Rebel, this old wreck had a bbl stuffed full of something, and I was trying to free it..I'd put oil in, and it hadn't even worked its way to the nipple after a couple of days..there was enough manure in the bbl that measuring with the ram rod wouldn't work...what finally came out was a mud-dauber's nest...this old gun had been found under a barn...I picked it up by the bbl in an antique store, and the stock fell off...the tang was broken about 2" back from the breech, the lock was missing, and it had once been a full stock but had been cut down at a break, and much repaired with hand cut brass brads and galvanized metal squares...I took photo's of everything, finally cut off the bbl in front of the breech, leaving 43"...the bbl went to a gunsmith friend, as did the remains of the stock for use as a pattern, the set triggers, which still worked, went to a chap who does work for Jim Chambers..maybe to be of interest there...finally, what I thought was the iron hardware turned out to be brass...the buttplate, trigger guard and the ramrod entry pipe are now on an old CVA Mtn rifle....such local "experts" as I could find agreed on two things...it was a composite of at least 2 old guns, and some of the parts were Revolutionary War era...the brass that I saved...Hank