Check theis super long, super old flintlock.

[Steve Daniels]

Overall gun length is 68", smooth bore barrel length 51 inches. "Made in Belgium" stamped on top of barrel. Interesting feature of this lock is the faint eagle. This looks to me like an American eagle holding arrows and wheat together in it's talons.

This link below is from a posting by jerem0621 back in 2008. He say it is a .40 Caliber

that has my exact gun. down to the screws and hardware shapes. But he still has no ID facts for me to go on. great pictures show details.
please check it out for me.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/216244/

I'd like to know as much about this "plain" gun.
The more I research it, the older it seems to get.

Thank in advance.....Steve

 

[Steve Daniels]

Overall gun length is 68", smooth bore barrel length 51 inches. "Made in Belgium" stamped on top of barrel. Interesting feature of this lock is the faint eagle. This looks to me like an American eagle holding arrows and wheat together in it's talons.

These photos below are from a posting by jerem0621 back in 2008. He say it is a .40 Caliber

that has my exact gun. down to the screws and hardware shapes. But he still has no ID facts for me to go on. great pictures show details.or lack of. Definitely a working mans gun.
please check it out for me.
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd437/Laszlo48/101_9884.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd437/Laszlo48/101_9892.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd437/Laszlo48/101_9882.jpg
http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd437/Laszlo48/101_9881.jpg

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Yup, trade musket built for the 'African trade' when the indiginous (sp?) natives were not allowed centerfire firearms.

Now, the real question is ... is that a real one from the 1800s or one built in the post WW2 1900s to satisfy the returning GIs new love affair with muzzleloading, i.e., rebirth of muzzleloading to US sportsman via Val Forgett of Navy Arms or Dixie Gun Works?

Somewhere I have a PDF article on Belgian made 'trade' muskets typical of what you have shown. I will post it when I find it!

 

[rich pierce]

Probably a 20th century gun. Could be as late as 1950s.

 

[redwing]

Sears & Robuck sold a gun like this around 1965. They were about .58 caliber. They had a 2 pcs. stock joined under the barrel band. They were very cheap and were sold as Long Fowlers. The frizzens were very soft and they became wall hangers very fast. Don't ask me how I know about these things. :redface:

 

[hawkeye2]

Wow! Monday I took three guns over to a gunsmith who had just come out of retirement and there hanging on the wall was one of these. It brought back memories of the 4 different guns offered in the Stoger catalogs in the early 60s. They were Belgian made for the African trade and if I remember correctly one of them had a (red) painted stock.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Probably a 20th century gun. Could be as late as 1950s.

Yep, 1950's. Probably never saw africa as it's in great shape.

 

[Rod Lassey]

Looks like my previous reply got deleted when the threads were merged.

Anyway....as everyone noted, it's Belgian made, for the African trade. Check the eagle on the lockplate closer....these were made up using whatever parts were lying about, and a number of those backaction lockplates were Civil War surplus from Burnsides, Spencers, and the like. May be a US Federal eagle.

Jim Hanson's new book, Encyclopedia of Trade Goods: Firearms, deals with these, including pics of them being assembled in Liege.

Rod

 

[Stumpkiller]

I merged 'em. It's supposed to move the associated posts as well. :hmm: Sorry 'bout that.

Dad-gummed tek-nol-ogee. :idunno:

 

[rickystl]

Redwing: You're almost spot-on. If my memory serves me, it was originally marketed by Century Arms in 1965. They advertised it as the "Long Tom". I remember this because in 1964 they intoduced a first version that looked more like a standard musket with a 39" barrel that was cut back from the muzzle. I know because I bought one. I was 14 years old then. Paid $35.00 for it. Exactly one months wages for delivering the Chicago Tribune after school. They all had two-piece stocks that were hidden by the rear barrel band. The two piece locks had a coil mainspring. The frizzens were soft. The barrels were all marked Belgium. I remembered seeing the Long Tom the following year and wish I had waited. Actually, there was a third model made. They called it an "Elaphant" gun. It was an octagon to round barrel in either 4 or 6 guage. It was in Dixie's 1964 Catalog if any of you still have a copy.
There. Now you know more than you probably wanted to know. :rotf: Rick.

 

[redwing]

Yes Rick you are right. I ordered one from Sears. It came with one flint. I used broken arrow heads in it for awhile. The frizzen was gone rather quickly however. I was just out of college. That gun taught me a life long lesson. Never buy a cheap flint lock of any kind. :shake:

 

[Trench]

I got the sense that Steve thought this was quite a bit older than the 1950's. I hope he wasn't too dissapointed.

 

[KABAR2]

These backaction locks are European and much larger
than those on a Burnside or Spencer...
I doubt that our surplus parts ever made it
out of the country Bannerman's had the market
cornered.