Antique Black powder pistol. Hay field relic find.

The sources could be endless, what we think of as an international boundary, only in the last 250 years or so, was very fluid an less of an issue back in the day. The North West company especially had fur trading forts as far south as the Ohio River Valley.
Interesting find indeed, if the thing could speak of it's early North American adventures huh?
 
Interesting - the barrel is stamped London, but the proof stamps are Birmingham, between 1813 and 1904. The one to the left of the '26' is the proof stamp - crown over crossed sceptres and the letters

B C

P

The one on the left is a crown over sceptres and the letter 'V' for 'view' - an inspection of fitness. It is not, IMO a military piece - octagonal barrels were expensive to make - but something that a civilian might have owned. The lack of any form of ignition is puzzling, but I'm betting that this piece is pre-percussion by a good deal of time.

tac
 
that appears to be a maker's mark just behind the "London". I have no idea whose mark it was and it looks too damaged by rust to decipher

cheers mooncoon
 
Hey guys, thanks for the info. Ya i had the marks under magnifying glass and they are hard to make out. I was trying to see if theres anyway to soften to rust around the mark in order to see it better, or perhaps making an impression on carbon paper to get the indentations of the stamping to come up on the paper making it easier to see.




there was this stamping on the bottom side of the barrel, however it wasnt till I was home that I realised the pic was blurry, Ill get the barrel in my hands again and try to get a better pic of this stamping
 
I also tried to zoom in and enhance the one stamp. Not sure if anyone else can make out something better out of this close up. Thought it was worth a try.

 
Lazer4856 said:
Click to expand...

The top row are Birmingham stamps - the bottom row are Liége [Belgium] stamps.

1. EL = Épreuve Liége = Liége Proof House.

2. ELG over star = 1810 - 1893

3. Crown over ELG over star = 1893 to date

4. The Perron - a famous Liége landmark = sole proof mark until 1810, then1853 to datefor inspection of breeching - not used on revolvers.

5. 1853 - 1877 = any letter of the alphabet inspector's mark

6. 1898 to date = smokeless powder inspection stamp for military rifles used as evidence of nitro-proof.

tac
 



^Kind of looks similar to this one maybe?
About .58 calibre and as you can plainly see, is percussion locked. I suspected a English trade gun. And now, much thanks to Lazer & Tacfoley, it appears to have Birmingham #3 proof house mark. There literally is a number 3 close to the proof mark, but not positioned above it, it's just off to it's one side. The barrel is approximately 5.5" and complete with breech & tang about 7.5" long. Overall length about 10.25" and no provision for sights. This one is smoothbored. I'm guessing the thin, tar like metal finish is called "japaned" for a corrosion resistence of sorts.
I just measured across the flats near the muzzle, an average of about: 0.920 inches.

Cheers!
 
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Brutus, very interesting pics. Ill have to get the barrel measured up to compare it to that one you have there. I know it is a large bore calibre. I find history fascinating. I am located in South West Saskatchewan on the edge of the Cypress Hills. For a pistol like this one to find its way here that long ago must have some amazing stories to tell. Most of the early history here is NWMP as there was a posting a few miles from here. As the crow flies however the trading Center of Fort Benton on the Missouri river is only about 90 miles south of us. If only it could talk, and the rest of the pieces were there as well.
 
Thank you for sharing that last tidbit of historical info Lazer4856. I know a big fat zero about mine, other than the last owner lives in the GTA and they have little to share also. That is some irony huh? I'm glad you shared here and in the past I've viewed some other rather interesting firearms from this part of that prairie (hill) country bordering Alberta-Sask.

Cheers!
 
Looks very interesting, definitely a great find!

Give her a soaking with some breakfree and see if theres any other marks you can make out.

Might make a neat little mini signal cannon barrel with some history "Neat to find around Victoria day"
 
Brutus, the NWMP history at Fort Walsh south of Maple Creek covers this entire corner The Fort Walsh settlement at its prime in the 1800's was larger then both Calgary and Edmonton. Now there is not even a town site. No population. The valley and the Fort. All kind of people coming from the South would have stopped for periods of time at the settlement due to it being the next largest city to stock up for there next travel. Different people from all of North America passed through there on there way to the next destination. Until now I had only heard stories about great finds in this Corner. Now it's reality and alot more captivating
 
Thanks for update musket fire. I hope to get the barrel in my hands again in week or so when I can catch up with my neighbour.
 
I've been wondering about the sights on the barrel. Clearly there is a "v" notch soldered into the top of the flat, however it's the "cut" at the muzzle that has me scratching my head.

On English rifles of the period (by proof stamps) it was the norm to solder both blade and notch with no allowance for elevation or windage. On a pistol of this period the norm was no sights or just a front blade as they were a point and fire tool with little to zero effectiveness out past 10-15 yards.

So what gives with the OP's find? Also, did anyone else make note of the muzzle? It appears from the corrosion to have an insert welded in! Is there any indication of rifling in this "pistol"?
 
Thanks for the post plinker. I was curious about that myself but I don't know why it would have been placed where it was on the barrel or even why it would be there to begin with. To run your hand over it it does feel smooth. There's very little of any lip left behind from any sort of sight that may have broke off, so I am unsure as to what may have been there. Ill have to get the barrel in my hands again to re examine the bore alot closer. Hope to have it soon.
 
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