Need help identifying this 8mm or .30 Cal.half stock percussion rifle

[JIM1911]

Hello everyone, I need some help in identifying this rifle I recently purchased. It's .30 or 8mm caliber percussion half-stock rifle. It has a steel ramrod. The hammer was frozen and the nipple was clogged with powder rust. A little oil a ten minutes time and it’s all functional again. It has a hook breach barrel. One screw in the forestock holds the barrel in place. Remove the screw and tilt up the barrel and out it comes. One screw holds the lock in place. It uses full-size musket caps not the smaller #10 or 11 caps. I am thinking it may be of European manufacture but I don’t know for sure. Google was of no help on this one. I will appreciate any help given. Thank you. Jim

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Didnt think 30 cal was invented until 1894

 

[TFoley]

Any chance of full-length shots, please? Looking at quarter-length photos of guns makes me offer quarter-length responses.

 

[Sam squanch]

It is a monkey gun from Southeast Asia. Small bore to conserve powder. Sometimes instead of a cap, match heads were used. They still use these today, as modern firearms are either banned or too expensive. Look up south East Asian muzzleloader on you tube , and you will see similar guns being made. Some works of art, some are scrapyard specials! Some are ignited with a cap gun paper cap! But they seem to work.

 

[JIM1911]

Any chance of full-length shots, please? Looking at quarter-length photos of guns makes me offer quarter-length responses.

Sorry, the first photo is a full length photo if you click on it. I don’t know why the thumbnail cropped it so bad. I will add pic from farther back. Thank you.

 

[JIM1911]

It is a monkey gun from Southeast Asia. Small bore to conserve powder. Sometimes instead of a cap, match heads were used. They still use these today, as modern firearms are either banned or too expensive. Look up south East Asian muzzleloader on you tube , and you will see similar guns being made. Some works of art, some are scrapyard specials! Some are ignited with a cap gun paper cap! But they seem to work.

Thank you! That would explain the coil spring on the the hammer. Not pictured.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Has anyone ever tried sticking a match head on one of these and see if it detonates? I have heard this story for years.

 

[54ball]

Has anyone ever tried sticking a match head on one of these and see if it detonates? I have heard this story for years.

I have my doubts too. One thing is for sure, it can't be done with modern made US matches. The old strike anywhere matches may work. (Like the kind John Wayne struck off of people's faces.)
The story I heard was a couple of boys shot a hole in the front porch with grandpaw's CW musket. They had played "army" with it for years popping match heads. One day...Boom.

 

[appalichian hunter]

If you can find them the old white tipped barn burners is what you want. Take one match head and place in a paper soda straw fold one end of the straw over insert the match head in the open end and place on the vent. We would take these and fired 22 cal rifle cases stuff the case full of as many match heads as you could, crimp the case shut place on anvil and give it a good Wack with a hammer. BIG BANG, AS TO THE OLD TYPE BARN BURNERS THEY WERE DONE AWAY WITH DUE TO MICE CHEWING ON THE MATCH HEADS CAUSING THEM TO LIGHT resulting in well the barn, house or whatever building they were in burning.

 

[Hermit Tim]

Has anyone ever tried sticking a match head on one of these and see if it detonates? I have heard this story for years.

Never occurred to me to try.

 

[52Bore]

I suspect you have a gun build with parts.
As for the barrel question: I do have a 30cal with a steel ramrod - if that helps?

 

[Hermit Tim]

I suspect you have a gun build with parts.
As for the barrel question: I do have a 30cal with a steel ramrod - if that helps?
View attachment 248579

That's a right nice looking rifle.