How to assess an original antique gun?

[Voltigeur_de_la_Garde]

Your 'seller's' statement was a wise decision !!

If the seller isn't well experienced in how to determine if an original flint & percussion firearm is safe to shoot he would be crazy to say otherwise, especially not knowing how experienced the buyer is.
During years that I had a muzzleloading store front I've run into folks who stated they were planning on using
smokeless powder that they had in their muzzleloader just because it was black in color.
TIP;
Never fire an original percussion firearm until new nipples are properly installed !
I've seen nice original percussion guns destroyed because the nipple's vent had been opened-up enough by corrosion
to shear the hammer off & occasionally implanted in the shooter's forehead when fired.
Relic shooter

I'll definately make a note of the nipple-issue.
But regarding the barrel, can it be assumed it is safe for shooting if it's free of rust or deep pits?

And a big thank you to you and the others here for finding time to assist a newbie blackpowder shooter

 

[Sam squanch]

An old barrel can have unseen flaws. Start with a light load and inspect it afterwards.

 

[Voltigeur_de_la_Garde]

In

BEST OPTION;
If you wish to 'safely' join the ranks of us folks who collect & shoot original flint & percussion era
firearms it's best to buy from a seller who has the antique arms gunsmithing background to properly evaluate the firearm's suitability for another lifetime of shooting.
Examples TO COMPARE;
My two remaining original Jaegers I recently sold on this forum were made by top notch gunsmiths & had survived in excellent solid original condition showing virtually no signs of mechanical wear, rust or corrosion.
Note; This is not a sales pitch as I'm over the hill retired & have no more Jaegers to sell
NEXT BEST OPTION;
Take the firearm your considering to a ANTIQUE ARMS GUNSMITH for a proper examination & let it be known what your shooting expectations are for accuracy, etc & if the firearm's overall condition is solid enough for another lifetime of shooting.

*Most 'modern' firearm gunsmiths lack the proper skills to properly evaluate the safety & accuracy potential of an antique muzzleloading firearm.
Relic shooter

During a phonecall, the seller told me he thinks the metal parts are all in good enough conditions for shooting. He is worried about the stock

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Some antique firearms are best hung over the mantle and enjoyed that way...

 

[Voltigeur_de_la_Garde]

Have finally received the parcel! The metal parts are in very nice condition, the best I have seen on a russian musket (thats not saying much)
But the middle and rear barrel band are awefully loose. And there seem to be bedding issues too. Im guessing the stock shrunk some.
I dont think Im going to shoot this piece. Preserving it is my top priority.
The "Rifle Shoppe" Does have the entire list of parts for this Musket in their catalogue. Who knows, maybe one day when I feel like starting a project I will build myself a replica for shooting.

 

[Rudyard]

nothing says you have to shoot a heavy load in it. Condition of the bore and depth and number of pits is a big thing.

I shoot and own quite a few originals, shotguns and rifles.

I dont know that I saw what cal. is it? Conical or round ball?

I love hunting and shooting old guns. Whacked a black bear this year with a old .73 cal in round ball.

Fleener

Poor Bear Why ?. Rudyard who also shot a Bear with a ML but regretted it ever since .Bears are furry people. R

 

[Sam squanch]

Furry people that may rip your face off.

 

[Rudyard]

Furry people that may rip your face off.

WelI I was around enough ,often enough and ime still in one piece .Alberta ,BC, & the Yukon camping as I hitched to wherever I got too ,'Astra, Castra, Numen, Lumen. viz ' The Stars my camp Providence my guide'. Face still intact. Some brain cells may have fallen out
It minds me of Kipling's' 'Beware of the truce of Amzad the Bear that walks like a man "The flint was good in my musket ,The powder was pricked & primed " & so on a cautionary tale .
I do recall persueing a black bear it bumbled towards me and as it cleared a big log at a few feet away I let go with my 451.It didn't go off , Its eyes got wide open & it ran away dropping its Poo Showing two pairs of clean heels in the process . Wether it was the same Bear I later shot cant say but it was later in the day & it was walking towards me on a skidder track no charge just not aware I expect . I lay down my axe & knife . but the 500 grain Sharpes Bailly bowled it clean .Poor bugger I did need meat but I.ve regreted it ever since , I camped on the track & rendered a lot of fat in a tin which I used for years as a patch lube . One later time I worked on Nimkish Lake for CanFor but weekends I go well away from the camp Fording the Nimpkish river Ime sat by the beach when the long log moved as a Black bear went down onto the shore . Wind must have prevented its knowing I was sat the other side of the log I had a 50 cal flint Long Rifle I'de made in the Chippys shop me being a camp chippy . I brought up the rifle cocked it and ' "counted Coup?' whispering 'bang' and reversed the motions. No need or reason to bowl Brer Bear I camped on the Beach it was big enough for both of us .
Rudyard's recollections

 

[fleener]

If you think a bear is a furry person then I am sorry, not much hope for you, I dont want to drink that kool aid.

A bear is a bear, nothing more, nothing less. You can respect the animal, but it is not a human, just like my dogs are not my children, they are my dogs. Dont get me wrong, I treat my dogs just as good as I treat my children, but I am not disillusioned to think that they are the same.

Alway talk about yourself in third person?

Fleener

 

[Rudyard]

If you think a bear is a furry person then I am sorry, not much hope for you, I dont want to drink that kool aid.

A bear is a bear, nothing more, nothing less. You can respect the animal, but it is not a human, just like my dogs are not my children, they are my dogs. Dont get me wrong, I treat my dogs just as good as I treat my children, but I am not disillusioned to think that they are the same.

Alway talk about yourself in third person?

Fleener

Dear Fleener .I guess I must cross you of my fan cub list.! . My reference to a Bear isn't meant that I regard them as human just that the Black bear at least are in my own experience are not the dread full terror many paint it as being . If they don't bother me I wont bother them .And though I did shoot one with a Muzzle loader I regretted it since it wasn't a threat probably never saw or smelt me . And one I did surprise its eyes went wide & it bolted away .Exit stage left at speed .Thusly I don't dread them or beyound caution fear them. All my experience with bears of any sort ( Other than Koalla 'Bears " )Was in remote regions of British Columbia Ide walked down the Mosley Homathka twice & once down the Klina Klini river in the high ' coast range' 12 days then 17. I once faced down an ornery Bull Moose ide spotted & sought to avoid , but it crashed through to check me out . Well Ime looking up its nose my 451 had a load of 15 grains & a round ball to harvest Grouse or Franklin my back up of axe & knife Didn't seem the best choice . But I had read an account in' BC Outdoors' about if faced with Bears it's futile to run he can outpace you, nor' playing possum' as it will tear bits off you .So she suggested the best bet is to talk to them .Nothing in the wilds do's that, it throws their thinking and it will likely back off . Well the Bull Moose got the same treatment My hearts pumping but I told the Moose I had a most powerful rifle & ide won a gold medal at Bisley which was true, at least about the gold medal ,and how I eat Moose for tiffin and made 'unkind observations' as to its looks & ancestry . His look might been one of "What ta HaY ?'As my confidence grew his ebbed away & he turns about to join the cow in the river " OR I might be the odd bone on the river many years since . But Ime still here , still got my rifle and most of my faculties . So If you don't like my writing style don't read it .
So far as I,me concerned their furry people , Come to that Ime ' furry people' haven't shaved since 1966, same year I last paid for a haircut at Rameswaram Southern tip of India charged me a whole rupee ( 50 piase been enough ) since then I've cut my own .Oh I omitted the black bear one morning on the Sukunka River being followed by a big silver grey Grizzley, I just sat quiet and neither saw me my camp wasn't but twenty yards up stream of them.
Rudyard who doesn't have a badge .