Old Belgian musket help

[rdlowe]

I picked this up a few years ago in the bargain bin at a gun shop. It's obviously a Belgian knockoff influenced by the Charleville design but that's all I know. The makers mark was in use for over a hundred years. It has a thick patina all over except the underside of the barrel and the ramrod is thick enough to beat a mule to death with. If anyone knows anything more than I do about it I'd appreciate your help.




A serial number is visible on the lock plate as well as the stock.


The front and rear barrel bands are secured by a piece of spring steel.


The center band is secured by the sling swivel screw.

The stock has been repaired at some point on the left side of the tang.

 

[curator]

The Belgian gun industry in Liege produced flintlock muskets for their African colonies until the mid-1950s. Some were sold in Stoeger catalogs in the early 60s.

 

[rdlowe]

The Belgian gun industry in Liege produced flintlock muskets for their African colonies until the mid-1950s. Some were sold in Stoeger catalogs in the early 60s.

Do you know if it could be dated by the serial number?

 

[curator]

"Do you know if it could be dated by the serial number?"

Probably, but the real question is how to access Belgian governmental records. My understanding of the African musket trade is that the parts were made via a cottage industry network then assembled by the arms-maker that had the government contract. Many of the parts were left-overs from the original musket manufacturing era of the early 1800s. The ones I have examined were a curious mixture of original and newly made parts. Most of them were sturdy, serviceable guns suitable for hunting bush-meat or protection from smaller dangerous wildlife. The presence of a bayonet mounting lug on the barrel may indicate that your gun has an original barrel. Handling one of these on can almost hear the drums form Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." The European overlords of the Belgian Congo recognized the need for the Native Peoples to be able to defend themselves but thought it best to only allow them flintlock muskets. (sound familiar?)

 

[TFoley]

"Do you know if it could be dated by the serial number?"

Probably, but the real question is how to access Belgian governmental records.

You mean 'probably not'. The lock number has little or nothing to do with the serial number of the gun, which is stamped on the barrel. Damage the lock? Replace the lock. Damage the barrel? Replacing it, since it is the heart of the gun, means another serial number altogether. And voilá, you have a different gun. Many moons ago a few of us made a visit to FN in Herstal, and had a peek through some of their fascinating archive photography [with photos of THE MAN - J M Browning himself], courtsy of their publicity officer, one M. Mievis. One of the images that suck in my mind was a hopper load of around fifteen TONS of old gun parts - locks, barrels - everything - being tipped into a steel-melting crucible. Most of the parts looked like those belonging to the OP's musket, and probably were.

As for accessing Belgian government records, namely those of the BEAL - Banc Épreuve des Armes Liége - forget it.

 

[rdlowe]

Thank you both for the information! I had no idea these things were assembled like mutts from new and original parts. Something new every day. I think this gun is pretty cool.

 

[FlinterNick]

These Belgian muskets were of a commercial design intended for cheap sales. Later on they were marketed as Charleville Reproductions.