jeager ?? rifle

[The other DWS]

I just saw what appears to be the relics of an original jeager of some sort in a dusty dark exhibit case on the first floor of the county courthouse in Jasper IN.  I'm wondering if anyone else has seen/studied it.

 I was in the courthouse doing my usual work and just happened to notice it.  Apparently it is part of a display put in long ago by the local Historical Society.   It is laying lock down and hard to see much detail.  I can tell it has a very large rifled bore that is quite short, maybe round grooves. without better access there is no way to measure but maybe 34  inches or so long.  The furniture is brass with a basic jeager style trigger guard.  The back ramrod pipe looks fairly ornate, front one is missing, as is some sort of forend cap.   The buttplate is brass, fairly thin & flattish at the toe but seems to have a fairly substantial top.   The furniture looks--to me--to have been high quality.  the dark wood looks walnut-ish but is dry and has shrunk some from the furniture.
The triggerplate shows slots for 2 triggers but only one in there now.  the way the rifle is laying its hard to tell anything about the lock but I think its laying too flat to be still a flintlock.  there appears to be a hammer there but it must be thin. looks like there might be a snail, or the remnant of a fence

at this point I suspect it is was a nice old original that has been shortened and converted to percussion late in its life.  This area had a very heavy german settlement.  This arm came here from farther east I'm sure.   I'm going to establish some sort of contact with the local historical society and see if they have any data on it and if I could be allowed to examine it and take photos for further study.

[Joey R]

I live just up the road from Jasper and you bet that Dubois County Ind. has a german heritage influence. Ferdinand Ind, was the home for many years to one of the most prolific longrifle builders by the name of Cornell Kemper. His son, Marvin builds a very nice longrifle also. The book Indiana gunbuilders is a fantastic read with some roots of the Jacob Ferree family of gunbuilders having lived in my home county of Harrison. It would be nice to know of any markings on this jaeger?? This is very interesting. Good luck on your investigation. 

[The other DWS]

if you want to see it, its on the main floor in the case across from the recorders office, sorta behind the security station.  no lights on in the case so it's hard to see it.  I got my emergency Surfire out of my brief case shine a little light on it as best I could.  With the flashlight I could see the muzzle fairly well, I think the original gun must be really old,  looks like a 60+calibre to me.   might be worth the drive to look

[Artificer]

At the Indiana Historical Society Museum in Indianapolis around 1978, they had a special display celebrating George Rogers Clark.  I fell in love with Clark's original buckskin coat that had been tailor made in the style of a Regimental Coat.

Anyway, they had a Jaeger on display there that was not part of the Clark exhibit.  It was in the original flintlock  had an original barrel that was only about 19 inches long and it was the original length.  Don't know if that rifle is still on display as I never went there again, but it may be something to check on the next time you all are areound Indianapolis.

[Joey R]

The Connor longrifles living history show is this weekend at the Hamilton County 4-H fairgrounds in Noblesville. I will ask some friends (Up North) if they have any insight about this rifle.