English Percussion fowler

[Shine]

I found this honey at the Bangor Maine gun show yesterday. It is in shooting condition. Bore is decent and measures about .670. Obviously English Has the names JR Cooper and J smith onder the barrel. What are your thoughts guys.


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[wet]

You got yourself a really nice there!!!

 

[Shine]

Im thinking this was a sporterized p53 enfield. The barrel has broad arrows pointing toward each other. That means it was sold off as surplus. Being .670 maybe it was bored smooth?

 

[Ken Cormier]

Great how did I miss that one.

 

[robinghewitt]

Brass trigger bow, probably a Sepoy so it should be a .69"

 

[pargent]

+1

 

[Shine]

:grin: Robin explain sepoy to me slowly. And I took it to a machineshop and it MICS out at .658 to be exact.

 

[robinghewitt]

:grin: Robin explain sepoy to me slowly.

East India Company making lots of money in India. French arrive and persuade the locals that this is bad and they should trade with the French. Soon lots of armies, EIC, British and local Maharajahs. French generally sneaking around in the back ground, stirring up trouble and running away a lot the way they do. The Sepoys were the locals recruited in to the British Army. The story is that the Sepoys were persuaded to mutiny, crushed and then later rearmed with non-rifled muskets in case they did it again. There were probably lots of non-rifled muskets around before the Sepoy Rebellion but it makes a good story. If not .69 then could be EIC or Maharajah.
Can you see any trace of a rear sight? That would be a big clue. Beautiful trigger on those early Enfields, prettiest ever made in my opinion.

 

[Shine]

there is no sign of a rear sight. there is a fair amount of engraving see the star on the barrel. also the names under the barrel mean anything

 

[Shine]

Also the pins were replaced with captured wedge. Someone did good work and how it got to maine is anyones guess. Maybe from Canada, built up from a civil war gun, Maybe a Bannerman gun :idunno: It was a surplus barrel from the british govt. Two broad arrows pointing toward each other.

 

[robinghewitt]

No pins, it had 2 or 3 steel bands. Google for images of Sepoy Musket.

The snail is pure Enfield, but it should be drilled and tapped for a top hat percussion cap.

 

[robinghewitt]

My camera is being a pain today, must have pressed the wrong button, but I have tried to recreate your picture...

 

[Shine]

Yup I bet that's it. But some gun smith removed any govt. markings and replaced it with engraving. One of the better sporterizations ive seen. Im gonna load it up and shoot partridge with it ie ruffed grouse to anyone outside the state of maine :grin: Im thinking 60 grs 2ffg with an ounce of shot.

 

[lee marrin]

Shine, your second-to-last photo shows some words stamped on the barrel. One looks like "J R COOPER"? What is the other word? Wonder who/what Cooper was...

A couple of years ago the Backwoodsman magazine had an interesting article on shotguns made from cut-down CW muskets. The author gave details on about seven very different examples, and said in the upper midwest they are known as "Sodbusters", after the homesteaders who used them on the Great Plains.

I've got one myself: a 1842 Springfield with 1853 stamping on the lockplate. The stock has been cut down, and unlike most "Sodbusters", mine still has the large musket nipple. The mainspring and hammer-fall are strong enough to split atoms!

 

[Shine]

I have that issue

 

[Britsmoothy]

Saw this and thought of you!

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/293356-lacy-co-london-militia-musket-75/#entry2625459

B.

 

[Shine]

ooooo id like to get my grubby little paws on that. :grin: