Hi guys. I came home with my Hawken's build kinda built and left all the rest of it at the cabin. Grrrr. So until I get back up there I'll be sanding and finishing the wood. Anyhoo, I have BP on the brain and remembered a gun my FIL kinda willed to me. He said he put it together as a kit. Probably 70 years ago or so. Looks unfired but neglected on the wall for 7 decades. Got any clue what it is? I'm a complete pilgrim as far as muzzleloading. Should I hang it back up and forget it? Clean it up and shoot it? Disassemble and really redo it?
What have I got?
- Thread starter Madmax
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It's a Belgian trade gun. Stoger's sold them when I was a child and at least on into the '70s. The back action lock with an added piece to carry the pan and frizzen is a giveaway as well as the Belgian proofs. It should be safe to shoot and has minimal value.
That is correct
Feltwad
Thank you very much fellas. I will clean her up a little and test her out. I knew it wasn't worth much. The lock works well and is solid. Looks like a smoothbore. Hope so. I haven't dropped a bore light down her yet. I'll mix up some MAW and work on the bore.
... i secretly wanted an ugly duckling smoothbore to drag around the FL/NC woods.
... i secretly wanted an ugly duckling smoothbore to drag around the FL/NC woods.
Do you know the bore size? I recall Dixie Gun Works used to sell a 4 gauge "Elephant Gun" with a two-piece, back-action flintlock like that. This was in the sixties and early seventies. I'm pretty sure it was made in Belgium.
Notchy Bob
Notchy Bob
I don't know if Stoger ever marked their trade guns but they were sold by others too. Dixie, Century International and a host of others. If you look through the gun mags from the late 50s on you'll see them for sale. These were made in Belgium and I have never heard of Stoger assembling guns themselves.
The guys that told me that someone had assembled parts never mention who "they" were. But here's a gun like mine except it's stamped "Stoeger". As I researched more today I found variations in the stocks as well. There's a few older threads here that I'm slowly going through as well.
Sorry but that gun is nothing like yours it DOES NOT have a back action lock. It looks like a Stoger French model musket.
May have been made in Belgium but not the same kind of gun.
May have been made in Belgium but not the same kind of gun.
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Back in the late 1960's and early 70's , Belgian made m/l's came to America. Beside the ones in Dixie catalog , they were in some department stores.. An uncle of mine bought them for his sons to shoot because modern ammo was too expensive in a coal mining economy. All it took to make me want one was one shot at a handy mud puddle. Hooked for life. oldwood
BEP
40 Cal.
I owned one back around 1965 or so. Two piece stock with the joint hidden under the rear barrel band. 54 caliber. Bought it from Someone-or-Other's Rifle Ranch. Cannot remember the name of the seller but they were in business for quite a while. J&G maybe?
Hi, am not into flinters at all but I know what a flint lock is. What the heck is a back action lock?
Also,
What is MAW? I'll mix up some MAW and work on the bore
Also,
What is MAW? I'll mix up some MAW and work on the bore
Replace the Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) in MAP with the weaker H2O and you have MAW.
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Well it may be a low esteemed gun re value but it is still a fascination as a study piece . The add on flint parts where i'me sure meant so that back action military surplus muskets could be dodged up into flint locks for export to remote tribal lands where such where allowed or deemed fit for their use ..Yes it not a fine gun but it is in its way an Important gun in the study of trade guns . At least that's my view on it.
Rudyard Champion of the weird stuff !
Rudyard Champion of the weird stuff !
