Whaling Era Pistol Conversion?

[arcticap]

I posted about this pistol on the muzzleloadingforum over 1 year ago and never did find out where it was from. It looks like it was created by shortening a long gun. My best guess was that it dates back to the whale hunting era when Connecticut's whaling ships sailed the seven seas and even participated in slave trading until at least 1858...

...A friend of mine just came into possession of an unusual looking .38 -.40ish smoothbore pistol. When he first described it on the phone, I thought it was probably a reproduction or a kit, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. Almost all of the parts appear to be steel except for the front sight, and it has a very tall musket nipple. The grip has a face carved into the butt, and the crude ramrod has a small pick-like bend in one end. The lock is surprisingly stout with a very strong mainspring and is still in working condition despite its appearance. Even the half cock still works. The trigger guard is secured with nails. The bore is pitted, but not all too badly. The lockplate and tang screws seem to be quite large. There doesn't appear to be any identifying marks on the exterior.

More....

 

[arcticap]

Continued...

While Connecticut whaling lasted from the 1600s to the 1900s, the most important period was from 1819 to 1860, and the heyday of Connecticut whaling was in the 1840s. During the nineteenth century, whaling ranked number three among New England industries, as only textiles and shoemaking involved more capital and employed more people. Eleven Connecticut ports sent out 358 vessels on 1,315 voyages from 1718 to 1913.....

....As the figures indicate, New London was the principal whaling port. In fact, of all the ports in the United States involved in whaling, New London was third in vessels and voyages. It ranked behind only New Bedford (806 vessels and 4,303 voyages) and Nantucket (364 vessels and 1,402 voyages). During the 1840's, at the height of whaling activity in the world, New London led all ports except New Bedford in vessels and voyages.

New London was responsible for a number of whaling highlights. It sent out the first American steam whaler in 1866, the Pioneer, a 235-ton vessel. New London had the largest American whaler, the Atlantic, a 700-ton vessel. Certainly one of the smallest also went out from that port, the 55-ton Shaw Perkins. With its four-man crew, it sailed to all parts of the world hunting whales.....


....Several New London whaling vessels were charged with being slavers. Since whalers went everywhere in the world a whaling vessel could undertake a number a tasks-legal or not. The Fame in 1845 carried 530 slaves to Brazil. In 1852 the British seized the Louisa Beaton as a slaver, but released it. Later, in 1858, the British seized it again for slaving, along with an unidentified New London vessel. The Laurens was seized in New London harbor after outfitting for what was suspected as a slaving voyage.
New London's whaling activity came to an end in 1909. The last New London-owned whaler, the Rosa Baker, was condemned at Port Stanley in 1900. A Norwich-owned vessel sailed in and out of New London port in 1908-1909, the Margaret.

Stonington was the second most important whaling port of Connecticut. The major whaling activity took place from 1822 to 1892, when fourteen agents sent out fifty vessels on 170 voyages.....

....Finally, two heavy blows hit the declining whaling fleet in 1871 and 1876. In 1871 some forty-five whalers entered the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Straits This was a common route to hunt whales with thick blubber from mid-summer to September or early November when the ice would form. The hunting went so well that thirty-nine vessels had an opportunity to get out when the ice broke up. Only seven vessels escaped, however, as the remaining thirty-two decided to stay and to continue filling their vessels. A second freeze locked all thirty-two in the ice.8 Fortunately, there were seven vessels in open water to the south. The thirty-two decided to abandon their vessels, cargoes, and equipment and make a two-day trek over the ice to the whale ships in open water. All were saved and reached the Hawaiian Islands safely, but the blow to the whaling industry was tremendous! .....

....A final blow came from the fleeing of the whales to the Arctic and Antarctic. Steam-powered iron and steel vessels were required to operate in the ice fields, and Connecticut's wooden sailing vessels could no longer compete. A fascinating period in Connecticut's maritime history ended in 1914 when the last Connecticut whaler dropped anchor in its home port.....

....Sperm whales could be found in tropical and subtropical waters.

http://www.ctheritage.org/encyclopedia/topicalsurveys/whaling.htm

 

[Ratdog68]

Wow...

'Das an old dude !! Or, made to look it ! Have ya tried firing it?

Interesting tale... gives me cause to wonder. My great-grandfather was an Irish seaman aboard a whaling ship. He departed the ship in a village named Point Hope, AK (considerably above the arctic circle) and married a native woman. All we know of his is that his first name was "Jim". After they had a son (Elmer, my grandfather), he went seal hunting out on the ice and was never seen again. My great-grandmother then travelled to Noatak, AK (a little inland) and remarried into the "Greene" family and my grandfather was adopted and given his last name. This would've been in the early 1900's. I've always wondered what Jim's last name was.

 

[BHP FAN]

the carved face is more evocative of the slave trade than whalers.

 

[arcticap]

Have ya tried firing it?

I gave him a few musket caps to snap them but no actual firing.

That's an interesting story that you have.
Could he have sailed from New England?

 

[NobleSniper]

Kind of resembles this one in a way????

