16 gauge pinfire 'horse gun' not something you see everyday

[fat tony]

I guess this is a lefaucheaux (pinfire) system.

By the looks of it, it is something that you fire from horseback.

 

[antiqueguy]

wow blending the old blunderbuss with cartridge gun witch there is no point but maybe the barrel was salvaged

 

[vega]

A beauty.

 

[fat tony]

This is from Argentina. Most likely a late 19th century gun for a gaucho.

 

[mooncoon]

I don't think that I have ever seen anything close to that. What is really puzzling is that while it looks like a cartridge gun, I don't think it opens up. Looks like a muzzle loading blunderbuss using a pinfire hammer to possibly fire a percussion cap

cheers mooncoon

 

[antiqueguy]

I don't think that I have ever seen anything close to that. What is really puzzling is that while it looks like a cartridge gun, I don't think it opens up. Looks like a muzzle loading blunderbuss using a pinfire hammer to possibly fire a percussion cap

cheers mooncoon

maybe a tape primer

but i think that thing under the barrel is the opening lever you can kind of see its a different color then the action

 

[tonyg]

Neat gun. Looks like a well put together piece , from different guns.

 

[mooncoon]

but i think that thing under the barrel is the opening lever you can kind of see its a different color then the action

I will disagree with you there; I can see the curve of the casting blending from the "lever" right into the front of the frame. Also I see no indication of a pivot pin which should be there if the gun was a break action. I also see no indication of a vertical pivot if the gun was a side swinger.

I don't really see any indication of a nipple either but if the gun actually shoots it must have a short one

cheers mooncoon

 

[fat tony]

http://www.tirito.com.ar

South America (to me, anyways) is a grand repository of exotic and unique entities.

Guns like the one below I understand to be very popular there.

 

[Juster]

Looks like it should have a hinge.

 

[tokguy]

Any proof marks evident?
Recently I examined a smoothbore Flintlock pistol with a Flared bbl. It didn't feel like an antique in the hand; too light to be old as the poorer quality steel made the older guns much heavier.
But the bbl has a remarkably similiar shape.
Alas the proofmarks didn't appear in my book of markings.

 

[fat tony]

I heard the pinfire double and single barrel pistols were often made in very small shops pretty much as a craft industry. This might explain the absence of proofmarks in a lot of these guns.

 

[mooncoon]

I guess I stand corrected. Tight seam and a bit of glare made me think otherwise. Still cannot understand why they would make the belled muzzle. That was a feature for ease of loading a muzzle loader, when you were bouncing around in a stage coach or on a horse

cheers mooncoon

 

[fat tony]

I guess I stand corrected. Tight seam and a bit of glare made me think otherwise. Still cannot understand why they would make the belled muzzle. That was a feature for ease of loading a muzzle loader, when you were bouncing around in a stage coach or on a horse

cheers mooncoon

The answer is probably that Gauchos are drama - queens. Remember the Gobinda character from "Octopussy"? One of his guns was a double 12 gauge with a (?) Trumpet muzzle fastened on somehow - not sure how that was supposed to work or whether it was supposed to look dramatic or funny?

 

[Brutus]

In regards to the effect of the flared end of the blunderbuss, an excellent read for anyone interested in tested data circa 2005 is:

Myths of the Blunderbuss by Melvin Flanagan (PDF file online)

 

[antiqueguy]

In regards to the effect of the flared end of the blunderbuss, an excellent read for anyone interested in tested data circa 2005 is:

Myths of the Blunderbuss by Melvin Flanagan (PDF file online)

one myth is it will spread shot faster

 

[Brutus]

one myth is it will spread shot faster

Why don't you read this detailed report and then make a statement here friend?

 

[Musketfire]

I think its a beauty of a arm!

Definitely different and something of a conversation starter for sure!

"I also Imagine is prohibitively expensive"

 

[fat tony]

A bit of a derail, but Tradex had some Argentinian Commando knives a few years ago. Not a very common item to find anywhere - some gunnutz have them now.