put it away.

[Tanselman]

Swinney's "The New York State Firearms Trade" books in Vol.I, pp.304, 305, has a large write-up on James Buswell, over a full page, mostly from census data and a couple of local history books. Interestingly, Swinney lists 4 previously known Buswell rifles, but none seem to be of the quality of the gun you are looking at. Of course, Swinney didn't get into gun values. Probably have to locate a NY collector to get an idea, of keep an eye on GunBroker.

Shelby Gallien

[Rawhide Rick]

Thanks Tanselman.  I looked up the reference books you mentioned.  That’s a pricey set of books.
I only have a couple books on muzzleloaders, more generic and none specific to NY.

Hopefully, someone will locate some info about the builder.  My efforts so far have only turned up another half stock gun and 2 over unders, all fairly fancy.  I modified my original post due to a typo.  The auction sites did not list selling prices.  One did list an estimated value on an over/under at $900 to $1200.  Condition was below that of the gun I’m looking at.  I had thought $1200 to $1400 would be appropriate for the gun, but I’m not sure.

My friend is getting up there in age, and generally doesn’t sell much from his collection.  The few guns I’ve bought from him have been very reasonable.  However, he may be thinking about a long term picture for his wife if something happens to him.  He also had an original Smith Carbine and Maynard Carbine laid out for me to look at.