a pipe dream

[butlersrangers]

I am blessed to have my great-grandfather's .62 cal. percussion rifle, his 19 gauge round-ball mold and homemade powder horn.
This was used by the family in the 1870s, for hunting around Ontario's Georgian Bay and on Manitoulin Island, where the family 'homesteaded'.

The rifle dates from around 1840, and is believed to be a type that was built in GB for British Government presentation to influential Indian leaders.
The barrel is a 7 groove, 30-inch long Baker barrel, that was shortened at the breech and re-fitted with a 'hooked' breech-plug, fixed tang, and barrel wedges.
The Baker 'bayonet bar' was removed from the right side of the barrel.

Family tradition says that my ancestor traded guns with a First Nations friend. The rifle handles very nicely, like a trade-gun.
The 'Jaeger like' caliber and dimensions made it a powerful arm for the bush and game of the forested Northern Great Lakes/Ontario region.

I have always considered that it would be a practical muzzleloader for reproduction.

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