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- May 24, 2005
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Thanks Cyten for the additional photos. Great !!!
Rick
Rick
Talk about Primitive!!
Hi JohnAre there any good books on Indian muzzleloaders?
That’s a bummer. My girlfriend just got back from an architecture trip to Delhi, so hearing her talk about the Mughal art and architecture re-inspired me to learn about Toradors.Hi John
Not that I know of. Most of the books on Indian made arms seem to focus more on the blades and armour versus the guns. Possibly because that is what most of the collectors are interested in. Muzzle loading guns like the Torador seem to be somewhat of an after-thought with the authors.
Rick
The ol' palanquin drive-byThat’s in case he wants to do some road hunting….. where’s his spotlight?
Hi Pukka, that is a lovely looking gun!It may sound odd, but I keep one of these handy in the kitchen for skunks and other varmints.
It is a very reliable gun. The one in question is so light it is like it starved to death! A mere stick for a stock, and a very light barrel about 40 inches if I remember right.
It's from up in Rajasthan. It needed work, had parts missing and barrel was plugged.
When I got the latter unplugged I found it was loaded with fireworks and a six inch nail!
It needed some fine boring, and the barrel is still pretty awful but it throws shot well enough.
These arms are so hard to date, as those depicted in the miniatures of Akbar or his Grandson, Shah Jajan, are identical to many seen nowadays.
So, Are they 16th century or 19th ? There are a few differences in some, but others are very difficult to tell!
As Rick can attest, these barrels have a rather huge powder chamber, a narrower "neck" to prevent a ball entering said chamber, then a normal straight bore to the muzzle.
One of mine I have used quite a bit holds 5 drams in the powder chamber and goes off with a terrific noise! (136.5 grains) The bore takes a .535 unpatched ball very nicely, with either a cow dung (Dried!) wad, or felt wads if you prefer.
The cow dung is traditional, and somehow keeps the bore from fouling badly! Yes, that Does sound Ironic! LOL
This gun came from Jaipur.
I believe it was solely a sporting gun. You will see now and again toradors with two hamsa, one on either side of the stock behind the tang area. These are birds, goose or swan like and known as Hamsa in Hinduism. They are mythalogical birds with various spiritual meanings.
I believe that only Toradors from Jaipur and Amber bear these likenesses inlet into the stock.
These guns also have a few other identifying features, like the hole behind the breech in which to extinguish the match. Many others have a metal snuffer attached to the lock side.
Here are a couple f pictures of mine, rather dirty after a shooting session, plus the steel target!
the last photo shows the 'wadding'.
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Hi Mr. TI don't suppose any owners and shooters would be interested in comparing touchhole sizes?
My barrel (pictured prior to test firing) is 46 inches long, has an approx 13mm bore and a touchhole a hair under 3mm.
Does anyone know or care to speculate if the guns were made with touchholes that seem large to western eyes or this is the result of wear and erosion?
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