An Average Mans Gun

[JTR]

Adding to the 'Average Mans Gun' thread started by Teun, this is what I think of in terms of an average rifle of the time.
No frills, no carving, no inlays, just a stout reliable gun for the everyday guy.
I guess it could have done without the patchbox, but most from this time period seem to have them, so it must have been considered a necessity to most.
Sorry for the poor pics, but these are all I have here on the boat computer.
The barl is about 44” long and flared. The breech has had about 2” cut off, but is still 1  3/16” thick. Rifled and about 60 caliber.
It has keys for the barl as opposed to pins holding it.
The trigger guard has a nice high grip rail and wide bow.
The butt is just a frogs hair over 2” thick.
Has a decent patchbox, with the name T.G. Moore engraved on the lid.
The makers name on the barrel is so far totally indecipherable!   
This was probably a good solid 6 dollar gun when it was new!
John

[rich pierce]

That is a great gun.  Thanks for posting it.

[Mike R]

Yeah, nice rifle.

[mr. no gold]

Looks to be a 1700s gun made in lower York County in what later became Adams County. Very much like Shriver's work early on and the Sells' somewhat later. Great rifle and a great example of the daily used, dependable rifle. Thanks for putting it up for us to see.
Dick

[jim m]

great looking piece, and thanks for the pictures. and Mr. no gold, thaks for your input. info like that is much appreciated by us less knowlageable.

[Dphariss]

This is about what I would expect as an everyday rifle "average mans rifle".
It has everything it needs with little extra.
Its just as useful as a highly carved and much more expensive rifle.

Dan

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Nice representative rifle in terrific shape.  thanks for the show.

[Karl Kunkel]

That's great.  Thanks for sharing with those of us who don't get to see the plainer originals.

[Eric Laird]

John,
Thanks for posting the pictures - it's always great to see originals!  What does the entry pipe return/tang look like?  Also, is it just the angle of the photo or is there the hint of a stepped wrist? Is the patchbox cavity with the sloped entry a characteristic of any particular maker or school? Sorry for all the questions, but looking at originals always get's the brain going!
Eric

[timM]

John,... thank you for the posting, a very nice early rifle. An 18th century Mdl 70 ?
tim

[JTR]

Thanks for the comments, and here’s a couple more pictures that I have with me.
Sorry Eric, but none of the tang. As for your question on the slope inside the patchbox, I hate to say it, but the answer alludes me. This is the only rifle I have that has the interior of the box cut like that.  I agree with Mr. No Gold that it’s likely a York gun, mid 1770s/80s, so maybe it’s a York feature. I’ve only owned one other York and it‘s long gone, and don’t remember if it had the slope like this one or not.
I’ve also posted another pic of the makers name. Anyone want to take a crack at deciphering it?
John

[gibster]

The signiture looks to me to be H McCAN.  According to Frank Sellers book, AMERICAN GUNSMITHS, there was a J McCAN born in 1776 and worked in Lancaster Pa. in 1795.  There is an HUGH McCAIN listed in Kauffman's book, THE PENNESSLVAINA-KENTUCKY RIFLE as working in Versaille Township, Allegheny County, Pa (Federal Census 1800).  Thoughts?
Gibster

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Maybe H & J McCan??

[mr. no gold]

An interesting feature is the ramped cavity that the patchbox brasswork covers. This is an early feature seen on rifles by I. Berlin and other early makers. No one knows why the cavity was cut this way, but a surprising number of early rifles have this, including wood box guns.
Dick

[Dan'l 1946]

Assuming that the patchbox actually held prelubed patches, maybe the sloped or ramped end made it easier to slide patches out of the box?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I think it was made for a average guy like me, and my age too.  Look how far down the barrel that rear sight is.  Like 14" - 15"...perfect.

[JTR]

Thank you Mr. Gadler for your insight regarding the ramped cavity inside the patchbox. It's always a pleasure to have you comment for those of us still learning!

Taylor, You mean perfect sights for us old geezers, huh.

Thanks for the comments on the name!
H is the first initial for sure. The last two letters are an a, and n.
The one I think you guys see as the C, is actually identical to the right side line of the first initial H.
The first letter of the last name might be an S, as you can sort of see the top loop through a glass.
It's certainly a dilemma to me, and Thanks for helping! Ill look at it closely again when I get back home. 
John

[Brian]

 agree with GEOX - the ramped end of the patch box could possibly have been to make it easier to get things out of it.  Makes sense.  You could slide them up the ramp and get hold of them instead of trying to dig them out of the corners.  I wouldn't think it was done that way just because it might be "easier".  Anybody who would bother inletting a patchbox plate would not be worried about squaring out the corners of the box, so it was done that way for a reason.  I vote for ease of getting stuff out of it.

Nice rifle any way you look at it, and it sure does fit the classic "ordinary man's rifle" criteria.

[Dan'l 1946]

The more I look at it the more I like that rifle. I've tried to come up with other reasons for the ramped end but so far no luck. I just seems to me that a feature like that, normally hidden, must have had a practical use.  But maybe it was just to keep extra wood at the end of the stock to reduce the chance of splitting at the butt. Guess that would be practical too.
                                                         Dan

[JTR]

Good thoughts Brian and Dan, and could well be.

I wonder how many points the Dixon judges would deduct for that box cavity!

John

[Jim Kibler]

Don't have references in front of me, but that box and especially the side panels remind me of Kindig # 18. 

[Eric Kettenburg]

I've seen a few box cavities cut like that, no rhyme or reason to geographic region.  It does make it easier to cut rather than chopping straight down into the endgrain, and it also leaves a better amount of wood lower in the box mortise and closer to the attachment screws for the box release mechanism assuming they are screwed into the butt and not attached to the buttplate.