I have an original Ohio rifle I purchased a few years ago. It very likely dates to the mid 1850’s. Style and the J&D Little barrel both indicate that it was made in that period…the barrel is a factory made item common at the time.
I can’t make out the signature or match it to any known maker.
I have not refinished it in any way, it appears as I received it with a few exceptions that I will point out.
I did soak the barrel to remove years of grime and grit. This revealed the engraving on the crown, the barrel address, makers signature and the silver front sight.
I did have a local professional builder replace a missing piece of the toe, a small piece of the stock in front of the nipple and we repaired a couple of small live cracks. The nipple and drum were completely encased in old corrosion, that was cleaned off and a new nipple installed.
It’s a .32ish, the bore is coned and mikes .36 but it’s clearly a .32ish. Bore is dark but shootable. The stripes are inked on as was common in that era.
I was really considering having it opened up and relined by Hoyt to a .36 that I could use for turkeys and fun shooting. But, I have other guns for that…so maybe someone here would be interested in this period piece. It really is a time machine.
My guess is that it was a stump gun, a target rifle. Which explains its very good condition. Clearly it had a mild refinish at some time. But you can still see the scrape marks in the wood and strips are still very fresh. Don’t know, but it wasn’t stripped down and shellacked in the 1960’s…I’m sure of that.
$1050 shipped in a wood crate for a trip back to the 1850’s…
Lots of pics in the next post after lunch.
I can’t make out the signature or match it to any known maker.
I have not refinished it in any way, it appears as I received it with a few exceptions that I will point out.
I did soak the barrel to remove years of grime and grit. This revealed the engraving on the crown, the barrel address, makers signature and the silver front sight.
I did have a local professional builder replace a missing piece of the toe, a small piece of the stock in front of the nipple and we repaired a couple of small live cracks. The nipple and drum were completely encased in old corrosion, that was cleaned off and a new nipple installed.
It’s a .32ish, the bore is coned and mikes .36 but it’s clearly a .32ish. Bore is dark but shootable. The stripes are inked on as was common in that era.
I was really considering having it opened up and relined by Hoyt to a .36 that I could use for turkeys and fun shooting. But, I have other guns for that…so maybe someone here would be interested in this period piece. It really is a time machine.
My guess is that it was a stump gun, a target rifle. Which explains its very good condition. Clearly it had a mild refinish at some time. But you can still see the scrape marks in the wood and strips are still very fresh. Don’t know, but it wasn’t stripped down and shellacked in the 1960’s…I’m sure of that.
$1050 shipped in a wood crate for a trip back to the 1850’s…
Lots of pics in the next post after lunch.
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