[KatieVT]

I am researching some old rifles for my great-uncle. We are trying to identify a percussion muzzleloader of his and find out information about the maker.

It is a Half Stock in .40 caliber. Its barrel is octagon and there is 5/16 inch of steel surrounding the bore.

On the stock are metal inlays shaped like stars. The lockplate has an engraving of a dog & flying bird in a meadow. There is a name on the plate, but the first part is unreadable. It appears to be _____nmore. There are no visible markings or serial numbers on the gun until the barrel is removed from the stock. On the bottom of the barrel are two stamps: Remington & HE.RESLEY.

Any information would be appreciated. I have not been able to find anything about it.

[Jim Watson]

Eliphalet Remington got his start in the gun business by making trade barrels for muzzleloading rifle builders and Eliphalet Jr carried on the line for some years before picking up on the Rider designs used in Remington revolvers and Rolling Block rifles.

Google finds a H.E. Resley making muzzleloader barrels in Texas in the 1950s.

I would consider it possible but not certain that Judge Resley rebored an old Remington barrel.

A list of lockmakers did not show anything like ____nmore, but it could not have been complete.

Pictures so a real expert could get a handle on the overall style would be a help.

[KatieVT]

Pictures are here: http://smithfamilyfarmvt.com/guns/Resley/ . Hopefully, they are good enough.

My great-uncle thought that it was a 40 caliber, but we measured it tonight and it is a 44 caliber. Its barrel measures 32 inches long. It has 8 lands & 8 grooves. It has a single set trigger.

My great-uncle purchased it between 1950 and 1960. It was old when he bought it.

[Jim Watson]

I don't see anything against my theory, but it is still just a theory about Judge Resley.

Wondering if that n might be a worn h, I looked again. There were mid-19th century English lockmakers named Ashmore and Cashmore that might be the source of that lock. A Remington barrel and an English lock would have been entirely typical of a muzzleloader made as industrialization got going and the gunsmith did not have to make every little piece himself, but became a stockmaker working with trade parts.

[slatton2]

My grandfather was H. E. "Judge" Resley and he specialized in making rifle barrels but he also made rifles and occasionally rebored, rifled and laped older barrels. I am not an expert but you should contact the Texas Muzzle Loading Rifle Association; several members are.

I agree with Mr. Watson that he probably did restore the barrel of this gun. Notably absent from the muzzle are the stars he usually stamped around the opening, that would indicate that he probably did not make this barrel.

[Jim Watson]

Wow, it is a Small Internet, isn't it.

[kbbailey]

wow