smoothshooter
50 Cal.
Why not just poke the deer in the eye with the ramrod?
Scottish Deer Rifle
- Thread starter Feltwad
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Why not just poke the deer in the eye with the ramrod?
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Well we are talking hypothetical and the rod if used separately it might leave the hypothetical hunter with two separate parts to consider. Neither of us was there hypothetically or other wise so your surmise is as good as mine .
Rudyard
very nice rifle, I sure love this forum. The fine workmanship of the maker. Another fine gun Feltwad. Bruce
I love the gun. Is it yours, or do you just have photographs? I have seen a similar fitting on the side of the barrel near the muzzle, just can not remember where.
Yes the gun is mine and part of my collection. All photos of guns entered by me are part or have been in the collection
Feltwad
Quite and interesting rifle. Love the damascus!
Images please it would be interesting to se this piece
Feltwad
ResearchPress
45 Cal.
Preferably in a new thread specifically for the William Landell percussion double barrel! Let’s not muddle discussion with multiple antique arms under one thread. Please…
David
That will be a good idea
Feltwad
The fancy barrel places this above standard quality. Replacement sights, sure would be nice to have the original sights in hand to go with the gun. The thingybob at the end up near the muzzle is some sort of steadyrest for whomever last used the gun. It is possible the gun left the manufacturer with it on, as it’s not a bad piece of work itself. Many past hunters of 18th and 19th centuries had been badly injured in the nonstop wars and military actions of their times, and quite a few had their hunting weapons outfitted with rests and stands ergonomically fit to the user’s particular physique and limits. I’ll bet this gun is still plenty accurate
No doubt a bayonet lug. The first image is a Baker rifle, the other two are a Swiss military rifle (currently on Gunbroker.)
DuncNZ
54 Cal.
What a lovely rifle .
I'd say it is a bayonet lug , no need for an attached rest when a hill stick with a forked top was used, almost without exception when one was required , as a shooting rest .
De Witt Bailey's book on British Military flintlocks has a picture on page 32 of a J Twigg officers rifle with a short socket bayonet which was carried in a butt trap , the picture is not clear enough to see if there is a bayonet bar fitted . It lets one realise that the British did use this feature .
I use a hill stick with an antler fork as a rest and in my experience over many shots is there is no way you could use a stick attached at the muzzle , the stick is held in place by the shooters off hand , in my case left hand . A stick at the muzzle would be a problem to reach or use as a steady , as well as being slow to use and a hinderance if the shooter had to move.
I'd say it is a bayonet lug , no need for an attached rest when a hill stick with a forked top was used, almost without exception when one was required , as a shooting rest .
De Witt Bailey's book on British Military flintlocks has a picture on page 32 of a J Twigg officers rifle with a short socket bayonet which was carried in a butt trap , the picture is not clear enough to see if there is a bayonet bar fitted . It lets one realise that the British did use this feature .
I use a hill stick with an antler fork as a rest and in my experience over many shots is there is no way you could use a stick attached at the muzzle , the stick is held in place by the shooters off hand , in my case left hand . A stick at the muzzle would be a problem to reach or use as a steady , as well as being slow to use and a hinderance if the shooter had to move.
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Saves on powder, a ball and one (1) cap.
If it’s a bayonet lug that has marred this beautiful sporting rifle, then perhaps it was required for service in the county militia, a duty or valued opportunity common when the rifle was made. I have seen special rests made for sporting guns that almost defied understanding, because they addressed some peculiar injury or physical abnormality due to polio. Most hunting in Scotland is done on the ground, crawling up to the crest of the hill, and shooting from there. Several years ago I returned a historic beautiful black powder double rifle to its original huge estate (Knoydart) in NW Scotland to hunt red stag. Ghillies and stalkers from all around came to shoot the gun, as did some visiting sportsmen and women. Anyhow, I spent a lot of time crawling about in the mud and the crags, and some people do shoot off sticks, but most shoot prone off their bag. The beasts won’t stand for a moment’s exposure to humans. I’d like to see an 1880s bayonet charge on a wounded stag!
This is no military barrel. It is a very carefully crafted and expensive form of Damascus steel made for quality sporting guns.
DuncNZ
54 Cal.
I have just realized this rifle was on the forum on June 7 2020 so I will refrain from any more comment on it .
The Thumb Stick is a long walking stick with a v shaped top , usually made from forked antler top , the thumb part is where the user walks with his/her thumb in the v notch , giving extra purchase , and making the stick more suitable as a shooting or glassing rest .
I always use what I call a hill stick when stalking red deer here in New Zealand , my current stick is about 5' long and made of Hazel wood with a red antler fork as the notch and a concrete nail as the ground end , these nails are tough and almost never wear out .
The country I stalk in is similar to that of Scotland except a lot steeper and the stick comes into its own when both climbing and shooting off hand in 3' - 4' snow grass when sitting or prone shots are impossible .
The Thumb Stick is a long walking stick with a v shaped top , usually made from forked antler top , the thumb part is where the user walks with his/her thumb in the v notch , giving extra purchase , and making the stick more suitable as a shooting or glassing rest .
I always use what I call a hill stick when stalking red deer here in New Zealand , my current stick is about 5' long and made of Hazel wood with a red antler fork as the notch and a concrete nail as the ground end , these nails are tough and almost never wear out .
The country I stalk in is similar to that of Scotland except a lot steeper and the stick comes into its own when both climbing and shooting off hand in 3' - 4' snow grass when sitting or prone shots are impossible .
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