scottish arms

mrclean89

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
81   0   0
Location
Nanaimo, BC
Afternoon guys, I have been searching on the web looking for some Scottish muskets and have found very little information. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight and values on them original and replica. I would really like to re-create a highlander outfit from the Jacobite rebellion.

I have come to understand I need a flat powder horn as well which seems to be impossible to find. Any help ?

Also wondering what an original Scottish steel pistol would be worth ? and how hard are they to find.

Cheers, McLean
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your input, However I am quite familiar with their sight and they have none of the things I am currently looking for.

Original scottish steel pistol (not repro)
Scottish muskets
Flat style powder horns
Apostles

Cheers, McLean
 
Gad; what a pile of questions for one thread :>) :>)

I will start with the easy ones; flat powder horns you make from road kill cows :>) actually you make them by soaking the horn in hot water which makes it soft, then mold it in a jig. I have never done it but suspect that you have to be careful not to overcook the horn.

The only original scottish pistol that I have seen, sold about 3 years ago for around $3000 in Victoria. Wish I could have afforded it. There is an excellent thread on making one on the american long rifle forum and is the only how to article that I have ever seen. You absolutely would need to read that thread and save the photos because I could only have guessed on the method. Visually the only seam on the original was a very thin line of silver solder joining the rams horn to the butt. The barrel is held on with several small screws. Most used miquelet locks as I recall

Scottish rifles, I think are pretty rare and much less common than the pistols. There is a historical arms series book on scottish weapons and especially the evolution of the shape of the pistols

the wooden gizmos are called apostles because I think there were usually 12 of them. They were wooden powder containers and I am not sure if the ball was contained within or not. The lid slides up and down the thong that ties them to their bandolier and that prevents the lid from being lost.

cheers Doug

Afternoon guys, I have been searching on the web looking for some Scottish muskets and have found very little information. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight and values on them original and replica. I would really like to re-create a highlander outfit from the Jacobite rebellion. I have come to understand I need a flat powder horn as well which seems to be impossible to find.

the other thing I would be interesting in doing is a 17th century Scotsman with a matchlock which is easy enough to find. the only thing I dont understand is what are those little wooden flasks people shooting matchlocks always seem to have an abundance of and where do you get them ?

Also wondering what an original Scottish steel pistol would be worth ? and hiw hard are they to find.
 
sorry bout that Doug haha. Boredom is getting to me out here whilst I await school to start.

I figured that the pistols would be quite a bit, I would love to own even a repro if it wast for our silly laws. That is one of the things that stops me because I would like to take it to shoots easier.

As far as the muskets go, what about reproductions ? I couldn't find anyone who makes them on the web. Perhaps when i'm done school this would be an interesting avenue as they seem fairly rare, Original or not.

I also just cropped out the part on the apostles after I found them on the internet then I posted a question on finding them in the other thread so this didn't get to to cluttered :p

McLean
 
The Rifle Shoppe in the States has a Scottish musket parts set but there may be a long wait time if the parts aren t in stock.Also there is a gunmaker in the States that builds excellent Scottish replicas Steve Krolick.Here is a pic of his early scottish fowler

aab-448_1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Give muzzleloadingforum.com a try for more handy tints and hips.

Dixie Gun Works make two replica Scottish pistols - at least, they are in my last catalogue...

1. Murdoch Highlanders' pistol - .52cal - around $450-500, and

2. Black watch pistol - .58cal - around $350-400.

Restricted tho, in the GWN.....

...and THIS one - http://www.militaryheritage.com/pistol2.htm - this one is sold with the touch-hole undrilled, so if you only wanted it for show, you'd be good to go in Canada. Only around $300, too.

As for muskets in the period that interests you, they would be VERY rare indeed, as the majority of highlanders were armed with a pistol or two that was discarded after shooting, or broadsword and targe - not a long arm at all. Such items were very expensive in any event, and the foot-soldier in the Jacobite era would not have had such a piece. Watch the re-enactment movie of the Battle of Culloden to see what I mean. Even the movie Rob Roy [Liam Neeson] shows how rare such a thing was back then.

Look at this site for a fuller description of the arms carried then - http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/highland-weapons

tac
 
Last edited:
Far as Scottish long guns go, theres a registry off all existing scottish long guns known theres something like 17 or 19 known and of the 17 or 19 theres about 7 makers who made them....very rare isnt the word almost none existent is the word, most Scottish arms were captured and distroyed after the arms bans in Scotland between 1715 and after the 1745 uprisings...a few were hid away and those would be the few we know of today in musems and a few in private collections, the Scotts imported large numbers of muskets from Spain and you would have seen a number of French ones there too where they had the (auld alliance) as for matchlocks only way I hear to tell the dif was the proofing mark of a thistle on the nail (breechplug tang) and one near the flashpan most likly on the cover.
 
Yep, this :agree:. Most of the arms collected up after the "rebellions" went into either Scottish or English nobility"s collections. After the '45, General Wolf is said to have had a fence built around his home with the broken Claymore blades picked off of Culloden field and the subsequent arms ban. OP....Despite this, we're still "aboon them ah!" :D Bas No Beatha!
 
Back
Top Bottom