9 Muskets In 9 Days!

[Al LaVodka]

Team;
Every day for nine days I'm going to post a picture and brief description of my latest nine muzzloader acquisitions, one at a time. I ask your forgiveness of my enthusiasm as well as if there are some details I leave out, am unclear on, or just make a silly mistake about.

To pique your curiosity, below is a small picture of them all. From back to front I'll simply go thru each arm, as described, in detail until finished.

General and specific comments are welcome and encouraged.

OK friends, let's have some gun fun! Here we go...

The first (or last as the case may be), as far as I can tell, is an Italian made repro of a Civil War period Zouave percussion rifle (believe Euroarms though it does not say -- click pic to enlarge). It has an anachronistic screw-adjustable rear sight and a very nice sling. Nice brass parts including patchbox. I got it in excellent condition except for the barrel bands having been repeatedly slid and thereby wearing the wood finish a bit. It otherwise seemed unused. Yeah, it could use a bayonet and maybe a "sniper" cross front sight for the heck of it. It will nicely complement my originals (the heavily-pitted side of my antique Remington is NOT on the lock side so thankfully I have an OK wallhanger...).

32-1/2" barrel, blued, walnut, .58.

Al

 

[4v50 Gary]

Those adjustable rear sights should be good to go. More complicated (which is why they were deleted from the 1861 Springfield in favor of a flip-up) and expensive and much more versatile.

What's the shed in the background?

 

[Armored farmer]

looking forward to your m/l pics

 

[hawkeye74]

Gary, That sight is not original to the 1863 Remington, AKA Zouave. It had the standard flip sight with 100, 300, and 500 yard leafs.

 

[4v50 Gary]

'Scuse me while I hide my face. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Al LaVodka]

#2

This Navy Arms Civil War musket is the second in this thread. It is a well made repro of the 1863 Springfield Rifle Musket. It has a 39" .58 barrel set in a heavy walnut stock. Dated 1864, these repros infamously have the name and town of Navy Arms on the lock and top of the barrel by the breech! It is in fine condition with perfect rifling, action and wood basically -- I have to presume it was fired given some of the signs, but... The metal surfaces, and this doesn't come out in the full picture below even when you click on it, are motled with black patina (but not a hint of brown rust even though that's what color shows in the detail of the lock which I was able to photograph in this case). It needs a buffing wheel and a little jeweler's rouge to look brand new. I believe this gun, and they were not blued, was on display somewhere or maybe in the back corner of someone's closet for a generation. It has a mid 3-digit serial number.

The trigger has some sweet, consistant, travel and the let-off is sharp -- smooth lock. This is definitely a fine shooter!

Al

 

[mykeal]

I think this is the Zouave rear sight that hawkeye74 is referring to:

 

[hawkeye74]

You got it!

 

[Al LaVodka]

#3, plus New & Improved Pics!

The third gun in the series is this Euroarms P-53. It is a London Armory marked lock representing the second most popular type of arm in the US Civil War but which came from the UK. The gun has been fired but is in excellent condition. Almost certainly this was only occasionally carried by a re-enactor, most of whom never actually fire bullets from their guns. This has very limited evidence of any cap use, the blued barrel has scratches at the muzzle (I took the tompion out) from fixing and unfixing a bayonet, the wood shows some handling marks, and the sling (please ignore its attachment) is well used. The trigger is the best on a Euroarms I've ever noticed. The only concern I have is that the hammer is not quite centered on the nipple -- the nipple hits inside the hammer's cup but on the right side and I can move the hammer a 16th of an inch to center it but it goes right back...

These .577 (.58) arms have a 38-1/2" barrel (this rifling is mint) and a nice walnut stock.

On a final note, I have determined I can attach higher resolution pics than before so I've gone back and updated the other gun pics too. Enjoy, and don't be shy!

Al

PS: Gary, the thing that looks alot like a shed, sadly, just is.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Thanks Al La Vodka for sharing your pictures. I look forward to seeing them.

As for the shed, my first thought was a necessary (18th century for outhouse), but those are only at historic sites nowadays.

 

[Al LaVodka]

#4

I'd been looking for one of these for awhile...

But first, a disclaimer: I am a big fan of Pedersoli products and just wish they were less expensive.

This is a NIB Pedersoli Frontier (1760-1840) standard flintlock. This 7-1/4 lb., 39", Double Set Trigger .50 is a gem. Like most Pedersolis, maybe all, the fit and finish is excellent. And this arm is particularly graceful. I already owned the 6-1/2 lb. 36" single trigger .50 Kentucky of the same period which I love as well balanced but it was all I was comfortable with a full octagonal barrel. Their 41-1/2" later period Pennsylvania was just too modern and front heavy for me despite my manly physique. This Frontier is in between, was extant during the Rev. War which I prefer, but is pushing the envelope weight-wise (a little like me maybe -- lol). I can just manage to keep its buckhorn sights on target. This is a traditional, quintessential, American arm w/a browned barrel and nice case-hardened lock in a decent walnut stock with brass furniture -- sharp and classic! And it is my favored flint caliber (hint). Plus, I got it in a deal with a flask, measure, starter, ball, flints (agate actually), worm, jag, ball-puller...

Al

 

[Al LaVodka]

#5

OK folks, we're half way there!

