Need help identifying old rifle

[Bill Weedman]

This rifle is marked but I don’t know where to begin identifying it. Any help would be appreciated.
The barrel is just under 40.5 inches long and .54 smoothbore and the lock is marked c Baker. The S + S on the barrel should be the maker but it would help to know approximately where it was made.

[Bill Weedman]

Also the barrel is slightly swamped.

[rich pierce]

Can we see the cheekpiece and buttplate closer up? Looks like a good “going west” rifle that eventually got drilled and reamed out to smoothbore.

[Dennis Glazener]

No thoughts on who built it but I do not believe those two initials are the same letters i.e S +S

I think from the photos posted it probably was a southern made gun but its VERY unusual to have a single trigger. Maybe it was made as a smooth bore or if bored out maybe the triggers were replaced with the single trigger. Would love to see better, more detailed photos. How about a photo of the tang and the underside of the trigger guard area.

Dennis

[OLUT]

The only help that I can offer is that the initials are PROBABLY "J J" rather than "S S" based on an old alphabet

[Dennis Glazener]

After greatly enlarging the photos, it looks like the gun MAY have been a flintlock. If so the gun could be much earlier than I thought. I own a VA made fintlock, thought to be made in the  late 1790's and it has a single trigger.

No thoughts on who built it but I do not believe those two initials are the same letters i.e S +S

I think from the photos posted it probably was a southern made gun but its VERY unusual to have a single trigger.  Maybe it was made as a smooth bore or if bored out maybe the triggers were replaced with the single trigger. Would love to see better, more detailed photos. How about a photo of the tang and the underside of the trigger guard area.

Dennis

[Bill Weedman]

[Tanselman]

I would read the initials as "J J" despite not seeing the top of the second letter clearly. The guard's small rear spur makes this gun a little harder to place for me. The top view of the butt plate extension doesn't show a lot of width, and the single lock bolt with what appears to be a well-fitting percussion lock, along with a very simple cheek shape, all seem to suggest a circa 1835 gun to me... not sure how we are seeing this gun as much earlier... unless I'm missing something. The square end on the percussion side lug and straight comb and toe lines often suggest a southern rifle, as has been suggested.

Shelby Gallien

[Bill Weedman]

I really like the bone front sight blade

[Bill Paton]

OLUT and Shelby,

How about “J  T”?

Bill Paton

[RAT]

My first thought was J S.

[Tanselman]

Bill,

I think "J T" is a good possibility.

Shelby Gallien

[Dennis Glazener]

Enlarge the photo of the lock area, the lock was always percussion but if you look behind the hammer it looks like it may have been cut for flint cock or maybe it's my eyes which are not the best.

As to the initials, the second initials curls just do not seem to match the first letter, even considering the wear. Could it be an F or T?
Dennis

[RAT]

The ramrod looks somewhat unique. Do you think it's original to the rifle? Has anyone seen one like it before?

[Tanselman]

Ramrods with the enlarged "handles" on the end are more common on later percussion half-stocked rifles, and in my opinion are always a replacement rod made by the owner.

Shelby Gallien

[Bill Weedman]

The ramrod is definitely a replacement. What. Is interesting is that it was made from a flat piece of recycled wood as there are evenly spaced nail holes the full length of the rod.

[RAT]

Is it a reasonable guess that this type of ramrod was used primarily on a target range?