Escopeta anyone?

[Flint62Smoothie]

New to me ...

This particular 56-cal Spanish Escopeta was entirely built from scratch by Steve Krolick. It is copied from a 19th Century painting by the Hudson Bay Company that featured a Manitobe Indian carrying his Escopeta across a frozen Lake Superior. The 44" stock is walnut, cut from a blank by Steve, and hand-shaped to the Catalan-style butt stock. The lock was assembled from castings from The Rifle Shoppe (TRS), which functions perfectly and throws a shower of sparks with every trigger pull. The 30" 56-cal smoothbore barrel was also turned by him and features a slight flair at the muzzle and a simple brass sight. All the furniture was also hand-made and has a light patina applied, like the rest of the piece, to give the gun a warm look. The finished gun is very handy at only 5-1/2" pounds, with a 13" length of pull.

I am thinking of sending the barrel off to Bobby Hoyt to make it be a 58-cal rifle/carbine, akin to an Officer's model. This would also make it a neat Black Powdah hunting arm ... thoughts?

 

[andy52]

Thanks for posting this but I gotta' say that is butt ugly...

 

[R.J.Bruce]

Not butt ugly, IT'S BEAUTIFUL !!!!

Are you SURE that you would want a .58 caliber rifle weighing in at 5.5 pounds? You did not show the butt profile, but it does not appear to be wide enough to distribute the recoil from heavy patched ball loads out of a .58 caliber bore.

I would have Bobby Hoyt rifle it with a 1:48" twist, and 0.016" deep square-bottomed grooves. And keep the powder charge around 70 grains of ffg black powder. Perhaps, even a 1:40" twist.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I'll bet you bought that from Lodgewood, you lucky rascal!

As it is, you have an extraordinary replica of a historic firearm. If you have it rifled, it will no longer be an authentic replica, and I doubt it would be pleasant to shoot. Absent a rear sight, accurate shooting might be a challenge. I would leave it as it is, and shoot and enjoy it as a smoothbore. You have a rare prize!

I understand Mr. Krolick copied it from a painting, but I'm just wondering where a native hunter in Manitoba would have gotten a Spanish weapon. I have seen the painting and thought it was 20th century, but will research it. A Northwest gun, or an HBC "fine gun," or even a French fusil would be feasible for a First Nations hunter in Manitoba, but a Spanish escopeta? Not likely...

For all that, though, the gun itself is authentically designed and built. It is a rare beauty, and a real prize. Congratulations on your purchase, and thank you for sharing!

Notchy Bob

 

[Doc Ivory]

Now THAT is a piece of art!

 

[Notchy Bob]

I am pretty sure this is the painting in question:

You can find the image and an interesting article on Manitoba history here: The Life and Death of Matonabbee

I discovered there is also an old thread from about six years ago discussing this very painting, and escopetas in general, here on the Muzzleloading Forum: Miquelet Escopeta in a Painting

It's the appropriateness of the gun in the context depicted by this 1922 painting, by Arthur Hider, that I would call into question. I am not knocking the gun, in any way. It is very typical of Spanish escopetas, and Mr. Krolick did a wonderful job of building it. It bears a very close resemblance to at least two pictured and described in Sidney Brinckerhoff & Pierce Chamberlain's Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821. One, on page 26, is described as a fowling piece, circa 1800, with a 31-1/4" barrel in .80 caliber, and the other is a "short escopeta" (circa 1750) with a 28-1/2" barrel in .54 caliber. The short one was designed for use by the cavalry, and it has a long sash hook, as we sometimes see on pistols. I see Mr. Krolick's gun has a sling swivel in that place.

In any event, you can be proud of your acquisition. It is a fine piece! If it were mine, I would leave it as it is.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[EC121]

Been looking a them. I want one!!

 

[Roundball2319]

That is an amazing piece. Your very lucky.

 

[Roundball2319]

When you shoulder that how does it point. Naturally or do you find yourself making lots of adjustments?

 

[BillinOregon]

Well I am absolutely dying with envy here. That's a beautifully crafted escopeta. Living in New Mexico as I do, I often wonder how many times I have crossed the trail of an early hunter or soldier here armed with just such a firearm. They are vastly underrepresented in our muzzleloading hobby.

 

[rickystl]

Hi Flint

WOW !!!! What a find !! Wish I had seen it first. LOL What a great looking Escopeta. Congratulations. Just love the workmanship, and the dark stained stock, which I'm parcel to anyway. Looks like there is nothing to do to it except go shoot it. LOL

As far as a "rifled" .58 caliber barrel, my suggestion:

1 Keep the .56 smooth bore barrel. You can purchase .535 or .543 round balls from TOTW without needing a mould.
And the .56 caliber is real close to 28-guage for shot.
2 For a rifled barrel, just send the barrel itself to Bobby Hoyt to duplicate to outer dimensions exactly in whatever caliber you want.