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=448767

 

[4v50 Gary]

I think it was made for the African trade market. It's crudely made and looks like surplus parts cobbled together. The trigger guard isn't casted but stamped out and poorly finished. Alternatively, it could have been assembled by an African gunsmith who salvaged parts. See if you can find out what type of wood was used and that will be your biggest clue. I know a missionary who brought back a flintlock fusil that was patterend after a French infantry fusil. The lock was sandcasted and the barrel was from a steering wheel column. Apparently the Africans were being raided by the Arabs for slaves and after the Africans captured a few Arabs and their guns, they figured out how to make their own. It was very primitive by European standards but it worked.

BTW, I have a 1960's Belgian made African trade gun that was put together by a horrible mixture of parts. Back action lock with a front plate in front of the lock that holds a pan, frizzen and frizzen spring. It even has a schutzen style hooked butt plate.

Anything made by a Western sailor would have been better finished. They had "time" on their side and would have done a better job of carving (and it would probably be a nekkid woman).

 

[desidog]

It definitely has an African/folk art look; and a unique look at that - i doubt there's info to be had on it, since it appears to be a true one off- carved stock. I can't speak for the metal.

Whaling is an interesting chapter in American history, and you should stop by the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Ma, if you have not done so already; but i do not think this piece speaks of whaling - most whalers had ample time on their hands for exacting, detailed work while waiting for a whale sighting - and they had sperm whale teeth aplenty from which to carve stocks (and scrimshaw them).

I would imagine that this is a slaver's piece. Ships in New England were slavers almost as commonly as they were whalers, at one point in time. They would run a triangle route - trading rum (distilled in New England) for slaves on the African coast (who frequently were sold into slavery by victorious neighboring tribes). Then the human cargo would be transported to the Caribbean, where they would be traded for molasses - the molasses would then be brought to New England to be distilled into Rum.

Slavers had the need for weapons, the time to make them, not necessarily the implements to refine them, and the exposure to African culture that might have influenced the carving on the butt there.

It looks like a great piece of history. I'd say it was a musket, cut down to a pistol - perhaps (and this is totally hypothesis) the other portion of the barrel was used to make an illicit still while on the final leg of a triangle-trade trip.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I just noticed the primitive ramrod. Two pieces welded together? I'd put my money on African made.

 

[BHP FAN]

This looks to be a near twin to one I saw in Jamaica back in the 70's. It was slave trade era,possibly dating from the slave revolt in the islands.

 

[arcticap]

This looks to be a near twin to one I saw in Jamaica back in the 70's. It was slave trade era,possibly dating from the slave revolt in the islands.

That's fascinating!

 

[WardenWolf]

Be careful. As I understand it, it's still considered an NFA weapon even though it's black powder. Both smoothbore pistols and short-barreled rifles are considered NFA.

 

[Sam1911]

Be careful. As I understand it, it's still considered an NFA weapon even though it's black powder. Both smoothbore pistols and short-barreled rifles are considered NFA.

No.

It is an antique firearm, not subject to the NFA rules:

TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND FIREARMS

CHAPTER II--BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES,
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

PART 479_MACHINE GUNS, DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND CERTAIN OTHER FIREARMS--Table

Subpart B_Definitions

Sec. 479.11 Meaning of terms.
Firearm. (a) A shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18
inches in length; (b) a weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as
modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or
barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (c) a rifle having a barrel or
barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (d) a weapon made from a rifle
if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches
or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (e) any other
weapon, as defined in this subpart; (f) a machine gun; (g) a muffler or
a silencer for any firearm whether or not such firearm is included
within this definition; and (h) a destructive device. The term shall not include an antique firearm

Or from the NFA FAQ:

Q: Are muzzleloading cannons classified as destructive devices?
Generally, no. Muzzleloading cannons not capable of firing fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 and replicas thereof are antiques and not subject to the provisions of either the GCA or the NFA.

[26 U.S.C. 5845, 27 CFR 479.11]

The US Code says...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00005845----000-.html

(g) Antique firearm
The term “antique firearm” means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898) and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

Or, if you prefer: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2010/aprqtr/27cfr479.11.htm

And... Zombie Thread.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Is there any history even tying this to a whaling ship? An old fusil with a broken butt might be recycled into something like that anywhere from Africa to Polynesia, but it could be something much closer to home like an old American Indian piece. Guns were valuable things and you'd keep cobbling parts together no matter how old it got.

 

[arcticap]

There is no history known about the gun at all. It just turned up in an urban area here in central Connecticut and the rest is speculation. Because Connecticut has a long whaling history during the percussion time period and the gun looks to be authentic, those are the only clues to it's origin.
The whaling ships sailed all around the world.
That's what helps to make the gun so fascinating!

 

[Sam1911]

Guns were valuable things and you'd keep cobbling parts together no matter how old it got.

Certainly true! I saw an exhibit from the National Firearms Museum of a musket brought over on the Mayflower by one of the guys who would shortly afterward become Governor of the colony. When he set sail in 1620, the gun had already been repaired and passed through several owners. The curator types who were displaying it said the lock was made by P. Beretta & Co., at least 100 years prior, and quite possibly for another gun!

 

[CWL]

With that small of a caliber, it could have been a Arab firelock converted to percussion cap. Can't tell clearly from the picture, but the stock looks like it angles away sharper than the typical gentle slope in Western firearms, this would be common for an Arab weapon.

 

[Jaymo]

It definitely looks like it was built by an African.