Help with ID.

[PhDBrewer]

Hello all!
I recently acquired this smoothbore.
Overll length is 54", appears to take musket caps.
Barrel measures 0.410 at the muzzle. 39" long.
Appears to be all hand fabricated with no proof marks. Screws are hand made.
Steel ramrod, walnut stock.
Lock has coil spring which is a modern attribute.
Possibly an old kit gun?
It came out of Canada I was told.

Thanks in advance!

~William

 

[mhb]

Yours is a very typical example of a South East Asian 'monkey gun'. These are simple, often blacksmith-built smallbore muzzleloaders made for hunting by the native peoples, often hilltribes. Barrels are mostly made from seamless steel tubing of ca. 1/2" bore, sold in local markets. Shooters often make their own powder (sulfur and saltpeter is also sold in the markets), and charcoal is readily available, as is coarse shot. The guns are percussion, and the percussion compounds are made-up by apothecaries, applied in dabs to pieces of paper, which are then torn-off and stuffed into the large recess in the hammer nose. The nipple is large and flat on top, to work with the percussion compound, rather than percussion caps, which are not available. Your specimen has a registration number which appears to show it originated in Laos.

mhb - MIke