This rifle is a puzzler!

[A. F Medic]

I have sent images of this BP rifle around to various custom BP rifle makers and also to the National Muzzle Loaders. They put an honest effort into it and they could only speculate.

There is a name on the side plate of E. Barber. Unknown whether it was the owners name or the maker. However no gun maker came up as E. Barber.

No markings any where except on the trigger group that has a old style 35 stamped on it. Possibly the makers number to keep track of the items he made.

Caliber is .45 without a place for a false muzzle. First image shows what the rifle looked like before I put pins in the under lugs to hold the wood to the barrel. I also added a brass lip to the front of the rifle.

Front sights are original but the rear are probably added as an after thought.
Has a real decent set trigger and it goes off crisp.

I first thought it was a plains rifle but i think mine weighs 16 pounds. Somebody else thought it was a target rifle or a mixture of German and English styles

Well, what ever it is I will keep it. I shot a few Power Belt bullets out of it and I just guessed at the load. Had to use regular black powder as the spark was not hot enough to set of Pyrodex.

At one hundred yards I was able to get a group the size of a .50 cent piece off of a rest. The rear sight is a Redfield (#1?) held on by a custom made twisted piece of steel!

Need to put a deflector on the nipple as I was getting sprayed with cap parts. Those hurt!!

Take a look please and offer any comments. I can get better images if somebody wants to see them.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT0589.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT0588.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT0594.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT06602.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT06612.jpg

Front of barrel....

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s165/FLYINGMEDIC/PICT0666.jpg

[Matt Wolff]

its def a target rifle, as for origin I got no idea as I never seen one of that perticular design. If its a true 1800's made gun, there were alot of unknown/undocumented gunmakers. E Barber, chances are was the gun maker, as most makers liked to mark their work.... But being on a high polished brass lockplate... maybe was personalized... either way she looks like a beautiful rifle. that rear sight is intriguing to me, got any better pics of it??

[Johnny Peppers]

Rifle appears to be modern era. Picture of name blurry, but looks like pantagraph engraving.

[tiriaq]

Rifle appears to be modern era. Picture of name blurry, but looks like pantagraph engraving.

I agree, it is modern.
Sounds as if it is a dandy shooter.

[A. F Medic]

g under that name. It has Redfield on it aQUOTE=Matt Wolff;64564]its def a target rifle, as for origin I got no idea as I never seen one of that perticular design. If its a true 1800's made gun, there were alot of unknown/undocumented gunmakers. E Barber, chances are was the gun maker, as most makers liked to mark their work.... But being on a high polished brass lockplate... maybe was personalized... either way she looks like a beautiful rifle. that rear sight is intriguing to me, got any better pics of it??[/QUOTE]


I do not have a close up of the rear sight for you tonight but I can get one.

However, I did see a rifle (BP) on the Internet that had a similar sight and it was referred to as a Kirkland mounted sight. Never could find anything about that.

It is marked Redfield with a number 1 on it.

I found the rifle at a small gun show and the woman who owned it said, "It belonged to my dead husband and he got it somewhere". I traded a print by a local artist by the name of Jack Paluh for it. Both of us were happy with the deal.

[jjroth]

"Chunk" gun for primitive bench rest shooting.

Send photo's to "The Log Cabin shop" Lodi, Ohio

They can probably give idea are to who the maker is.

[Jim K]

Maybe I am showing my ignorance but I have never seen an 18th century rifle with a brass lockplate. The parts look like they have been on and off many times, like they were being fitted, and I suspect that they were old parts or more likely copies of old parts.

Jim