A buddy of mine showed me a VERY old flint lock muzzle loader he has. The rifle has the flip down shield that goes over the powder pan, octagon or hexagon barrel and came out of Saudi Arabia.
The rifle was given to a local attorney who defended an oil company that was owned by someone out of Saudi Arabia. The oil company was being sued for several hundred million dollars. I dont know if the attorney won or lost the case. But to show his thanks, the person from Saudia gave the muzzle loader to the attorney.
The attorney is getting up in his age, and for what ever reason gave the rifle to my buddy.
There are no serial numbers, no markings of any kind so I know its going to be almost impossible to date. I dont even know what country the rifle was made in.
I'am supposed to go over to the guys house friday evening. I'll see if I can get some pictures and get them posted.
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Onmilo
January 7, 2009, 11:09 AM
I have limited knowledge on Arabian camel guns but can tell you flintlocks were popular until the turn of the twentieth century and cap locks were popular through the twentieth century.
Mp7
January 7, 2009, 11:13 AM
very often they are european barrels.... then richly ornamented in arabia....
just like most good arabian swords carry "Solingen" blades :)
Macmac
January 7, 2009, 12:14 PM
It will be interesting to see any pics.
I have seen some of these, and most of them were loaded with wire inlay, bits of bone and shell inlaid as well.
Of the few I saw none had any markings cut into the locks or barrels that would ID the gun. And my best guess was they were hand made over a forge.
All the stocks were not a thing like Euro, and or American stocks either. More like 16th century gunnes.
The only visible markings are on this location of the rifle between the hammer and the powder pan. The markings are faded, but it looks like a circle about the size of a nickle.
The gun looks like a hodge-podge of parts. The lock looks late 18th century/early 19th century European, probably French military.
scrat
January 12, 2009, 07:36 PM
I dont know i have seen some bad guns before but that one takes the cake. I wouldnt even use it for a wall hanger. Maybe if you had some old type of rustic room but that gun is way beyond anything. Looks like Ron is correct its probably a junk yard piece together. get a part from any gun to make this one work.
RSVP2RIP
January 12, 2009, 07:43 PM
Looks like he lost the case...
Macmac
January 12, 2009, 07:57 PM
I agree it is a parts gun, and to me the lock plate appears to be from a "Trade Gun" as does the trigger guard. The cock (hammer) seems French and not original to the lock.
The stock is a mess, and I have never seen anything like it, nor have i ever seen a barrel made like that one. The ridge on the rear of the barrel is interesting too. I think the barrel was moved forward in the stock, and if you look hard enough there will be a plugged vent somewhere forward of the one there now.
I don't suppose we need to tell you to not shoot it huh?
Obviously this was made by Ali Bubba.. :D
If I were going to attempt a date I would go for apx 1812 to maybe 1816ish.
davecampperry
January 14, 2009, 12:50 AM
1812 is about right. The hole in the cock throat is late flint era.
4v50 Gary
January 14, 2009, 01:14 AM
I'm wondering if that's a round face Brown Bess locked with a locally made stock. That could be a "GR" in script for George Rex, King of England. Gunsmiths regularly salvaged parts from broken guns to make new ones. That stock certainly doesn't look European with that distinctive hump. Early matchlocks and snaphaunces had that hump, but it went out of fashion by the time the flintlock was adopted. However, Middle Eastern or Islamic guns retained that design much longer. Note how there is virtually no foreend on the gun and how a simple band is used to hold the barrel and ramrod in place. The trigger guard looks as if it was hammered out of a piece of sheet steel (we did that in a Jack Brooks class for trade guns) and not casted or forged. The barrel has flats, suggested it was rifled once too. The rear sight is similar to something I've seen on Turkish guns, except that the Turkish guns had higher sights with multiple holes at varying heights for different distances.
yenchisks
January 14, 2009, 01:32 AM
No no no just what a minute,I think I can fix it lets see HHmmmmm,forget it, it's a wall decoration
~kev~
January 15, 2009, 12:13 AM
Thx for the input guys and gals. The rifle hangs on a rock wall next to a wood burning stove. On the other side of the wood stove is an OLD double barrel shotgun. :) The overall effect of the muzzle loader rifle, wood stove and old shotgun works out well.
Its a nice conversation piece, to say the least. Even if it is a mixture of parts, I would not mind having it. Next time I talk to the guy I'll tell him the rifle was probably made in the early 1800s. The owner of the rifle and I both know its probably impossible to give an "exact" date, but now we have a little something to work with.
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