Early rifle - hoping for thoughts

[DaveM]

Hi all,

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their 4th weekend!  And enjoying Scott’s excellent research!  Here are some photos of what I thnk is a pretty interesting piece, and I welcome any thoughts.  I thought maybe the sides of the butt had been shaved down, but the surfaces are smooth - so maybe only slightlyshaved.   maybe it was shaved like 1/16 inch on each side because it lost a bit of roundness near the buttcap edges. And the buttcap edges are thick like they were files back a bit.   it had carved decoration extending back from the wrist that wore off.   The butt plate is still almost 2-inches wide at the plate, and well over 2–inches wide at the cheek piece.

[rich pierce]

Cool old gun! Just what we like to see. Guessing smoothbore, stocked in European walnut, converted to percussion in Europe, possibly Scandinavian and, as Shumway sometimes said, “made in the third quarter of the 18th century”.  Just my impression - looking forward to hearing what others think.

[Robert Wolfe]

Neat. A lot of odd wear on the muzzle cap to make it mushroom like that.

[Hungry Horse]

 I think that muzzle cap ( shnabl) was intentionally formed that way, but the one sides with the cracks has had some damage. This gun is in pretty good shape for its age.

Hungry Horse

[Mike Brooks]

Cool old gun! Just what we like to see. Guessing smoothbore, stocked in European walnut, converted to percussion in Europe, possibly Scandinavian and, as Shumway sometimes said, “made in the third quarter of the 18th century”.  Just my impression - looking forward to hearing what others think.

Ditto

[rich pierce]

Cool old gun! Just what we like to see. Guessing smoothbore, stocked in European walnut, converted to percussion in Europe, possibly Scandinavian and, as Shumway sometimes said, “made in the third quarter of the 18th century”.  Just my impression - looking forward to hearing what others think.

Ditto

Mike, I just channeled my inner “What would Mike say?”  I use it with situational discretion. 

[Eric Kettenburg]

I'd throw in a second ditto; I don't think that's American at all, especially given the style of conversion.  The muzzle cap is horn?  Looks like horn.

Interesting, though, the shaping of the 'beavertails' and the portion of the carving around the tang along the sides of the tang look very 'Marshally' in design and execution.

[DaveM]

Thanks for the replies.  Looking theough my books I am thinking it was made in Germany at Pottsdam.  The lock and sideplate are very similar to the Pottsdam style muskets and pistols like in Neumann and Moller.  I took off the barrel and it is marked with. Capital “P”. Did the Marshall gun originate anywhere near Pottsdam manufactory?

[rich pierce]

Thanks for the replies.  Looking theough my books I am thinking it was made in Germany at Pottsdam.  The lock and sideplate are very similar to the Pottsdam style muskets and pistols like in Neumann and Moller.  I took off the barrel and it is marked with. Capital “P”. Did the Marshall gun originate anywhere near Pottsdam manufactory?

The Marshall rifle was made by a Moravian maker in Bethlehem or Christians Spring Pennsylvania. The barrel was from Rothenburg.

[alacran]

Nice Germanic gun. The nosecap indeed looks to be horn. The grain structure of the horn seems evident when magnified. It is missing the swivels.
Appears to have seen a lot of use. Maybe a forester's gun.

[Shreckmeister]

Anyone outing a time period on this nice old girl?

[tooguns]

Could the nose cap be some kind of deer antler? The burr or rosette?

[Daryl]

Could the nose cap be some kind of deer antler? The burr or rosette?

That was my first thought.

[rich pierce]

Anyone outing a time period on this nice old girl?

Above I said third quarter of 18th century; so 1750-1775.

[backsplash75]

1740s Prussian/Potsdam musket sideplate