Much like this old blogger, this piece has seen better days. It's most likely an Allen & Thurber center hammer pistol in .30 caliber, although any factory markings have long since rusted off. It's probably the little brother of "Double Trouble", and appears in my 7th edition Flayderman directly above the double barreled variant. Like it's brother, it was made in limited quantities in various barrel lengths (a few thousand).
The reason it's so decrepit is simple - this is a dug relic. The reason the wood's intact is that is was dug up in a barn in Maryland. This kept the piece dry enough to preserve the wood grips AND the functionality of the mainspring, but small pieces (e.g. sear, trigger guard, trigger return spring, etc.) and fine details (barrel stampings) have been lost.
By the way, here's a safety tip. Old muzzleloading firearms, even dug relics, have the potential to be dangerous. An old charge and ball may remain in the barrel and be viable hundreds of years on. If you ever find, buy, or inherit an old muzzleloader, do the following before doing anything else:
First, with the muzzle pointed away from you or anything/one you value, use a wooden stick or dowel at least as long as the barrel and that fits loosely into the barrel to probe the barrel's depth.
Second, note how deep the penetration is my marking the stick at the muzzle.
Third, remove the stick and lay it alongside the barrel (it's still pointed away, right?) so that the mark you made lines up with the muzzle. If the end of the stick that you inserted reaches beyond the touch hole, you are probably safe from remnant charge. If, on the other hand, your stick cannot reach beyond the touchhole, STOP! Something's in the barrel. You're best and safest bet is to take the piece to a competent gunsmith, treating the thing the whole while as if it was loaded, cocked, and primed. Accidents of this sort are rare, but they have happened.
The reason it's so decrepit is simple - this is a dug relic. The reason the wood's intact is that is was dug up in a barn in Maryland. This kept the piece dry enough to preserve the wood grips AND the functionality of the mainspring, but small pieces (e.g. sear, trigger guard, trigger return spring, etc.) and fine details (barrel stampings) have been lost.
By the way, here's a safety tip. Old muzzleloading firearms, even dug relics, have the potential to be dangerous. An old charge and ball may remain in the barrel and be viable hundreds of years on. If you ever find, buy, or inherit an old muzzleloader, do the following before doing anything else:
First, with the muzzle pointed away from you or anything/one you value, use a wooden stick or dowel at least as long as the barrel and that fits loosely into the barrel to probe the barrel's depth.
Second, note how deep the penetration is my marking the stick at the muzzle.
Third, remove the stick and lay it alongside the barrel (it's still pointed away, right?) so that the mark you made lines up with the muzzle. If the end of the stick that you inserted reaches beyond the touch hole, you are probably safe from remnant charge. If, on the other hand, your stick cannot reach beyond the touchhole, STOP! Something's in the barrel. You're best and safest bet is to take the piece to a competent gunsmith, treating the thing the whole while as if it was loaded, cocked, and primed. Accidents of this sort are rare, but they have happened.
No comments:
Post a Comment