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.42 Cal Black powder Long Gun

1298 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Goldenwarrior1, 
Goldenwarrior1
6
I’ve had this gun in my collection for about 10 years or so and never really knew much about it. My Aunt passed it on to me with little to no information on it. It belonged to my uncle who was an engineer for DuPont and was heavily involved in black powder firearms But he passed away suddenly and left no records about his firearm collections. Some he made and some he bought, which of those categories this falls into I have no idea. I can find no markings on the gun anywhere including proof marks on the barrel. I believe the stock is Tiger Maple. The rifled barrel is 48” long and .42 caliber. I’ve shot it a few times but it periodically will get stuck where the sear will not let the hammer fall. I adjust it and it works well and then for no reason it locks open. if someone has any knowledge on its origin, style etc. It would be greatly appreciated and while it would be nice to know what it’s worth that information is secondary as I have no interest in selling.

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Grizzley1
The lock is of the style used in Bedford county Pennsylvania, It appears to be older than the rest of the rifle.
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Goldenwarrior1
Grizzley1 said:
The lock is of the style used in Bedford county Pennsylvania, It appears to be older than the rest of the rifle.
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I guess it’s possible he built the gun from the lock up as he worked and lived in Delaware close to the PA border. The rest of his BP guns are obviously hand made but this one was a lot more refined than the others leading me to believe he purchased it this way. I have a few old BP shotguns as well, I’ll dig them out and get some photos as well. Who knows, someone mike actually enjoy seeing them.
Thanks for your reply, Tom
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Grizzley1
I'm just guessing here but I think the rifle itself is a modern construction using a mixture of old and new. The hammer nose shows a lot of pitting and corrosion, but the drum and nipple look to be nearly new, as do the screws on the butt plate. If the barrel was as old as the lock one would expect to see the same level of pitting on the drum and breech area of the barrel and we would see some amount of scorching on the wood. And yes, the stock wood is figured maple, some of us call it tiger stripe and some call it fiddle back. there are other names for it depending on the grade and pattern of the figure.
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Hawg
Nice rifle but it looks like you've got a crack in the stock you're going to want to take care of.

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Goldenwarrior1
Grizzley1 said:
I'm just guessing here but I think the rifle itself is a modern construction using a mixture of old and new. The hammer nose shows a lot of pitting and corrosion, but the drum and nipple look to be nearly new, as do the screws on the butt plate. If the barrel was as old as the lock one would expect to see the same level of pitting on the drum and breech area of the barrel and we would see some amount of scorching on the wood. And yes, the stock wood is figured maple, some of us call it tiger stripe and some call it fiddle back. there are other names for it depending on the grade and pattern of the figure.
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Thanks Grizzley, I replaced the nipple as the old one was just about done in. I also spent some time cleaning up the area which is why it looks newer. Maybe I should have left it alone. The nipple however was so eroded it pierced the caps And it wouldn’t fire.

Hawg said:
Nice rifle but it looks like you've got a crack in the stock you're going to want to take care of.

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Thanks Hawg, I didn’t notice that crack either until I was looking at the photos. Definitely need to get that taken care of before I shoot it again. Thanks for the keen eyes!
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