The fifth gun is something special: it is a NIB Hatfield .50 flintlock rifle. This reddish hue maple-stocked gun is the product of the 80's Hatfield (yes, of "the Hatfields and McCoys" fame) enterprise which was meticulously copied from an original family gun as a "custom production" piece. That was Ted Hatfield's mission -- to make custom-quality guns on a semi-production basis by using the most advanced technology available to a small shop to inexpensively produce the custom parts and do as much of the core, basic, and rough work as possible (i.e. on a CNC machine) and then finish them by hand so they could charge a fair price for premium arms and sell enough to make a decent living vs. mass-production companies that have to sell volume to cover their huge investments in older plants, property, equipment and labor. It is a special beauty. Matte black finish on this 39" octagonal barrel. Brass. Double set triggers.

Confession time: this gun is very similar to the Pedersoli Frontier gun (wonder when it was launched?), so much so that yesterday I posted a misnumbered photo I had of the Hatfield as the #4 posted Pedersoli, and, not having expanded the pic, didn't notice till I looked back a few hours later! Take a look back at corrected #4 yourself and compare with this #5...

Al

 

[Al LaVodka]

#6

Half-a-dozen guns into it and here we are at this unfinished arm...

#6 is also a Hatfield, however, it is a percussion cap kit version! It is a NIB browned .50 with casehardened lock too. I'm not 100% sure the full-length stock is maple but it should be. I'll be honest -- I'm a little concerned about finishing it just because the gun itself is something special.

Al

 

[Al LaVodka]

#7

OK, so the last was a little boring. I'm posting this one fast to make up for that...

But don't get too excited. Remember when CVA made classic American black powder arms? How many people strarted with one, maybe finished it themselves, and continued to use them for the rest of their lives!? #7 is a completed but unused-in-box CVA Kentucky Rifle kit. Made in Spain (when they had a respected arms industy -- remember that too?) this is a .45 caplock with a 30" blue octagonal barrel in a two-piece hardwood stock. Brass furniture and a spare ramrod... The builder did not put the brass plate in between the front and rear sections of stock. The length of pull, typically short in such type of arms, is a little too short for my long arms (I wear 35" to 37" dress-shirt sleeves) at 12.5" that I feel is better suited to the average sized man, a youth or lass but I couldn't pass it up.

This is a decent gun and a stalwart of the safe BP shooting sports in America that needed a good home. Well, it's at least a foster child if I don't adopt it...

Al

 

[mykeal]

Unusually good wood for that particular kit.

Remember when CVA made classic American black powder arms? How many people strarted with one, maybe finished it themselves, and continued to use them for the rest of their lives!?

How many? Well, here's at least one. Between 1978 and 1983 I built the Kentucky Rifle and Hawken Rifle (NOT the St. Louis Hawken) and 4 pistols (Kentucky, Mountain, Colonial and Philly Derringer). Still own all of them and shoot them occasionally.

 

[Al LaVodka]

#8

OK, it is tomorrow so here's the next one...

This gun is also a CVA but not from a kit. It is their Mountain Rifle. NIB This is a later "Made in Spain" gun sans the patchbox. But it is a beautiful arm with a dark walnut stock and very nice offsetting aluminum pewter and German Silver furniture as well as Rocky Mountain front sight blade. The caplock and even wedges are case-hardened. The locks have a reputation for having a soft mainspring that needs to be replaced eventually but otherwise, if they were careful in assembly, a decent and always very accurate gun. The adjustable notch sight and double set triggers help with that. In the Hawken vein, this .50 (yes, you guessed that's my go-to BP caliber) blue barrel is 5" longer than my T/C and has a LOP of 14" vs. 13.5" for the T/C or the 12.5" in the #7 CVA Kentucky above.

This Mountain Rifle is up there in the looks-department with the T/C and any other guns I own if no more than average quality when first out of the box...

Al

PS: w/a 33" barrel would Moconfed have me scope this!?

 

[Cosmoline]

Nice haul! But where's your flintlock?

 

[Al LaVodka]

I know -- only two of these are flints so far...

But WHAT flints they are!

Al

 

[Al LaVodka]

#9

Last but not least!

This is an antique Golcher caplock .28 caliber squirrel rifle with a 30" brown octagonal barrel (except for the muzzle, and marked "cast steel"). The walnut stock has many silver inlays, brass furniture and a scalloped pewter nosecap. It has double set triggers to help the accuracy along with a tang peep sight and adjustable rear and pin front sights. The lock bears the maker's, Josh (Joseph) Golcher's, name but needs some work -- otherwise the gun is in very good plus condition.

Joseph Golcher was a primarily lock-maker in the Philadelphia, PA area c. 1825 to 1860. His locks are ubiquitous and used by gunmakers across the country but especially "back East."

On a final note I want to thank everyone for their indulgence with this "stream of consciousness," my "show & tell," and I hope it was of at least a little interest, offered some entertainment, and imparted any information.

Al

 

[junkman_01]

That is nice, very nice!

 

[mykeal]

Al,

I, for one, very much appreciate your posts here. This is what it's all about. Much, much better than the ranting and moralizing going on elsewhere. Thank you.

 

[arcticap]

I enjoyed seeing all of those nice looking guns too.
And I wonder what the #6 NIB Hatfield .50 percussion would feel like to shoulder?