Afghan Rifle Re-Build

[snidervolley]

Ricky
beautiful work on restoration and i might add gorgous pictures as well
thanks for sharing

 

[Julian Reynolds]

Excellent work - I see so many of these ethnographic weapons in miserable, neglected condition and it is great to see one being given the same care and treatment as a more 'conventional' antique gun.
People forget that these guns may seem ugly and impractical to us with our western sensibilities, but they had evolved through centuries of use by cultures with a well developed aesthetic - they were beautiful and practical to the people that made and used them every day, it's just that most of us in the Western world simply don't see that in them.
Julian

 

[rickystl]

Hello again. Part-3, Lock, Stock, and Barrel. :haha:
I forgot to post pics of the lock for those interested. This lock cleaned up real nice, and is in good working order now. The marks on the lock are real clear except the N in Barnett is a little faded. The only other marks I can find on the inside of the lock is a number 8 on the hammer, and a small faint...what looks like a ?R on the inside of the lock plate.
Also, I had to show you a couple pics of the ramrod groove in the stock. The entire groove was cut with a chisel the whole length of the stock!! :shocked2: No sign of a drill. Imagine how long that would take to do!!
Anyway, hope you enjoy. I'll post pics of the barrel next. Thanks, Rick. :hatsoff:

 

[rickystl]

Well, here are some pics of the barrel. The exterior has some nice engraving, although the rear portion is covered by the two rear barrel bands.
But the breech area is a real mystery. Someone had beaten the tar out of the breech plug trying to get it lined up? And look at that groove chiseled out of the barrel?? Maybe to get it to line up with the lock? :idunno: :youcrazy: :nono:
The gunsmith could not get the breech plug out. So, the tang will have to be cut off, and the plug drilled out. :shocked2: The breech will have to be re-threaded and a new breech plug made - along with the new .54 cal. liner!! Maybe the original tang can be welded to the new plug? :hmm: That groove will have to be filled in and the vent hole plugged, and the breech of the barrel re-shaped to fit the stock/lock.
Oh well, we've already gone past the point of no return. :haha: I just hope (pray)Bobby Hoyt can fix the barrel. I'm sure it won't be one of his favorites. :shake:
Speaking of which.......I still have two pistol barrels that have been there over a year!!! One for a new liner, the other just burnished. I occasionally read where others send their barrels in and get them back in a month or two. Don't know why mine take so long? :idunno:
Anyway, thanks for looking. I'll post the final chapter when I get the barrel back. Experience says it may be a few months. Rick. :hatsoff:

 

[pargent]

Interesting lock ,appears to be EIC post 1813 with the rampant lion removed and a suspect heart added under the pan , you can still see part of the lion at 10-11 o-clock on the funny EIC heart. :hmm:

 

[pargent]

Every thing on the lock looks right except for the date and heart , internals every thing else looks realy good.

 

[pargent]

LOOKING AT THE NEW IMAGES PLEASE DIS REGAURD MY LAST COMMENTS :hmm: The tooling marks look to be period and English :hmm:

 

[rickystl]

Hi. One of the reasons I picked this particular gun was the lock. So many of these guns have the locally made copies with spurious markings on the lock. But the lock on this one looked like the real thing. I'm no expert on English trade locks of the period. But I've seen enough of the lesser quality clones to tell the difference.
Another thing about this lock: Notice the length of the hammer screw. Extra long. I believe this was to allow the use of flint pawls, which would likely be more common in that area. I'll have to add additional leather to the bottom jaw to raise the flint and the point of impact on the frizzen higher.
The barrel situation was a complete surprise. :shake: There was actually a piece of wood and leather between the pan and barrel to take up a large gap :rotf: Talking about "Tribal" :rotf:
That's why I think the groove cut in the barrel was to help compensate for this. The breech plug and tang were never centered.
Glad I didn't pay much for this one with all the gunsmithing needed. :haha: Thanks for looking. Rick.

 

[Julian Reynolds]

Looking at that groove cut into the side of the barrel, do you not think it may have originally been a matchlock barrel, with the pan/cover block 'dovetailed' into the side of the barrel?

