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Working as a gun dealer and gunsmith I have encountered quite a few old muzzle loaders that were still loaded (as well as having a number of modern breech loaders that came in to the shop still loaded as well!!). Always check the barrel! Any indication of something in the bore means be careful...

George Washington from early in life was determined to be seen as a gentleman and a person of importance in his society. I rather doubt he would have carried a common soldiers musket. He is recorded as owning a number of firearms during his lifetime, mostly handguns and fowling pieces iirc...

I have a mountain pistol with a clip like this............... It does work but moves around more than I like. A tight belt is needed to keep it fairly well in place (maybe a sash would work?) but the gun is quite exposed. Okay for some uses, beats just shoving a gun into the belt and the few...

Looking at the pic he had just enough room to turn the cylinder and remove it so he could have easily fired another shot behind this one........... As someone else stated it would certainly have bulged the barrel at that point and possibly cracked the frame. Result: a ruined gun

A soldier issued the gun ? Probably not. An individual owner? Much more likely, especially if he had experienced an accidental discharge or knew someone who had. Old papers and writings often mention firearms accidents and a person might well decide not to trust factory safety designs. Colt...

Too much snow here for me to go out and play (my old bones don't like it anymore). Once I have enough coffee in me to be functional it's off to my basement workshop. No muzzle loading projects at the moment just some repair on an old cartridge gun and then loading some of that brass cased stuff...

Maybe just trying different rifling types? Henry Deringer made a variety of arms and IIRC his pistol barrels started out as rifle length and would be cut down to the desired size for the variety of handguns he offered (one full length barrel providing several pistol ones). He sold belt, pocket...

I would just make a new rod of the correct length and save that one as a bit of history. Would not surprise me if it hasn't been broken at some time in the past and that's why it is too short. I've run into a couple similar cases with old guns before.

If it's German and intended to be a functional firearm it should have proof marks. If there are no proof marks visible I would be suspicious about it being intended as a non-functional display piece. Such non-guns are not uncommon in many countries with restrictive gun laws, sometimes sod as...

If my memory is right there were military pistols purchased from at least one of the German states (Germany wasn't a unified country until much later) during the war for independence. I can't recall any documented purchase of muskets during that time The later purchase of germanic arms for the...

Old stuff? A couple flint arrowheads and a hide scraper found on my grandfathers farm are probably pretty old. I do have a small collection of Roman coins and a couple Greek coins as well. Gun related would be some old original flasks, an H. Ashton US military pistol and an East India Company...

The one I used to have (and regret selling) was very reliable. I would agree something is wrong as ignition on these is pretty much directly into the chamber. If the caps are firing but the charge isn't I would also suspect the wrong nipple has been installed first.

The large pic at the start of the post shows the British East India Company lion on the lock. The lock itself appear to be a flintlock converted to percussion. The barrel appears to be rifled and the bolster does not line up with the lock plate very well. The stock itself doesn't look like it...

Accidentally fired one? No I haven't, at least so far. Have shot two out on purpose though. Not my guns, belonged to people I knew who came to me for help. One was stuck while cleaning, the other was from an attempt to remove a dry ball and the old rod came apart. In both cases I ended up...

I know they offered pellets sized for revolvers for a while. They were pricey and I didn't see any reason to spend the money on them when loose powder worked just fine. I've tried the paper cartridge route too as well as using the little charge tubes that you put the ball in the end to retain...

If they were originally a cased pair then I would expect a combination cleaning and loading rod would have been in the case. The ones on the guns only being used for a field reload, the combo rod being used for first loading and later cleaning. Many old pairs were originally sold cased but over...

I have made a few. Mostly the smaller gun springs like sear springs and revolver trigger springs. Proper tempering and drawing is the hard part but practice pays off

The general style of the lock and barrel area is typical of some of the earlier Spanish replicas. The sight? Not so much. Also the stock looks much nicer with the checkering than any of the early Spanish replica pistols I've owned or handled. I'm guessing at one of two possibilities. 1: someone...

Earlier Spanish made muzzle loaders used a round heeled lock of that style. CVA versions I've owned had cast in "engraving" but an old Ultra Hi import I owned had a smooth faced lock like yours. Probably made and sold in the 70's at a guess. Best bet on the spring would still be Dixie or Track...

The pistol is certainly a CVA lock, basically the same one Traditions still uses and Deer Creek is your best bet for parts. The rifle lock doesn't quite look like either the old or newer style CVA locks I am familiar with. Wrong exterior shape and the inside of the plate is different. What does...