Leman Smooth Rifle

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Good morning everyone, I recently purchased this smooth bore muzzle loader without knowing much about it. I was asking about it over here: UNIDENTIFIED - A Smooth Rifle (again) and was told I should come ask in this forum. All I know from the seller is that he bought it a few years ago from an older gentleman who had owned it a long time. He said it was probably made in the 1840s and that it is .62 caliber. The stamp reads "Leman Lanctr. PA". I've done quite a bit of reading on Leman and it sounds like he was prolific, but I've yet to find anything exactly like this one. Could anybody tell me more about the gun? Any ideas on what it's worth?

 

[Tanselman]

Your smooth bore "buck & ball" gun has a lock that was sold by Henry Leman, but his factory did not build the gun. Leman made many types of firearms but also supplied parts to many local gunsmiths and retailers. Your gun's stock architecture, or shape, does not appear to be a Leman style. Rather, another gunsmith purchased a Leman percussion lock from his local hardware merchant for use on this 1840s-1850s dual purpose gun. Its smooth bore could shoot both round ball for larger game, or shot for smaller game, thus the "buck & ball" designation. The rifle sights on the barrel show it could shoot round balls, while the round barrel, single trigger, and smooth bore are good indications it was also used with shot.

This type dual purpose gun is generally not as valuable as a rifle, and later half-stocked pieces are usually lower priced that full-stocked examples. Examples stocked in walnut usually bring less than those stocked in curly maple. If signed by the gunsmith on top of the barrel several inches behind the rear sight, it will help identify the gun and increase its value... but many of these plain, half-stocked buck & ball guns were rather generic pieces, a simple multi-purpose working gun for use on the farm. If unsigned, you will probably never know who made it. The gun most likely came from Pennsylvania simply because more Leman locks were used there than in other states and the guard seems to suggest that origin. Values are subjective, but I think it would fall in the $250-$350 range... and more if signed on the barrel so it can be assigned to a specific maker and location.

Shelby Gallien

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Your smooth bore "buck & ball" gun has a lock that was sold by Henry Leman, but his factory did not build the gun. Leman made many types of firearms but also supplied parts to many local gunsmiths and retailers. Your gun's stock architecture, or shape, does not appear to be a Leman style. Rather, another gunsmith purchased a Leman percussion lock from his local hardware merchant and mounted it on this 1840s-1850s dual purpose gun. Its smooth bore could shoot both round ball for larger game, or shot for smaller game, thus the "buck & ball" designation. The rifle sights on the barrel show it could shoot round balls, while the round barrel and smooth bore are good indications it was also used with shot.

This type dual purpose gun is generally not as valuable as a rifle, and later half-stocked pieces are usually lower priced that full-stocked examples. Examples stocked in walnut usually bring less than those stocked in curly maple. If signed by the gunsmith on top of the barrel several inches behind the rear sight, it will help identify the gun and increase its value... but many of these plain, half-stocked buck & ball guns were rather generic pieces, a simple multi-purpose working gun for the farm. If unsigned, you will probably never know who made it. The gun is probably from Pennsylvania simply because more Leman locks were used there than in other state and the guard seems to suggest that origin. Values are subjective, but I would think it would fall in the $250-$350 range... and more if signed on the barrel so it can be assigned to a specific maker and location.

Shelby Gallien

Thank you, that's more information than anybody else has given me so far. It doesn't look like the barrel is signed, but it does have this pattern stamped here. Maybe this was just a tool mark left when the barrel was forged, or maybe it is some kind of identification.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Thank you, that's more information than anybody else has given me so far. It doesn't look like the barrel is signed, but it does have this pattern stamped here. Maybe this was just a tool mark left when the barrel was forged, or maybe it is some kind of identification.View attachment 198691

 

[Trot]

Those look like vise marks on the barrel, either from when it was made or when someone removed the breechplug at some point.

 

[sheriff john]

Interesting piece to me. One old-timer years ago, called these "cornstalk guns" because the barrels resembled cornstalks. Lots more common back in the day than rifles or double-barrels, they were the everyman's gun - useful for everything. Finding them in good shape is getting harder these days. Thanks for posting.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Even if it isn't worth much, I still think it's a really cool piece.