Brains trust please? Indo Persian Matchlock query

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LawrenceA

LawrenceA

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Hi all
I am hoping you may be able to help shed some light on this piece of history I recently acquired.
The barrel is about 6 foot long and of about 12 bore. Slightly flared and smoothbore. Almost no embellishment other than on the muzzle and a chevron in the stock.
It is too heavy to really use single handed let alone load.
It seems well made with the stock being 3 piece with the splice being almost imperceptible other than the change in wood colour.
What I find intriguing is that the only markings appear to be a rack number in the stock and some barrel markings all in latin script.
I am hoping for ideas on how it would come to have the markings it does and if it was maybe a wall gun?
Any ideas will be greatly appreciated
20241123_213432.jpg20241123_213412.jpg20241123_213331.jpg20241123_213317.jpg20241123_213336.jpg
20241123_213457.jpg
 
Looks like an Indian matchlock to me, or from around that area of the world. I’m almost positive the numbers are police registration. Almost a scaled down wall gun! Or very large regular musket!
 
I meant police registration in India. Almost every gun I’ve seen from there has these numbers, from matchlocks to modern shotguns.
 
Hi Lawrence. It does indeed appear you have an Indian matchlock wall/rampart type gun. How much does it weigh on your bath scale ?

The series of numbers are usually a combination of period registration/inventory/rack numbers assigned to these guns - often after capture. The only ones I've come across without these numbers are the very early, decorated examples.

Except for the muzzle decoration, these wall guns were large, plain, munitions grade. I have one similar to yours.

Rick
 
rickystl said:
Hi Lawrence. It does indeed appear you have an Indian matchlock wall/rampart type gun. How much does it weigh on your bath scale ?

The series of numbers are usually a combination of period registration/inventory/rack numbers assigned to these guns - often after capture. The only ones I've come across without these numbers are the very early, decorated examples.

Except for the muzzle decoration, these wall guns were large, plain, munitions grade. I have one similar to yours.

Rick
Click to expand...
Hi Rick
Thanks for the input.
Its weight is surprisingly light at 11 pds.
Still too unwieldy to use as a normal shoulder mounted arm.
 
I believe these are the Jaipur fort guns and all the ugly stamps some export poop A local Gun shop bought one & I checked it out & fired it . its now well cleaned on the wall of the shop saying" We sell machine guns to matchlocks'' .Most seemed to come with a letter from the Maharaja of Jaipur His Magnificent Fort but allowed to go to rack & ruin by the Leftist mob that are todays Indian Govt .Same as all the' Ex Rulers' palace's .Since 1947 when their Pensions where no longer paid by the Govt of the Raj. IE Britain. I met three in their tumbled down Palaces each down to earth 'Gentlemen' I found.
Rudyard
 
Dang it..

That's has to be the funnest looking gun to take out for a Pheasant.

I dint think I'd even shoulder it.. just swing and shoot off the hip or something.
 
LawrenceA said:
Hi Rick
Thanks for the input.
Its weight is surprisingly light at 11 pds.
Still too unwieldy to use as a normal shoulder mounted arm.
Click to expand...
OK. At 11-lbs. that does not necessarily make it a rampart/wall gun. Maybe used in the carriage on top of an elephant while hunting tigers ? LOL It seems the locals thought the longer barrels on a smooth bore brought greater accuracy. Don't know. While we do find these matchlocks with shorter barrels, most tend to be longer in length.

Rick
 
rickystl said:
OK. At 11-lbs. that does not necessarily make it a rampart/wall gun. Maybe used in the carriage on top of an elephant while hunting tigers ? LOL It seems the locals thought the longer barrels on a smooth bore brought greater accuracy. Don't know. While we do find these matchlocks with shorter barrels, most tend to be longer in length.

Rick
Click to expand...
The carriage on top of an Elephant is called a Howdah there's not much room to swing a gun that size . Howdah pistols where made to stop the Tiger getting up into the Howdah & grab the hunter short range powerful' stoppers' or tha'ts in the days of the Raj .Still I cant see a Native handling such an awkward long gun on an Elephant in any time period . I could be wrong but think it out .You had one before you ruined it & its stamped Jai for Jaipore exp modern export marks They call places by their Indian names I still use Cawnpore & Lucknow , Benares's ,Calcutta, Bombay, & Madras, not there silly Moonby etc .
Crusty old Mull Rudyard
 

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