Indian made British E.I.G 1858 / Lancers percussion pistol and questions. (Pictures)

[LommelyktNO]

Hello. I recently bought this percussion pistol, but I don't know much about it. I know it is an Indian made copy of the British 1858 E.I.G or Lancers pistol. I knew that already when I bought it, but it didn't cost an arm and a leg so I bought it anyways. Paid 3000 Norwegian Kroner for it, it's around 300 dollars. Had to choose between an original British made one, and this. The original British one was 600 dollars. Did I do good or bad?
The pistol is made by "S. Insaaf Ali & Sons, Jodphur" in India, it is written on the barrel. So the producer has not tried to "fake" it and sell it as an original. Here is a link to another gun made by the same company: https://www.gunauction.com/buy/12043899
Does anyone know when this was made, and if it's safe to shoot?
I would like to shoot it, but only behind cover the first times...
The barrel has a small inwards "dent" behind the front sight. I don't know if something has happened to it, or if it was made like this? The "dent" seems to be only on the outside of the barrel, inside seems fine.
The pistol looks old, so it can't have been made last Thursday. It looks like a decent copy, pretty well made with good materials. The inside of the barrel looks alright, but is a little dirty and some rust. Would like to know when this pistol was made and if it's safe to shoot it. There is a hole from the percussion nipple and into the barrel, so it's most likely made to be fired.
I have heard different things about Indian made guns. Some say they are good, some say they are trash. But that often depends on who made them.
There is not much information about "S. Insaaf Ali & Sons" online, but if you Google them you find a few things.
Here is some pictures:
Thanks for answers.

 

[Stantheman86]

Veterans Arms still sells these things , it should be a .62. They are $450 American new right now so you did ok

They are Indian made copies of the "Lancer" pistol or just a general purpose Service pistol used by the British

I have a .65 Cavalry carbine made by these Indian makers in Jodhpur, it has proof marks so at some point it passed "proofing" somewhere

If that pistol looks solid, I'd have no problem putting a light charge of 20 grains and a .570 ball in the pipe, with some newspaper wadding over top and firing it. If it does well maybe step up to 30 gr

 

[Stantheman86]

It looks like Udaipur but still, no one is faking and the Indians seem very proud of these early repros, even stamping their name on the lock

Newer Indian guns try harder to be reproductions

 

[LommelyktNO]

Thanks for the reply, now I feel a lot better about my purchase and more confident with the pistol. I will try it with 20 grains, but behind cover the first times. That's a nice little carbine you have there, looks well made. It has more markings than my pistol, mine doesn't have any proof marks. But it has something that looks like a serial number. It is 769 and is on the barrel, behind the hammer and on the trigger guard. It also has a 5 on the trigger guard for some reason.
I don't know if this is a real serial number, I doubt the same company made as many as 769 pistols. Maybe it is a random number just "for looks". Or could the fact that it has a serial number mean that is was "proofed"?
Also I am a little bit worried about the barrel not being the same thickness. I don't know if it's just at the muzzle or the whole barrel, it's really hard to see. Even with a flashlight. But it may be just at the front, a little thicker for the cleaning rod attachment. The small dent behind the front sight also concerns me a little, but it seems to be on the outside only.

 

[Stantheman86]

The barrels were made with seamless tubing and are as strong as the Iron used in originals

Make sure your flash channel is drilled and it's actually shootable, and wasn't sold as a "decorator " to get around Indian gun laws

 

[Stantheman86]

Thanks for the reply, now I feel a lot better about my purchase and more confident with the pistol. I will try it with 20 grains, but behind cover the first times. That's a nice little carbine you have there, looks well made. It has more markings than my pistol, mine doesn't have any proof marks. But it has something that looks like a serial number. It is 769 and is on the barrel, behind the hammer and on the trigger guard. It also has a 5 on the trigger guard for some reason.
I don't know if this is a real serial number, I doubt the same company made as many as 769 pistols. Maybe it is a random number just "for looks". Or could the fact that it has a serial number mean that is was "proofed"?
Also I am a little bit worried about the barrel not being the same thickness. I don't know if it's just at the muzzle or the whole barrel, it's really hard to see. Even with a flashlight. But it may be just at the front, a little thicker for the cleaning rod attachment. The small dent behind the front sight also concerns me a little, but it seems to be on the outside only.

The serial numbers are more like "assembly" numbers to keep parts together during production. Parts may have been made in different locations and then fitted at the "gunmaker" so the numbers help them tell which parts were fitted to what gun. Also, they parts may have been shipped in rough, unfinished condition and assembled by the importer for retail sale. In America, the various sellers like Veteran Arms, Loyalist Arms, Middlesex Village etc receive the "kits" from India and fit and finish them.

Proofing doesn't really mean anything, every country that has Proof Houses has different standards anyway. I'd say just pour 20 grains of powder in, make a wad out of newspaper and fire a few "blanks" through it just to make sure it works. Then try dropping a round ball of any size you have laying around, preferably much smaller than the bore and put a small , tight wad of paper on top and cap it off........if it's still ok then play around with something like a .570 and see if you can hit anything with it. The Service Charge for these would have been around 35 grains and most likely a .580-590ish ball in a paper cartridge.

I don't know what the laws were like in India when these older guns were made, but now, they all ship with undrilled flash holes and the importer, in whatever nation that ordered them, drills the flash holes.

People tend to look down on the Indian guns so you won't find a lot of info out there. I have a YouTube video of me firing an Indian .58 P53 smoothbore and it shot perfectly fine.

 

[LommelyktNO]

The barrels were made with seamless tubing and are as strong as the Iron used in originals

Make sure your flash channel is drilled and it's actually shootable, and wasn't sold as a "decorator " to get around Indian gun laws

I removed the percussion nipple, and it has a hole. But I can't see if it goes into the barrel or not. Tried to stick a small sewing needle in there, but it doesn't go far in, around 6-8 mm. Also used a flashlight to see if I could see the needle from the barrel, but I couldn't see it. I also tried to blow down the barrel to see if any air comes out the hole, and I don't think it does. It might be closed because of dirt, or it might be unfinished and I have to drill it myself. But since it has a hole, I assume it is made to be fired.
A "decorator" wouldn't have a hole at all. The hole may also be fully drilled and I just don't see it...Guess the only way to find out is to fire it with a blank load and see what happens. Here is some pictures of the hole. (The "hair" on the last picture is from a Q-Tip).

 

[nhmoose]

It could be loaded perhaps????

 

[user 55620]

Blow down the barrel and see if you can feel anything through the nipple. I was told that the guns made in India were not complete as they were not allowed to make firearms. People who import the guns make them usable. I do not know how true this is. The Indian guns sold in the UK should be O.K. Because they have to be proofed before they can be sold here.
If you can get air through the nipple by blowing down the barrel, perhaps it would be safe to try a cap on the nipple, but no powder. If that is O.K., go on from there. A gun vice and a long lanyard would be handy.