Back into antiques…

[RMFnLA]

I enjoy shooting the few antiques I have. My photo to the left is one that required a new tumbler shaft to be brazed in. The rest was in pretty good condition. Shoots well, but not as good as the German pistol that was auctioned without a hammer. Tracked it down in England. It has a hex shaft on the tumbler. Luckily the hammer came with a hex opening that fit perfectly! Yay!

I’d probably be more inclined to shoot it if it wasn’t such a desirable piece in such good condition.

A few more inches of barrel wouldn’t hurt, either…

 

[mikek793]

The appearance looks to be in very nice condition. The lack of pitting at the snail/nipple indicates low use and/or well taken care of. (Your nipple threads might be a little long, based on the gap in the photo?). If the bore is constant with a tight patch - I’d make sure the flame path is clear and go. Obviously, snap a few caps, then start with a low powder charge and enjoy.

That's exactly what I did with my great, great grandfather's shotgun mentioned earlier in this thread. After replacing the nipples that were mushrooms from my father and uncle dry firing it when they were kids. Although I did use Duval's gun restoration kit and etched the barrels to bring out the twist this gun turned out mighty nice and shoots just fine.

 

[TransYank]

They were built to be shot. I have 5 old 1840 - 1870 era 12ga. SxS muzzleloaders I hunt with and shoot all the time with approvable BP loads. Still working on my wing shooting abilitilys ..

 

[2001guns]

I have been shooting my original S. Hawken regularly and I am amazed at the accuracy.
.54 cal with 60 grains at 65 yards. Head shot on this hog and he never moved. Not slant breech so I figure it's around 1855. When I hold this gun I can't stop grinnin!
At the age of 83 I have had many various firearms and this one is at the top of the list. I wish it could talk!

 

[Sam squanch]

Shoot an original? Maybe. If the barrel is ok, and you can get replacement lock parts made. I’d shoot an original civil war Springfield all day long! A rare desirable piece? Nope. Anything breaking will lose you $$.

 

[RMFnLA]

Shoot an original? Maybe. If the barrel is ok, and you can get replacement lock parts made. I’d shoot an original civil war Springfield all day long! A rare desirable piece? Nope. Anything breaking will lose you $$.

My exact thought as well.

Except for @2001guns ‘s Hawken most of the replies about shooting are about no-name pieces, and I can see shooting them no problem.

This one is just too nice, and it’s hardly a no-name.

 

[TransYank]

Yes, exactly the SxS I have are what was a common hardware store variety many makers some better quality the others. I do have an Original 1861 Springfield that I shot NSSA competition with for years and a few deer. It has a replacement barrel made by Yeck.

 

[Relic shooter]

Your pistol appears to be in excellent condition !

I've enjoyed shooting original rifles, pistols & smoothbores for 60 years but only after making sure they are safe to shoot.
That being said for safety reasons 'corrosion' I never shoot any percussion firearm they are determined to be in safe shootable condition & the nipples are always replaced.
Suppliers like Tresco provide a wide variety of quality nipples that can can be correctly fitted to most any application.

*Over the years many several nice original percussion firearms have come into my shop where the gun's hammer had been blown off because the nipple's vent passage had eroded open enough to shear the hammer off the tumbler's axle when fired , on one occasion the launched hammer had lacerated the shooter's forehead.
I personally don't shoot any rare vintage firearms that are in mint or near mint condition to preserve their value & condition, they are sold to collectors who just place them on display.

You will enjoy the forum & thanks for sharing photo of your rare pistol.

 

[2001guns]

I'm still shooting two of my original muzzleloaders. I have two more that I intend to shoot when I have time to see that they are serviceable. I want to get into the Mason Jar Shoot soon with the Brown Bess and of course the S. Hawken.

I don't plan on shooting the Barbar Bess or the French Charleville. Not because they are not sound enough to be serviceable, but it requires so much time to really inspect these old guys.

The Bess I shoot is fairly accurate at 100 yards or so and I am sure the men that survived with these muskets were deadly shots. Some troops carried Besses into the first of the Civil War.

The deadly accurate S. Hawken of course, in my opinion, cannot be compared to any other cap lock rifle ever made. This rifle has a history that is taking me a great deal of time to compile. One day this beautiful firearm may be at the center of a true tale that will be right up there with Liver Eatin' Johnson.

I can account for the continuous ownership of this Hawken by Sylvester "Bear" Scott, (B.1837 D.1903), from about 1864 in Hangtown (now Placerville), California, to me in 2023. When Sylvester's health was failing he filled the lower half of the Hawken barrel with melted wax and gave the gun to his youngest son Ruben Scott, (1876-1967) When his Great Great Grandson handed the rifle to me in 2023 he apologized for the fact that we could not see down the barrel because it was filled with wax!

