Antique status letter Need Help

[gollum257]

Hi guys I am in need of some info from somebody in the know regarding Antique pistol. I tried to get it unregistered through a tech & they said no.I believe they are wrong & if so what would the recourse be.
Tx. in advance Kevin

The firearm is a J.Rigby & Co. Dublin Ireland it is based on the Tranter Patent & is a single shot break open octagon barrel which they had regidtered as a 22 rimfire which it is not & I told them that as I had slugged the bore & they still would not release it upon further investigation I found that it is either a297x230 Short or a 297x230 Long it has an 8" octagon barrel if anyone knows anything they can get ahold of me with there email & I could send some pics.

 

[tiriaq]

First, I would get the calibre corrected in the registration. Should be pretty easy to establish that it is a centrefire. No .22rf can be an antique, so getting the calibre recognized is a first step. .297/230 short and long are bottlenecked cartridges, so a chamber cast and photo of the breech face should do it.
Second, you are going to have to document that the pistol was made prior to Jan. 1st, 1898. This is going to take a bit of research, but Rigby was an established, first quality maker, so there is every chance that their records have survived.

 

[mooncoon]

As a partial help, the .297/.230 (Morris) shell was introduced about 1880 - 82 according to Cartridges of the World so at least you are not dealing with a gun originally chambered for a shell that was introduced in the 1900s.

cheers mooncoon