Old Muzzleloader Identification Needed

[RMSLS1]

The rifle should be brought back too shooting condition a bit of work and the old girl will be killin squirrels again, I have a older full stock sitting now waiting on a trip too be re bored bye HOYT will probally take it to a 40 as there is a lot of metal in the barrel. (depends on what Mr. Hoyt recommends) I would guess the gun would date too civil war times. It is marked but all I can make out is it looks like shetromphf or similar name, it also has a gloucher percussion lock other than the barrel needing some attention it is in very good condition.

I see the goulcher mark on the lock plate. I cannot find where you saw "what looks like shetromphf or similar name ". Can you elaborate on where you saw this?

 

[RMSLS1]

Your capbox appears to be pewter, as you thought, same material used for cast nose caps on many later half-stocked rifles. Your capbox may have been cast in place, similar to casting a nose cap in place, and then screws added to make sure it didn't loosen or pull up over time... since cast pewter isn't as rigid or strong as cast brass... and maybe that's why the lid failed. The lower edge of the finial seems, in my view, to have a slightly feathered edge, which can occur if cast in place. The slight irregularities around the capbox's perimeter suggests it was hand-made by the gunsmith, one of a kind. If cast in place, the mortise may have been undercut around the edges to better hold the box in, so....... be careful if/when you try to remove it.

One possibility for an almost-matching lid would be to use the closest standard brass lid, and when fitted and installed, rough the lid's outer surface and simply coat it with a soft, non-silver, cheap solder and wipe off the excess. It should stick to the clean/roughened brass, and, with a little time, it will turn gray. If not gray enough or the color you want, get an even cheaper solder and simply do it again.

I would be uncomfortable trying to shoot this rifle again with its re-glued stock, since you know nothing about how it was "fixed." Whenever a major wrist break occurs, the stock's integrity is compromised. If the wrist repair is an old glue joint, it probably used only glue, without any dowel rods or pins to hold and reinforce the joint and better insure the two parts stay together... and can tolerate hard thumps again. Sometimes these old rifles, when heavily used and damaged, are best just restored to look whole again, and then put back up on the wall to enjoy and think about what they may have seen during their working days.

Shelby Gallien

I thought I would get a lead test kit to verify if it is pewter. I not sure if it would work, but if lead shows up, it should be pewter. (assuming the pewter has lead) If it is pewter, I thought I would make a mold and try to cast a new one. I really do not want to remove it, since the screw heads are about gone. The spring is still there. I will just need to figure how to use the pin for the hinge. I am sure I would need to file to fit. Attached is a better photo.

 

[Tanselman]

Pewter is basically a lot of tin with a little antimony and copper in it, but no lead so it's safe for plates, cups, and other eating/drinking utensils.

Shelby Gallien

 

[appalichian hunter]

RMSLS1-- not the rifle shown, I have a full stock older rifle I was refrencing.

 

[DuncNZ]

It is marked but all I can make out is it looks like shetromphf or similar name, it also has a gloucher percussion lock other than the barrel needing some attention it is in very good condition.

There is a Schetrompf family based in the Hagerstown Maryland area

 

[Dutch7]

My BIL has a very similar if not duplicate of that gun - I will try to get another look at it and report back.

 

[RMSLS1]

Pewter is basically a lot of tin with a little antimony and copper in it, but no lead so it's safe for plates, cups, and other eating/drinking utensils.

Shelby Gallien

I assumed pewter contained lead, since Track of the Wolf sells pewter ingots that contains lead.

Track of the Wolf - Pewter Containing Lead

 

[RMSLS1]

My BIL has a very similar if not duplicate of that gun - I will try to get another look at it and report back.

It would be great to see some pictures and any history the rifle has.

 

[RayjHindle]

Looks like a great project rifle! Good luck with it!

 

[RMSLS1]

The lead test confirmed the metal for the cap box is a metal containing lead. I am calling it pewter for now. Must have been a low buck, easy way to make a cap box back in the day. I am moving forward with making a pewter mold for the lid. It appears to have been cast from a mold and was inletted into the stock, since the cap box above the stock level in one place. A replica hammer is on order from TOW.