Antique rifle case (pics) - any ideas?

skirsons

skirsons

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I bought this rifle case this morning at the Kingston antiques market. $25.00

Any idea of value? What is it made to hold? I've been struggling to say whether this was home made or factory made. It certainly has elements of mass manufacture including the brass corners, leatherwork etc.

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What's the length of the interior? Looks too long to be intended for a takedown rifle of double barrel shotgun. Then again, you might have small windows in your home that gives a skewed perception of scale. :D

Seriously though, the cutout for a shotgun style buttstock, if the case is long enough for a rifle, says to me that the intention would be for housing a target rifle. Competition rifles of the 1800's/early 1900's were fitted with shotgun style buttplates. That is assuming this case dates to that era. The interior appears to be stripped of protective lining of felt, or velvet that should be there. Are there any maker's stamps.

Regardless, looking at the pics, there is no way you cold have gone wrong at 25 bucks regardless of vintage or origin.
 
The length of the interior is only about 41" so I would guess it would have to be a carbine of some sort. The case is designed to hold a rifle that is fully assembled from the look of where the barrel supports are. I'm not sure there was ever any velvet on the inside of this case. It doesnt look like there ever was.... I can't find any stamps on it anywhere but I will take another look.
 
Oh yeah, I see the barrel supports, and the bolt holder. Also yes, 41" is way too short for the type of rifle I had in mind. Maybe it belonged to a small bore competitor. Lacks of manufaturer stamps would indiate a home built job IMO. Still, that is a nice case.

I'm trying to get organized to build an authentic carrying crate (aka wagon box) for my BPCRs. That's why this thread caught my attention.
 
I'd bet home made, just from the wood used. I doubt any commercial product would have the planer blade hash marks visible across the inside surface like that. I would expect the inside to be smooth.

The metal corners and the metal clips are available from a bunch of sources. Lee Valley, probably the biggest source now, but they have always been around.

Worth? Looks like $25 worth to me. Probably would have bought it had i come across it at that price.

Look around carefully for any stamps or imprints into the wood. If it was a commercial product, there are good chances it would have a mark somewhere. But I would bet that it was someones smallbore setup case.

Cheers
Trev
 
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