Germanic Stutzen/Jaeger/Boar Rifle?

[bonza]

I traded into this rifle recently, & am posting it here to get some feedback & help with ID. The previous owner described it as a Boar Rifle.

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It has an OAL of 44.5" with a 27.75" barrel. The barrel is octagon (1" at breach) for the first 24.5" where it changes to round (3/4" diameter), the round section is 3.25" long. Rifling is eight lands/grooves 1:50" twist, .515" bore & .550" groove. The barrel is also fitted with a Systeme a Tige breech.
The blade front sight is located at the end of the octagonal portion of the barrel & there is a 'bayonet lug' at 6 o'clock on the round portion about 1" ahead of the forend cap. The octagon section of the barrel has tapered down to 7/8" where it changes to round.
All furniture is brass, including two ramrod thimbles & entry pipe, there are two keys holding the barrel to the stock. The rifle has double-set triggers, a standard type sling swivel behind the trigger guard & a 'Jaeger' style one just ahead of the lower ramrod thimble.
There are no markings visible on the rifle, apart from a small 'S in square' proofmark under the barrel, & the number 3 appears once near the S, again on the breach. The rear sight is a flip-up style with two notches on the standing leaf & another three on the flip-up portion. There is also a cheekpiece in the Germanic style.
The rifle is not ornate &, due to the lack of maker's name, etc., I had thought it may be military as it looks similar to some Jaegerstutzen rifles I've seen & the caliber is about the same, but the lock doesn't seem military (ie robust) enough.
The prior owner said that the lug near the muzzle was for attaching the Boar hunting sword, but I've seen similar bayonet lugs on Jaegerstutzens, too. Also, the rear sight reminds me of one I've seen on some Lorenz rifle-muskets.
When I took the rifle apart yesterday I found an old piece of paper under the buttplate on which was written that the rifle was thought to be a Boar Rifle & that it was brought back from Germany in 1945.
More pictures:

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[Jim Watson]

I don't know anything about it but I will be interested to read a modern range report on the Systeme a Tige loading.

 

[messerist]

Is it possible that the rifle is a Boer Rifle? Possibly South African in origin? p.s. I like your rifle stand.

 

[bonza]

Is it possible that the rifle is a Boer Rifle? Possibly South African in origin?

No, it's definately European. An Arms Historian in the U.K. is currently looking into its exact origin, at this point he feels it is a military rifle (Dorn-Stutzen) from one of the German pre-unification States.

Yes, my rifle stand comes in handy.....just have to keep the kids off it while I'm taking pictures!

 

[BHP FAN]

looks like it has two bayonet lugs.Also,most of the Boers' rifles came from Europe.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Concur that it is a military gun from one of the Germanic states. Bayonet lugs generally don't appear on civilian arms (unless it is a volunteer organization). Germany wasn't unified into a country until after the Franco-Prussian War.

The Tige system was designed by Col. Thouvenin who introduced the "tige" or anvil into the breech. The tige was a stud that stood up from the bottom center of the breechplug. The bullet was inspired by an artillery shell and was cylindrical-conical in shape. After the powder was poured down the barrel, the ball was introduced into the barrel where it was pushed against the tige. The ball was then struck three times with the ram rod to expand it so as to allow it to grab the rifling. While it was an improvement over the round ball, the Tige rifle was only an intermediary step toward the minie ball gun as perfected by the Harper's Ferry Armorer James Burton.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

1. I don't know that a Boer, as in South African Dutch settler's military or militia rifle would have had double set triggers, but possibly. Most folks think of Boers only in the context of the Anglo African Wars of the 1870's (See the movie Zulu) or the later Boer War. What rilfes may have been commonly in use in muzzleloader days in South African days, were most likely imported from Europe regardless. Belgians made a lot of "export guns" during most of the 19th century.

2. I have seen a few German engravings in which Jaeger's (hunters) used guns with sword-bayonets. One in particular illustrated the hunter using the sword bayonet on a downed stag. In that picture the sword was affixed to the gun, although most such engravings show Jaeger's carrying a short sword in a belt scabbard.

3. German stalking rifles were generally much less military in style, but I certainly can't say one way or the other.


"Delvigne, a French infantry officer, suggested an improvement in forcing, which, although soon given up, was the cause of another of much greater importance. He proposed to place at the bottom of the breech, a small chamber having an abrupt connection with the bore, Fig. 66. The powder nearly filled the chamber, and the ball, having been inserted like an ordinary musket ball, was arrested at the mouth of the chamber. To force it into the grooves, it was rammed several times with a heavy rammer having a concave head. This forced it also, into the chamber, by which the powder was injured. The ball, however, was forced very much out of shape, and being flattened in front, increased the resistance of the air. This rendered an increased twist necessary, in order to keep the ball from turning around its shorter axis. To prevent the ball being driven into the chamber, a sabot of hard wood was placed below it, which, resting on the offsets at the mouth of the chamber, prevented the ball from entering.



Carabine a Tige .-- The invention which has been alluded to as the result of the preceding one, seems to be a very simple and natural consequence of it. It consists in substituting for the chamber a small cylinder or pin, Fig. 67, projecting into the lower part of the bore, and on the top of which the ball rests; thus furnishing the celebrated " Carabine a tige," or stem-rifle. The powder now lies in a ring -shaped chamber around the stem, which supports the extreme point of the ball, allowing it to be forced more easily and with less detriment to its shape. This piece, the inventor of which was Col. Thouvenin, seems to have been the first military arm in which an elongated projectile was used. "