OK - So I got these old trade guns..

[XLIV]

Answered a newspaper ad locally and the guy had these left over from a gun sale. He wanted 20 dollars each and I bought all four. All smoothbores, don't know what caliber (haven't measured yet) and even if they just end up as wallhangers I thought I'd share them with you.

Hopefully get some ideas on this and another forum from others who found them to be fun to shoot. I shoot a lot of other disciplines and would love to add muzzleloading to my list.

Tell me what you think. Most of have belgium markings, all locks work. What do I need to look for to determine if theyre safe?
Thanks for your help.
44

 

[mazo kid]

44, first off.... welcome to the forum! Secondly, congratulations on your great find. As far as telling if the guns are safe to shoot, visually inspect them and put a bore light down each bore. What you don't want to see is deep pitted rusty bore and breech areas, loose breech plugs, dented barrels, etc. I would also suggest you take the guns to a gunsmith well versed in black powder guns and let him inspect them, just to be sure. You can make that investment as you really got those guns at a bargain price. Good luck!

 

[blacksmithman64]

welcome to the forum! How come I never run into deals like this!? What'll ya take fer that bottom one with the big ol' ugly triggerguard? :grin:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

You never know with these old Belgian guns. I'd try to find a gunsmith with a good working knowledge of muzzleloaders and have him check them out. These guns were made up out of old parts for the African trade until the 1940s and 1950s. As the rebirth of interest in blackpowder guns took root in America in the 1950s, many of these guns were imported to take advantage of it. There were barrels full of old locks and other parts lying around in Europe and they got turned into guns like these. At the price you paid, even if they are just wallhangers, you did just fine.

 

[jdstrang]

44:

Welcome to the camp, pilgrim! As for your acquisitions, I think you done met Santa Claus already!! Ho ho ho!!

Like the guys said, you need to find a gunsmith who knows from black powder. Give us a hint as to what part of what country you call home, and we'll probably be able to give you a lede on somebody nearby.

Meanwhile, I think I'm in love with the second one down -- the one with barrel bands? I'll give you $60 for it right now -- talk about a profit margine!! :rotf:

 

[Many Klatch]

44 welcome to the forum. You got an exceptional deal. Those do all look like Belgian guns built for the African Trade back before WWII. They are usually stoutly built and if they have Belgian proofmarks they are safer than some of the new guns that are being sold on the market today.

They are probably worth at least $250 to $400 each. Hang on to them for a while and learn to shoot them. They are most likely smoothbores in the .60 caliber range.

Many Klatch

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Nice find, 44! :thumbsup: And welcome to the ML Forum. Should be fun to work up loads for all of em. I think I'd find a dryer spot tho. :wink: GW

 

[cowpoke1955]

Welcome to the forum, you lucky dog :thumbsup: .

 

[brew]

I am interested in the bottom one as well.Let me know what you would like for it

 

[RC]

Welcome..(you lucky***).... :wink: nice find! ya have to keep at least one! should keep em all at that price! please make sure they're unloaded! then like all said get'em checked out by someone who knows bp.....good luck have fun! :thumbsup:

 

[wtilenw]

Wow! now that's a deal that has a LOT of possibilitys. Plenty of room for markup there. Done right, you should be able to move those guns and get just about whatever you want. I love deals like that, it opens the door to MORE DEALS! :grin:
Congratulations!
Idaho PRB

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Tell you what ... I'll give you $40 each to double your money. Well worth it given the economy ...

:surrender:

 

[XLIV]

Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement. I'm very anxious to try muzzleloading. My post wasn't intended to sell them, more to share the excitement. I'm in Siskiyou County in northern California. Anyone close by?

44

Merry Christmas

 

[PreglerD]

Hello from Germany!

You did a good deal there. Clean them inside and outside, measure the cal. and feed them asap with bp and lead to see how they shoot. If you know some guys who shoot ML ask them to go for the range.

Regards

Kirrmeister

 

[bwhoffman]

Welcome 44!
a lot of knowledgable shops 'tween me and you!
Probably get some of the northern CA guys to ring here and get you dialed in!
That is a heck of a find by any man's account!

...sort of like buying a coat at goodwill and finding 2500 cash in the pocket!
My wild arsed guess is you fell into about a 2000 dollar plus pile of guns.
the bottom gun is a real eye catcher....NW trade gun style! That would be the one I would keep for sure!

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

Some great finds! I like the three banded flintlock I bet it's .69 caliber! Is that a real
patchbox or just raised wood?

:thumbsup:

 

[bob308]

i remember seeing gund like that for sale in the early 60's in the sears catalog.

 

[XLIV]

I dont know what a patch box is but it slides out revealing a plenum in the stock..I'm guessing you store cloth or stuff in it?

I'll pull out the calipers tonight and measure some bores. Any ideas what dimensions were common?

44

 

[Many Klatch]

44, anything goes caliber wise. I imagine that the bores will range in size from .60 to .70 or 20 gauge to 12 gauge. Measurements of interest in addition to the bore size are: length of barrel to the breech (or touch hole) outside diameter of the barrel at the muzzle and the breech. The outside measurement of the barrel will tell us how much meat is at the breech which is a kinda sorta measure of how strong the barrel is. With that kind of information there are people here that can tell you what kind of load is optimum for that length and size of barrel.

The patch box was used for carrying spare flints, extra patches, sometimes a screw driver. You have a unique patch box in your picture, I don't know that I have seen one open that way before.

Many Klatch

 

[XLIV]

Found a fella locally that shoots tradeguns and has a bore light. He offered to drop by this weekend and check them out. I'll report on condition and bore sizes. Keep your fingers crossed..

Merry Christmas to all..

44