Help on flintlock

[beebrad]

does anyone know where this is from if it is a replica or what.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...YuGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/

 

[beebrad]

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/ http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/ http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/ http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/ http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...uGLduzcA9vPgo/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/


It looks to have 50 or 30 cal stamped on the barrel can't tell it also has a stamp on the lower top of barrel that says looks like made in belgium but not sure is double stamped.has a brass butt plate on the stock there is a stamp of a eagle with a sheild in front of it holding some arrows looks kind of like the department of defence seal. I have had the gun for about 25 years it looks just like it did when I got it.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Does not look to be a replica. Some kind of back-action Belgian musket? I don't think it's U.S. of any type or time period, though some back-action flintlocks were made in the U.S. Belgium made tons of such arms for trade & export.

Some were percussion muskets converted to flintlock for trade to "third-world" countries of the 1840's to 1880's.

 

[beebrad]

The end of the barrel is thinner on one side than the other,the stock is not one piece all the way to the end.Do you know where I could find out any more info on it or if it is worth anything?

 

[beebrad]

Would they stamp the barrel that long ago?

 

[Zonie]

They've been stamping proof marks and other identifying marks for centuries.

I can't tell for sure but the forward mark on the breech looks somewhat like a crown over an "F" or a "B".

A Crown over F might indicate a "Foreigners'" mark of the London /gunmakers Company.
This mark has been in use sence 1741.

That doesn't signify that the gun was made in London, only that it was "Proofed" there.
Even today, guns not made and proofed in Great Briton require a proof test before they can be used there.

I don't see anything for a crown over B mark.

Of course, the mark may not be either of these as it is hard to see even after massaging the image with my Photoshop.

 

[Stumpkiller]

If it was stamped for their own use it would say "Belgique" (which is "Belgium" in Flemmish). From what I could find the Liege proof-house has been stamping barrels since 1672. But when they came up with the "made in" or "Fabrique de" I have no idea. Probably no earlier than the 20th century.

Does not make it a replica, though. Might have been a "civilianized" military musket for trade to Africa. A company called "Bannerman's" an hour north of New York City on the Hudson bought up thousands of old arms starting just after the Spanish/American War (1890's) and from every war thereafter and sold them mail order up until the 1960's. He ended up buying any firearms and cannon you can imagine from overseas, usually from bidding on arsenal disposal contracts.

I have a "Zulu" shotgun based on an old military musket that was "civilized" into a single-shot breechloader 12ga. Bannerman's moved that one into the U.S.

 

[beebrad]

There is what looks to be a crown over a B and another that looks to be over a D on both sides of where the cal is stamped on the barrel.

 

[pichou]

Looks like a Bicentennial Belgian repro to me. The single nose band is a dead giveaway on the Belgian repros. The stock will probably be beech. 2 piece stock is also a clue to being a repro.

It's just old enough to have a coat of rust. But there are areas that haven't rusted, and see the side plate is not inlet.

I saw a percussion one of these that had a octagon-to-round barrel... they started with a round barrel and ground flats on the breech end. :shocked2: :shocked2:

I can't really see the marks, but if you google belgian proof marks you can check them out. They could also be nonsense marks. Check the bottom of the barrel too.

[edit]
Made in Belgium would only appear on a barrel made after c. 1900. Many of these guns were made up from old warehouse parts.

 

[beebrad]

It does have octagon-to-round barrel and a 2 piece stock that comes apart at the first clamp from the trigger.Would you know of any place I could sale it I have had it for about 25 to 27 yearsand it as just been sitting in the house.

 

[beebrad]

Where would the proof marks be on the gun the only ones I see is a crown with a B or F under it and a crown with what looks to be a D under it.There is also a eagle with a sheild holding arrows on the side plate.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The Belgians made up these guns for years and sold most of them in the African trade. Could have been made a hundred years ago or 40 years ago. When muzzleloading started to grow in America, they shipped them here, too. That lock is a dead giveaway. Shooting one is not a very good idea regardless of the gun's condition and vintage.