Need help identifying an OLD rifle..

[Enslaved87]

No chance. German-silver was invented in the 1820s.

---------- Post added at 11:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:17 PM ----------

"There is no doubt that it has seen better days, but given its age it seems pretty remarkable to me that it even exists, let alone here in the US."

I completely agree. I would have bought it for that backsight alone!

---------- Post added at 11:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:19 PM ----------



Except that it's not a bead. It's an odd flattened shape that looks rather like the profile of an airgun pellet. Look at the way the light plays about the top. It is not a sensible silhouette for aiming through a peephole.

The only thing I can say to that is the sight picture is soooo long that you can barely even see that post way out there and I have good eyes. Through that tiny peep hole, that brass post looks like a pin head.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Assuming that you will eventually want to fire this antique - I would - may I suggest following this method to avoid nasty surprises. As you may not have done this before, please write back at once if you hit a problem and I will advise you as to dealing with it.

1) IS THE BARREL REALLY EMPTY? - No joke. One of my antiques turned out to have a fossilized buckshot load in it. The test rod stopped about 2" from the breech.

Check - take a rod that is small enough but also long enough to pass right down to the breech plug. Insert the rod and mark it where it emerges from the muzzle. Now remove the rod and place it alongside the barrel with the mark at the muzzle. Is the end right down there were it should be - behind the ignition hole and close to the breechplug? Since one usually cannot see the ignition hole, assume for the moment that it is at the center of the nipple boss or drum. Since some MLs had a restricted chamber for the last centimeter or so, use a rod no more than 1/8" diameter.

2) Can you remove the nipple? The present one is likely to be badly worn, stuck fast, and clogged. And, when you get it out, may have a wierd thread that does not exist on any nipple that you can purchase today. Even if that nipple looks OK, one day you will need a new one, so cleanup the nipple and the seating and measure the thread right now.

3) After removing the nipple: Is the ignition channel clear? Often one can wiggle a pipe cleaner round the corner and into the barrel, and can feel that it has gone right through.

4) Take a look down the barrel with a bore light. Can you see grooves all the way down? If so, you are lucky. Often you will only see traces, but I have demonstrated in previous posts that some pretty desperate cases can be cleaned up enough to be usable. (Search the forum for "Pickelgewehr" ... "Sometimes you need a challenge").

5) Clean, clean, clean. Then you can think about measuring the caliber. Sticking a slide gauge into the muzzle is a fairly useless way of establishing the size of round ball that you will need, as you have no guarantee that the diameter at the muzzle is the same all the way down! And popping in an apparently easy-fit ball only to find that it jams solid a couple of inches down the barrel is one sure-fire way of spoiling your weekend.

The only sure way is to use a plug gauge. Nothing fancy is required as we just want to select a suitable ball, not measure to the micron. Take a yard length of threaded (say 1/4"x26) brass (not steel) rod and about a 1" length of thicker (say 5/8") brass threaded for the rod. Using this threaded bush fixed to the end of the rod as a simple plug gauge, turn it down until it just slides ALL THE WAY DOWN the barrel to the powder chamber. There may be some resistance as you get close the the bottom, caused by the typical "coffee ring" of hard-baked deposits that accumulate in a muzze-loader that is not carefully cleaned after use.

So it's clean, clean, clean again...

And don't be suprised if the diameter of that plug gauge is noticeably smaller than the diameter at the muzzle.

That's enough for now. Please follow the above and post your results. - I have made enough mistakes myself over the years, and the purpose of this post is to prevent others making them as well.

[Enslaved87]

That is a LOT of good advice. I will most certainly follow it and report back In the near future. Thanks again!