Since the Escopeta uses barrel bands instead of pins, you can change the barrels as desired. That's what I did with mine.

Again, congrats. Great looking gun, and great pics too. Thanks for posting.

Rick

 

[kje54]

I'll bet you bought that from Lodgewood, you lucky rascal!

As it is, you have an extraordinary replica of a historic firearm. If you have it rifled, it will no longer be an authentic replica, and I doubt it would be pleasant to shoot. Absent a rear sight, accurate shooting might be a challenge. I would leave it as it is, and shoot and enjoy it as a smoothbore. You have a rare prize!

I understand Mr. Krolick copied it from a painting, but I'm just wondering where a native hunter in Manitoba would have gotten a Spanish weapon. I have seen the painting and thought it was 20th century, but will research it. A Northwest gun, or an HBC "fine gun," or even a French fusil would be feasible for a First Nations hunter in Manitoba, but a Spanish escopeta? Not likely...

For all that, though, the gun itself is authentically designed and built. It is a rare beauty, and a real prize. Congratulations on your purchase, and thank you for sharing!

Notchy Bob

Not necessarily I've read that my grandfather's people (Ojibwa) possibly traded all the way down into what is today Mexico. Evidence is coming to light that strongly suggests a large, pre-European arrival trading network among the native tribes that remained in place for some time even after the Dutch and English colonists arrived.

 

[kje54]

Thanks for posting this but I gotta' say that is butt ugly...

What? You don't recognize Art Deco when you see it?

 

[kje54]

New to me ...

This particular 56-cal Spanish Escopeta was entirely built from scratch by Steve Krolick. It is copied from a 19th Century painting by the Hudson Bay Company that featured a Manitobe Indian carrying his Escopeta across a frozen Lake Superior. The 44" stock is walnut, cut from a blank by Steve, and hand-shaped to the Catalan-style butt stock. The lock was assembled from castings from The Rifle Shoppe (TRS), which functions perfectly and throws a shower of sparks with every trigger pull. The 30" 56-cal smoothbore barrel was also turned by him and features a slight flair at the muzzle and a simple brass sight. All the furniture was also hand-made and has a light patina applied, like the rest of the piece, to give the gun a warm look. The finished gun is very handy at only 5-1/2" pounds, with a 13" length of pull.

I am thinking of sending the barrel off to Bobby Hoyt to make it be a 58-cal rifle/carbine, akin to an Officer's model. This would also make it a neat Black Powdah hunting arm ... thoughts?

View attachment 57531View attachment 57532View attachment 57533View attachment 57534View attachment 57535View attachment 57536

I'm green with envy! Either that or I ate something I shouldn't have.

 

[Britsmoothy]

It just looks so right....
I would keep the bore as is.

 

[R.J.Bruce]

Escopetas made it as far north as Maryland in the War of Independence, with several being found in the Governor's Mansion, post war. Did not the Spanish help outfit George Rodgers Clark's men for the attack on Vincennes? Were any escopetas provided for that purpose?

 

[tenngun]

I’m always taken by stock designs how the same basic function could be so specific.
When we read ‘escopeta’ I wonder how specific that was.
What I mean by that if we say galleon we will define that as 1550-1650 ship. But the Spanish called theirs Great War ships galleons well into the nineteenth century. I oft wondered if the Spanish escopetas in colonial and ARW were Spanish muskets looking more like besses.
If you google fusil de chase you may well get to a modern French shot gun site.

 

[Peter Stines]

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE A GUN THAT NICE! NOW HAND IT OVER!!!! Really neat piece. Being in Tejas these guns were common. I have a miquelet lock pistol and its fun to shoot. .62 cal smoothie oct/round swamped barrel.

 

[Peter Stines]

I'm green with envy! Either that or I ate something I shouldn't have.

We must have 'et the same grub cawse I feels it too. ...burp

 

[rickystl]

I’m always taken by stock designs how the same basic function could be so specific.
When we read ‘escopeta’ I wonder how specific that was.
What I mean by that if we say galleon we will define that as 1550-1650 ship. But the Spanish called theirs Great War ships galleons well into the nineteenth century. I oft wondered if the Spanish escopetas in colonial and ARW were Spanish muskets looking more like besses.
If you google fusil de chase you may well get to a modern French shot gun site.

The Spanish military used the miquelet lock up until about 1750 when it made the change to the French style flintlock.
But then changed back to the miquelet style lock about 1790. They felt the miquelet lock was stronger.

Rick