Local find...any input appreciated

[MAN - GA]

Found this gun local for a good price - seller says there is no markings on the gun - Anyone have input on it?
Is their anything in the carvings or metal work from these photos that would lead to a specific builder?
Workmanship from photos appears pretty good

45caliber
Asking price is $250 - for my first flint gun it looks fun
What do you'all think?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Looks to be 1960 to 1980 replica kit build. You might have to remove the barrel to see if there are any maker's marks on the bottom flat.

You may also have to remove the lock to see if any identifying stamps are inside the lock plate. Imported guns should have proof markings on one of the visible flats of the barrel.

The dealer should let you check the gun out to see if the lock throws a shower of sparks and that the touch hole is positioned so a pan of burning powder will set off the main charge. The touch hole should be in the so called sunset position over the pan. Just slightly above the top of the pan and centered on the pan. Run some patches down the bore to see if the bore is clean and that there is no obstruction (perhaps an old load) in the barrel. The patch color should show if there is a rust build up or merely dark from the oils in the bore.

If it sparks, it should be fun.

 

[robinsroost]

If there are no markings on the gun how do you know that it is .45 caliber? In any case, buy it because you will never find a deal like that again.......robin :wink:

 

[MAN - GA]

Going to hold it this weekend all the info I have thus far is from the individual selling. He says it came from an estate sale 15-20yrs ago, he never shot it, but his son confirmed bore with a jag/patch, he told me I could do whatever I wanted to investigate including removing pins which he has done and says there is no visible marks.
I guess I am just going to not sleep the rest of the week and Friday night will feel like I am 9yrs old again and it is Christmas Eve.

 

[Katahdin]

Buy it at that price you can always put it on the blanket..

 

[galamb]

It's not the prettiest thing I have ever seen, but there is certainly more than 250 bucks worth of parts there.

Unless the barrel is a rust bucket, I would say it's well worth the asking price.

 

[azmntman]

C'mon guys...the man asked a serious question! I have the answer, it hurts to say but thats a super rotten deal, worst I seen in a while :td:

Oh, by the way, where did you say it was?

:rotf:

 

[Trot]

I would want to make sure it sparks before putting out that kind of money. It looks to be one of the import kits of the 1970's or so, some of them had such poor locks you just couldn't get them to spark.

 

[hanshi]

Rather homely but if it works okay then you have a potentially excellent hunting and shooting rifle. The parts are worth at least that much.

 

[Zonie]

It is a rather unique rifle.

I'm not sure what company made the lock. It reminds me of some of the Spanish locks made within the last 20 years but the figures are a lot more elaborate than those locks have.

About the only thing that seems to be somewhat familiar to me is the shape of the patchbox.

It is probably not an original but it seems to have been copied from some of the New England rifle styles.

In any case, if the lock works and the barrel is in good condition it is well worth $250.
If nothing else, you can say you have the only rifle in the world that looks like this one.

 

[mooman76]

To me it kind of looks like someone took a cheaper kit rifle and fixed it up adding some upgraded parts and maybe a new stock but that's just a guess.

Allot of the furniture looks Jukar to me. I have an old Jukar pistol that has a lock very similar to that but can't quite tell without a closer look and the trigger guard is just like the Jukar Kentucky rifle.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Jukar parts for sure. At least the lock, trigger guard and side plate. Probably the barrel too. Looks like somebody did not like the two piece stock and restocked a Jukar Kentucky rifle.

IMHO the gun is worth a bit less than 250.00.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

:applause:
:bow:

Congratulations...Zimmerstutzen got it in one! That is a restocked, Spanish [Jukar] made, "long rifle", including the side plate. The patch box and the brass at the barrel pin are the only added items that I can see. I will bet the barrel is under 36" in length. Might be pretty good on round ball, if the bore isn't rusted.

$250 for that is absolute Top Dollar (imho) as the only real improvement is to replace the standard two-piece stock. I'd offer $200 cash and see if the seller bites....play up that he can't tell you if it's a better barrel than Spanish...


LD

 

[MAN - GA]

Thanks gents...
After the first reference to Jukar was made I started googling last night and started to see pics with similar parts, but since I don't have a picture of the entire gun butt to muzzle I wouldn't have picked up on the stock swap. Thanks again for input and pricing points. I may pass and just save my money for down the road

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thanks gents...
After the first reference to Jukar was made I started googling last night and started to see pics with similar parts, but since I don't have a picture of the entire gun butt to muzzle I wouldn't have picked up on the stock swap. Thanks again for input and pricing points. I may pass and just save my money for down the road

Or you might just make a super low offer, like $150.00. If you get it for that you can buy a replacement lock and have a shooter. Your total investment would be about $300.00.

 

[Katahdin]

Might just take it out and shoot it!!!Could answer a lot of questions>> Who knows what it can do or spark or anything else...truth is in the shooting.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'm not telling you not to buy it or that it won't shoot..., just trying to save you some $$. Make an offer... might shoot very well.

I was once told by a very sage old man,

"You can put lipstick on a pig, and it's still a pig..., but sometimes you will find that the pig can hunt truffles." :wink:

I didn't understand what he meant until years later when I found out how much money one can make if your pig can hunt up truffles....

LD

 

[Captjoel]

This topic also answers a lot of questions that seem to pop up quite often around here. "I have this old Jukar rifle and I want to turn it into something a bit more PC." You can do a lot of things to one of those Spanish rifles, but with all of the work and sweat you put into it.....It will never increase its basic value.

 

[Micah Clark]

Well, I may be way off base, and some have identified the lock as a Jukar, but it sure looks a lot like my Lyman Great Plains lock which is invest arms, I believe and it's not a bad lock.

Gun looks like a decent deal to me.

Of course, what do I know? I was just at Friendship and had a very famous builder ( I won't "tip" it off with his name) tell me that Rice barrels are manure. ( I am glad I didn't tell him I am building a lancaster in .32 with a rice barrel that looks nice to me inside and out. . ) He also told me he didn't think much of my Lyman GPR, but the more we talked (I really praised his stuff quite a bit before I told him what I had and after, ) he finally admitted that my Lyman wasn't a bad gun. . . it just wasn't one of HIS that he wanted me to buy for $1,300. ( I bought my Lyman for 350 used and have never regretted it. )

A lot of it is in the eye of the beholder, I think. If you like your rifle and it shoots well, you then got a GREAT deal, which no one can deny.

 

[Micah Clark]

By the way, the only thing that I think really hurts this gun's appearance that really jumps out at me is the side plate and its mortise. . the shape - what the HECK is that all about ???

I'd ditch the brass plate use two washers and reshape that thing to more of an oval rather than an upside down T look. The top leg needs to go somehow. and just a brass washer on the lock bolts in my opinion.