Miquelet lock rifle and pistol

[Mcat]

This is my first posting to a new thread. It will be in two parts. First is to show a rifle I bought from an online auction out of Alberta over a year ago.
it was not sold as an antique which I found strange since in Canada reproduction flintlock long arms are considered antiques. The advertisement suggested it might be a kit gun.
When I got it, the lock would not fire. Once I figured out how this new to me lock worked and cleaned and oiled it, it started working fine with lots of sparks.
i haven’t shot it much but at 50 yards it hits right where it is aimed. It is 54 cal. and so are most of my other muzzle loader long arms. I added the brass tacks, side plate and thumb piece. So this got me interested in miquelet lock guns and I’ve read up on them a bit. In my next posting I will show photos of a pistol I will be receiving next week and some questions for members.

 

[Mcat]

This miquelet lock pistol was purchased from an online auction in Ontario in September and I was notified by the RCMP that the transfer was approved yesterday. Yes it is taking 6 months to get approvals since the government warned and then passed the law forbidding the sale, purchase or transfer (including inheritance) of any restricted handgun! Between the warning and passing the handgun business in Canada was blazing!
This gun was auctioned as a restricted firearm although there is no maker identified and to me it appears to be an antique. All photos on the auction web site were of the gun disassembled. I would appreciate any information members could offer about this gun and the Spanish inscription and markings on the barrel. Perhaps members from Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Arizona or California have seen such a gun in local museums.

 

[rickystl]

Hi again John

YOUR PISTOL: I hate to be the messenger of bad news. The pistol is one of the higher quality replicas made for the tourist market back in the 1950's and 60's. While it looks like an authentic replica at first glance, and even up close, the pistol was never made to be fired. And please do not attempt to fire it without a new, genuine muzzle loading barrel. The barrel itself is a casing, with the stamping and engraving all part of the casting. The barrel tang is also part of the single barrel casting. There is no breech plug. The lock does function, but not very well. The lock could be sent out to be dis-assembled, and all the primary working parts heat treated and hardened. But I would not be too optimistic. As-is, all the lock parts are too soft and will wear down very quickly.
The Company that made these tourist pistols made two different styles, both using the same lock. You have one style. Here is the other style. Note the locks are identical. These pistols often show up mat various auctions. Again, while they are fairly accurate-looking replicas, they were never made to be fired. Many of the latter ones didn't even have the bore of the barrel drilled all the way to the vent hole as a safety precaution. Here is a pic of one that I have.

Rick

 

[Mcat]

Wow. Thanks again Rick. Good/bad to know. Really appreciate your information and cautions. I’ll give it a really good inspection. That’s the problem with online auctions. There are always surprises - usually requiring repairs or as you suggest setting aside from the range.

btw. The auction description described the bore as fair which I normally would be hesitant to shoot - and this time definitely won’t.

John

 

[Mcat]

Received the pistol yesterday disassembled and put it together to see how it functioned - examined the bore and worked on some minor scale. The barrel does have a breech plug, but the inside shows a thin long straight seam. I’ll try to take a picture when I take it apart again. The gun lock came with a sharp (cut my thumb) piece of sheet metal glued to the frizzen, I guess in hopes to improve the sparking. I removed it and cleaned up the glue and lightly sanded the frizzen. Found a flint finally that seems to fit, but couldn’t produce any spark at all. The flint pounds straight into the frizzen and does not throw it back. Frizzen spring seems stiff and probably too strong. I’ll take it apart and make my first attempt at hardening the face of a frizzen. Will have to do this later on another project anyway. Might as well learn now. Got hardening material from TOW a couple of years ago, but never used it.
I thought I would refinish the stock, but Renaissance conservators wax gave it nice antique glow, so for now I’ll leave it be.

 

[rickystl]

Hi John

Thanks for posting again. That long, thin seem could be from the casting mold. Or from the use of seamed tubing. Also a good chance the breech plug is press-fitted instead of the correct use of threads. That Ren-Wax is great stuff. A bit pricey to purchase, but not expensive to use. Takes very little. Keep us posted on the project.

Rick

 

[Mcat]

Here is a quick update. Case hardened the frizzen face. It now sparks. Don’t have an acetylene torch so did it with a propane. Took longer, but came up to cherry red fairly quickly. Held the cherry red compound on the frizzen face at, yes, cherry red for about 2 1/2 minutes before quenching in warm water. Tempered the toe and pan to blue and air cooled.

Relieved the tension on the frizzen simply by rounding the toe a bit. It now clears back enough for the sparks to fall in the pan. Easier on the flints now.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

CVA sold some PROOF TESTED miquelet lock guns in the early 1970's

All Spanish made guns that are intended to be fired, would have a proof test mark somewhere. It's their law, except for kits.