I got that Spanish musket now (pics)

[Youngblood]

I got my Spanish (turns out Indian) musket today and spent the last few hours giving it a good cleaning. Here are the pics as received-

 

[Youngblood]

And here we have it after a few hours of cleaning-

 

[Youngblood]

The lock was actually clean and rust free on the inside.
The brass bands are real brass, not plated.
The vent seems home drilled.
And its indian and appears to have no proof marks. The letter L is stamped in several places all over it.

I dont know if this thing is safe to fire.
Heres the only real markings, under side of barrel-

 

[ord sgt]

Take your new acquisition to a safe place. Load a heavy charge, prime the pan and close the frizzen, and tie it down to something heavy. Attach a long string to the trigger. Stand back a safe distance and pull the string to fire the piece. Once fired, inspect for bulges in barrel or if, in the event of total failure, pick up the pieces and count yourself lucky that your face was not next to the barrel.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Good info on Indian Arms proofing here:
https://veteranarms.com/faq

 

[MountainSmoke]

She really cleaned up nice! Hope it shoots good for you.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Just don’t tie it to something that doesn’t recoil because if it can’t move a bit you could damage the stock. The old standby is a dismounted tire with the butt against the inside of the tire bead.

 

[Youngblood]

Maybe i should just buy a new barrel. Is there anywhere to buy a charleville type replacement barrel?

 

[hawkeye2]

It's not likely you'll find anything for a Charleville barrel that'll come close the the Indian made one.

 

[DuncNZ]

Does it throw a decent spark ?, some, but not all, of these Indian made guns need the frizzen hardening

 

[toot]

And here we have it after a few hours of cleaning-
View attachment 142720View attachment 142721View attachment 142722View attachment 142723View attachment 142724View attachment 142725

WOW! from an UGLY DUCKLING TO A SWAN!!! it came out nice!

 

[John Spartan]

Think the “home drilled” vent hole is a sign it came from one of the Canadian dealers. Don’t think anyone in the states sells them like that.
No vent hole means its “not a gun” and they can sell and ship to the USA. The buyer then drills the hole though I suppose there is a chance that someone was trying to fix a perceived ignition problem with a factory hole.

 

[Kansas Jake]

If the drilled touch hole is not too large and in the correct location I would be inclined to proof it and go from there. Gun builders in this hobby have been doing that for years. My first two builds in the 1970s were CVA flintlocks that require a complete novice (me) to drill touch holes. I’m still here. And still a novice in many ways.

 

[Eras Gone]

Great work! I followed that one on GunBroker too, assuming it’s the same one. I’d really like to have one of the actual Spanish made model 1754 Spanish muskets. They are made by Ardesa and very good copies of the originals. However they are extremely scarce here in the US. I’ve only seen one or two.

 

[Fossilsn]

I've got one of the Ardesa made 1757s and was hoping another one had been uncovered. Either way it came out pretty nice and Indian or not, it should be fun to shoot.

 

[hanshi]

It looks good, IMO, and it cleaned up nicely just like a pretty girl. Don't worry about the barrel until you proof it. If no damage work up a load and shoot it to see what it will do.

 

[rickystl]

Nice find. And good job on the clean up. The lock might need the frizzen hardened and minor tuning, maybe not. But as long as the barrel checks out, there is no reason it can't be a shooter.
You can even test the barrel itself, out of the stock per method above using some fuse.

I also have one of the Spanish made replicas.

Rick

 

[Youngblood]

I dont want anything to do with this thing. I rolled the dice hoping for spanish or italian and i lost. Anyone wants it you can have it cheap.

 

[Rudyard]

The Indian Proof marks are usually incorporating the sitting lion face & both sides , I cant say its a proof mark you have . They generaly arrive clean & are easier exported as non guns , The proof marks are the 'Ashoka 'actually four stareing lions but the rear one you cant see .UPS might be' Utter Pradesh' a state where Cawnpore (Canpur) is the' Birmingham of India ' But since you don't want it that's a bit accademic . Ive worked up lots of these imports and they all stood Brum Proof & will work up to be fine locks granted not that simple . ' Iv'e seen them touted as ' Best Australian tubeing '. (Probably Warrented' Not to burst more than once ')
Rudyard

 

[Colonial Boy]

The barrel markings translate as N.J.S. (NJ Sikligar) UDR (Udaipur) which is in Rajasthan.
The 9.4.11 is the date of manufacture in day/month/year format.
I’ve seen a number of their long arms and although historical accuracy may be a bit off the quality has been good.
They currently trade as Naragan Sports (P) Ltd.