Julian

 

[rickystl]

Hi Julian. You know, you may be right! I never thought of that. :hmm: Matchlock's were also common on these guns. For sure, the groove was cut a long time ago. Not a recent change. I believe you're right. The barrel started life as a matchlock. That groove would fit exactly with a pan/cover/arm assembly of the Afghan matchlocks I've seen. Very observant of you Julian. I owe you one. :hatsoff: Thank you! Rick.
Notice in the below photo the use of a matchlock.

 

[rickystl]

BUMP! Final update (I think) :haha:
Well, after a few months, I finally received the barrel back from Bobby Hoyt. The breech plug had to be drilled out and a new one installed with a new .54 cal. rifled steel liner. We were able to save the original breech plug tang. It was welded on to the new breech plug. While he was at it, I had him weld up the rear sight groove so we could start from scratch and cut a new notch to match up with the new taller front sight that would be installed.
So, sent the barrel and the rest of the gun back to the gunsmith. The barrel needed to be filed and re-fitted to the stock, a new groove cut in the rear sight, and a new front sight installed. While we were at it, we used some thick sheet brass that was added to the back of the lock to fill the gap between the barrel and pan area, since this barrel was originally made as a matchlock. Here are some pics of the barrel back from Bobby Hoyt before installing in the stock. And a couple pics of the added brass piece on the inside of the lock:

 

[rickystl]

OK. Here are some pics of the front and rear sight treatment, and the .54 rifled liner.
And a final pic of the completed make-over shown with an original Afghan Peshkabz knife and scabbard that is still strong and sharp. :haha:
WOW! This gun has had a lot of specialized gunsmith work into it. But it's now complete and ready to be sighted in. A true camel gun! :rotf:
Thanks to everyone that has been interested viewing this make-over. Hope y'all found it at least entertaining. :haha: Rick. :hatsoff:

 

[kaintuck]

nice different project!
bobby had his hands full with that project i bet.....

I have seen these before, but kinda passed them up~ now, i'm glad you didn't....good to see it done.

 

[srspicer]

Wow, what a piece to have in your collection!

 

[frogwalking]

Phil, What would have been the point to take a very old lock and attempt to make it appear to have been made by someone else and even older?

Frog

 

[krolick]

That's a really cool project - Eastern long guns have always been a topic of interest to me. The slot that's been upset at the breech is where a pan for a matchlock once was. Your barrel has been altered from matchlock to flint. Using a chisel, they would upset the metal to form a dovetail, then slide the pan in, then peen the upset back down thus holding the pan in place. This was a common upgrade, just like we converted our flints to percussion. Thanks - the pics are outstanding. G.S.

 

[pargent]

:wink: $$$$$

 

[nit wit]

Nice piece of history,good job! :thumbsup:
Nit Wit

 

[gland]

I've just read this post thru first time. Did any one notice that the original sight system was designed for ranging?, or am I seeing things? It appears that there was a Peep hole at the bottom of a tall narrow slit on the rear sight. Close up, use the hole, as range increases, bring the front sight higher in the slit? Quite a concept on such a crude implement of destruction!! :shocked2: That's basically how modern buckhorn sights work! Guess nothin's new, just reinvented!
That was a great and surely expensive restoration, and was done with plenty finesse. You have a fine rifle there. Are you gona shoot it? Interested in how it shoots.

sweed :thumbsup:

 

[rickystl]

Thank you all for the kind comments. Yes, this gun has had a lot of work. But it now has a new life.
I'm sure with the rifled liner, sight work, and lock tuning it will likely shoot better than when new.
The only part of the work I was really not expecting was the breech plug mess. Even after receiving the barrel back from Bobby Hoyt the tang had to be re-heated and bent slightly to fit back in the tang mortise of the stock. WHEW!! Even after all the gunsmith work, shipping back and forth, etc., I still have considerably less money involved than the cost of building this gun from scratch. And there is always that something extra you get shooting an original piece. :haha:
Again, thank you all for your comments and encouragement. This project turned out well. Rick. :hatsoff: