I.D. "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp's Rifle?

[yellowhammer]

OK so I still obsess over that movie 52 years distant, so sue me LOL . Kidding, don't flame me.

Everybody comments on Jerimiah's Hawken; nary a word about Bear Claw's. I looked closely, and although the focus is never very clear, we can identify some of his weapon's characteristics. I say "weapon" as opposed to "rifle" or "smoothbore", because how could you ever tell that? I detect a percussion hammer, so I put it in the Percussion forum.

1. It's got a big bore, whatever it is:

2. It's full stock gun, brass mounted, with a curiously short nose cap and a brass ramrod tip:

 

[yellowhammer]

3. Looks like a percussion hammer to me. Sort of a low straight comb with no "Roman" nose to it. Interesting white wrapping:

4. Wrap appears to be white fur - it flutters as he runs from the "Griz". You can also see the percussion hammer:

 

[yellowhammer]

So, what's the consensus? I say a 42"-44" Lancaster percussion conversion, in .54 or .58.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I'd say that's as good a guess as any!

Now I surprised myself a tad the other day whilst sitting out in the cold VT woods waiting for a deer to come by, as I happened to look down at (not INTO, lol!) the muzzle of my 54 and it appeared quite larger than one would otherwise think, for being a smidge over a 1/2" bore.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Anything made in an Italian factory back then, short, and full stock..., HECK might be CVA and Spanish....

The real question is, WHERE is Paints-His-Shirt-Red's SxS Smoothbore x Rifle gun, and who made that?

LD

 

[yellowhammer]

Paints His Shirt Red is obviously a rifle connoisseur, for sure. Probably took a couple of horses and a travois-load of plews for him to procure it in trade at the rendezvous from the wealthy gentleman who brought it all the way out from St. Louis.

LOL we tend to forget its just a movie, but its fun to immerse into it and read in stuff like that. For instance, later in the movie while setting up camp, Bear Claw relates that he once "packed a squaw", then "lodge poled" her and traded her for a Hawken gun. So, why revert back to a long barreled conversion Lancaster, an obviously less handy, less robust and less reliable rifle (especially for grizzly bear hunting in the brush) than a Hawken?

 

[Dave Dworshak]

Nice wood and brass.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I would think that the ball in the smooth bored barrel would be quite effective on the bear in the brush.