A Blunderbuss ... is it British?

[celtan]

Hi Guys,


Seems I survived "The Battle Of The Hook" at Gloucester, now I feel like I'm coated in burnt BP...

: )

Just replaced the broken camera, I hope these new macros of the disassembled lock and barrel end better focused than the previous.

Best

M

 

[musketman]

Why is there a screw in the rear of the breech?

I am wondering, is this a "shootable" gun or a repo wall hanger?

 

[paulvallandigham]

That appears to be the back side of the breechplug. Rmember that the barrel is made of brass. The Steel breechplug is probably the safest part of that gun.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

There should be a standard breech plug in the barrel, not a screw. And often the breech plug was of steel (or iron) even in a brass barrel. I believe this is a display piece and I don't think I'd shoot it. The sear spring looks to be of new manufacture so I think the gun is a collection of old and new parts. Representative of a period gun, but not one. A lot of these "bitsa" guns were made especially in the middle of the last century. Many were made in the good old U.S.A---some as deliberate fakes designed to fool the unwary.

Those grinder marks on the tang look a bit suspicious, too...

 

[fitter]

that's not a breech plug

 

[fitter]

Looks like a made in India wall hanger.
DON'T TRY TO SHOOT IT.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The other end of the screw is viewable in earlier pictures taken down the muzzle. I believe that it is a breech plug, such as it is.

I am much more concerned with this gun being fired because brass will work harden and become brittle with cracks, posing a serious threat of rupturing and injuring or killing the shooter or bystanders. Shooting 4 oz loads of anything, much less a RB of that weight just seems foolish at best. There are some replica blunderbusses made of steel, and I would defer to shooting any loads in a steel barrel, while leaving the brass versions as decorations. 'At most, I might use the brass one to shoot off blank charges for the 4th of July.

 

[Many Klatch]

I guess before you shoot it you probably ought to take it to a knowledgeable gunsmith and pull that breech plug. I'd want to know that it had great big deep threads holding onto the brass before I loaded it and shot it. The brass barrel at the breech certainly looks thick enough. The lock seems to be well made. I think that if the breech plug passes inspection, then it ought to be OK for light to medium loads.

Many Klatch

 

[celtan]

Hi Guys,

I'll probably just use it for shooting blanks. Brass barrels are more forgiving than steel, the latter's modulus of elasticity is higher, more "crystalline", so it has a higher tendency to fragment if you overcharge it. Brass barrels OTOH, tend to get distorted or even rent, but don't usually fragment.

Best!

M

 

[benvenuto]

Thats a fake spanish proof mark on the barrel. It confirms my hunch this is a spanish made "fiesta gun" with a mixture of new and antique parts. I would get it thouroughly checked but it should be ok for blank firing

 

[celtan]

Hi,
Why would the spanish use or copy an English lock? It would be easier to use a local Patillas, Madrid, Miguelete or even a French lock, which were actually made in Spain "A la mode".
This seems more like the product of a place which experienced significant British influence in its culture...
Best
Manuel Luis

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

There were lots of these parts around and many were used to make up guns for the tourist trade. This may have been one of these guns and British tourists the intended market.

Turner Kirkland of Dixie Gun Works bought barrels full of old locks and other gun parts in Belgium in the 1950s and it's not impossible that a gun builder in Spain found some old English locks and used them on some guns in the same time period. I don't see anything here to indicate that this is an old original gun.

 

[celtan]

Hi Russ,

That is not my contention. The gun barrel is obviously modern. And the lock doesn't have any markings at all.

I suspect this to be an Indian replica job. They had ample British influence even before the Raj.

Best

M

 

[benvenuto]

Hi,
as well as stuff left over from when the British helped liberate Spain from the French in 1807-1814, the Spanish also imported huge amounts of British surplus weapons in the 1830's and 1840's during the 1st Carlist war. At one stage they even produced their own version of the Baker rifle.
Also don't forget the Spanish Miltary used the "French" flintlock lock from 1717-1790, it was (I suspect) nationalistic concerns that lead to the readoption of the "spanish" and "mixta" locks from 1787-1814 in the regular Spanish forces.
I have seen many Spanish blunderbusses for sale that were nothing more than cut down flint muskets (to 18 inches) with a flare put on the muzzle by a blacksmith. Spanish householders wanting a cheap weapon seemed to be the main customers for these from 1814 up to about 1860 when breechloaders came in and I am sure alot of original antique parts got recycled