Newspaper Reports of the big game Scott took with this rifle as a meat hunter for two northern California railroads, and hundreds of miners, in addition to removing bears from the new vineyards and ranches in Sonoma County and surrounding mountains are numerous. He killed hundreds of bears and mountain lions, and probably thousands of deer. Maybe at least one man.

A very interesting article that tells a lot of the story by an eye witness appeared in the "Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, Number 22, 27 February 1948 by W.C. Shipley, M.D." It is interesting that Dr. Shipley misspelled Hawken throughout the writing.

Sylvester and Malinda raised 18 children, all except 3 reached adulthood. In later life Scott moved to a ranch on the Salmon River near Grangeville Idaho where he passed away in 1903. The grave marker stone seen here on his ranch for his burial site is not where he really is. No one was sure where the property line was between the ranch and the Nez Perce Indian reservation back then. The result is that Sylvester now rests in Indian territory. If he was my Great Great Grandfather I would be talkin to the family about retrieving him.

I have made provisions for the Hawken to be given to the NRA Firearms Museum when I am gone. In the meantime I intend to enjoy using it as it was intended.

 

[Relic shooter]

My exact thought as well.

Except for @2001guns ‘s Hawken most of the replies about shooting are about no-name pieces, and I can see shooting them no problem.

This one is just too nice, and it’s hardly a no-name.

I agree, finer quality firearms that I've acquired that are in mint / unfired condition get sold to collectors who just display.

 

[TFoley]

My Pritchett Volunteer P51-style rifle [yes, THAT Pritchett, he of bullet fame] gets used in anger about every six months or so. A nice, slightly-loose 535gr Minié bullet over 60gr of 1Fg seems to work quite well. This was eight shots at 50m earlier this year, I surmise that a heavier load might pukk it into a black a mite more, but right now I'm happy just to be able to shoot it.

Itself...

 

[Relic shooter]

You have good taste in firearms.
I can't shoot long guns anymore due to shoulder issues but still enjoy shooting original flint & percussion handguns at the range.
Below is a rifled .70 cal. French officers pistol signed L. Hermite Bte A Saumur with fast twist multi-groove rifling that provides excellent accuracy.
It was made to accept round balls used in military arms of that era.

 

[rickystl]

Welcome to the Forum

Great looking Derringer. There are many members on this Forum that shoot both originals and commercial/custom replicas. Much fun with all. But there's that little extra thrill you get shooting an original. Can't really explain it. But those who do shoot originals likely know what I mean.

 

[Relic shooter]

I'm still shooting two of my original muzzleloaders. I have two more that I intend to shoot when I have time to see that they are serviceable. I want to get into the Mason Jar Shoot soon with the Brown Bess and of course the S. Hawken.

I don't plan on shooting the Barbar Bess or the French Charleville. Not because they are not sound enough to be serviceable, but it requires so much time to really inspect these old guys.

The Bess I shoot is fairly accurate at 100 yards or so and I am sure the men that survived with these muskets were deadly shots. Some troops carried Besses into the first of the Civil War.

The deadly accurate S. Hawken of course, in my opinion, cannot be compared to any other cap lock rifle ever made. This rifle has a history that is taking me a great deal of time to compile. One day this beautiful firearm may be at the center of a true tale that will be right up there with Liver Eatin' Johnson.

I can account for the continuous ownership of this Hawken by Sylvester "Bear" Scott, (B.1837 D.1903), from about 1864 in Hangtown (now Placerville), California, to me in 2023. When Sylvester's health was failing he filled the lower half of the Hawken barrel with melted wax and gave the gun to his youngest son Ruben Scott, (1876-1967) When his Great Great Grandson handed the rifle to me in 2023 he apologized for the fact that we could not see down the barrel because it was filled with wax!

Newspaper Reports of the big game Scott took with this rifle as a meat hunter for two northern California railroads, and hundreds of miners, in addition to removing bears from the new vineyards and ranches in Sonoma County and surrounding mountains are numerous. He killed hundreds of bears and mountain lions, and probably thousands of deer. Maybe at least one man.

A very interesting article that tells a lot of the story by an eye witness appeared in the "Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar, Number 22, 27 February 1948 by W.C. Shipley, M.D." It is interesting that Dr. Shipley misspelled Hawken throughout the writing.

Sylvester and Malinda raised 18 children, all except 3 reached adulthood. In later life Scott moved to a ranch on the Salmon River near Grangeville Idaho where he passed away in 1903. The grave marker stone seen here on his ranch for his burial site is not where he really is. No one was sure where the property line was between the ranch and the Nez Perce Indian reservation back then. The result is that Sylvester now rests in Indian territory. If he was my Great Great Grandfather I would be talkin to the family about retrieving him.

I have made provisions for the Hawken to be given to the NRA Firearms Museum when I am gone. In the meantime I intend to enjoy using it as it was intended.

Fantastic that you have history on this very cool rifle !