Please help me identify my family heirloom.

[bbarnz]

I was recently given a family musket that has been in my family for years. I was told my great great grandfather modified it to percussion to put down hogs to butcher. Other than that I have little information. Can anyone help me find when and where this was made and by who? (Picture #8 has a name engraved). Also does anyone know where I can find replacement parts for it? It is missing small decorative pieces and the patch door. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[OldRust]

Welcome to the forum & that is an outstanding family heirloom ! I am just a student, the SME's- subject matter experts will be along to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that rifle and lock was ever a flintlock. The Frank Sellers book lists a Daniel Derr in Bellefonte, PA listed in the town directories from 1861-1868 who built percussion fullstocks. Might be a match.
As far as replacement parts anything for that rifle would need to be fabricated. We have folks here on the forum who have the chops to do a professional preservation on a long gun of that era. Please don't let an amateur get their hands on it. You would be destroying history.

Thanks,
O.R.

 

[64Springer]

She's had a hard life.

She has scars from being mildly abused.

She shows signs of being visited by thieves.

She deserves to be left alone.

.02

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

nice family history piece

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Most any attempt to restore will ruin value. It would take a museum level advanced knowledge restorer to do anything that would not devalue that piece. Cherish it and preserve it for posterity.

 

[oldwood]

If it is a Danial Derr , Bellefonte Pa. , it's a local gun for us that live here. Nice find.. With out careful consideration and the proper skills , this gun can be destroyed by an amature restorer. If you want a gun like it , I'de have a copy of it made to shoot. W/o research , the stock style looks like a Susquehanna Valley School rifle.

 

[jdw276]

One reason some of the inlays may be missing, have a fellow shooter who has a family heirloom with missing inlays, is they were taken out during the depression and sold traded for the metal content. Folks needed money badly. Could be a reason for the missing inlays.

 

[bbarnz]

Thank you for the information. I can’t find any information at all on Daniel Derr but there’s a lot of info for John Derr. I’m guessing they were related both being gunmakers from Penn. Where can I find out more about Daniel the maker of my rifle?

 

[Whiteoak15]

A wonderful honest heirloom!!!

 

[Tanglefoot]

Nobody else has mentioned this, so I'm going to. That's NOT A MUSKET! It's a very nice, original long rifle with a percussion lock. There are no drop-in parts. Others have mentioned this:
Get a skilled muzzleloading gunsmith to restore it if you choose to do that. Someone from your area who is on this forum should be able to help you find one.

 

[OldRust]

Thank you for the information. I can’t find any information at all on Daniel Derr but there’s a lot of info for John Derr. I’m guessing they were related both being gunmakers from Penn. Where can I find out more about Daniel the maker of my rifle?

I suggest contacting the Center County ,PA Historical Society. Link below Very often the. County Historical Society’s will research for you and only charge an hourly fee. If they do it gratis I always make a donation.

Thanks,
O.R.

https://centrehistory.org/

 

[bbarnz]

I suggest contacting the Center County ,PA Historical Society. Link below Very often the. County Historical Society’s will research for you and only charge an hourly fee. If they do it gratis I always make a donation.

Thanks,
O.R.

https://centrehistory.org/

Great idea. Thanks!

 

[Eric Krewson]

Don't clean it, polish the brass or anything else and check to see if it is loaded. Many of the old guns ARE loaded, I found one loaded at a pawn shop, the shop owner said about 40% of the B/P guns they got in were loaded.

 

[OldRust]

Don't clean it, polish the brass or anything else and check to see if it is loaded. Many of the old guns ARE loaded, I found one loaded at a pawn shop, the shop owner said about 40% of the B/P guns they got in were loaded.

The best advice given on this post so far. Be sure it's not loaded ! Almost all of us old-timers know and do this but forget to state it.

Thanks,
O.R

 

[OLUT]

BARNZ,as you probably know the name Derr was common in Pennsylvania, with several different "Derr" makers of percussion guns. I can't tell you if the afore-mentioned Daniel Derr actually made your specific firearm, but I did pull up a bit more info on the one that lived in Bellefonte from at least 1850 until his death in 1882 at age 76. Your gun is well worth getting a SKILLED craftsman to replace the typical "Upper Susquehanna type" inlays and the patchbox door!