Even Remington is not sure it is an early one of theirs!

[A. F Medic]

Found this barrel in a box of discards. Took it home and cleaned it up. Discovered 1 line Remington on flat near drum.

From what I can find (maybe wrong) that it is a early barrel, possibly changed to percussion.

Fairly small caliber. I can measure it later if somebody wants.

No other markings except as below...



I tried some color on this to bring out the Remington..






I talked and shared images with the Remington Collectors Society and they were very non-commital about it....

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[kcw]

According to the book "Remington Arms in American History" by Alden Hatch (1956) Remington "Kentucky" type flintlocks made between 1816-46 were simply stamped "E. Remington" on the barrel and lock. That was the shortest trade mark used. By 1820 Remington was making barrels of many calibers/bores and lengths.
Apparently the same stamping (E. Remington) appeared on "Kentucky" type percussion rifles when they first went into production in 1835, with the mark "E. Remington & Sons, Ilion, N.Y." appearing in later percussion "Kentucky" type manufacture through end of production in 1861.
Non-Kentucky type rifles were first introduced in 1847 (Remington-Jenks Sporting Rifle et. al). All have used the longer type trade mark(s) that we're familiar with today.

[A. F Medic]

Thank you for the information. More than I got otherwise from other sources. I appreciate you taking the time to help me.

[jjroth]

Also what is the "across flats" measurement?

Seem to look alot like a barrel from a #4 RRB, that was made in .22LR and a .32.
Not confirm if .32 RF or CF

MAybe somebody want a homegrown percussion???

[Teleoceras]

A. F Medic:

Very interesting! What is the caliber if it is ok to ask? The thickness of the barrel at the muzzle leads me to think that this was used for a target rifle.

Thanks for sharing!

[Jim K]

Remington not only made rifles but made barrels as well, which were sold to rifle makers in a fairly wide area, thanks to the Erie Canal.

It looks like a fairly common type of percussion barrel; most were far heavier than needed for hunting guns. The breech plug is either missing or was never installed. The peening on the breech looks like someone tried to "upset" the barrel so the breech plug would tighten up right, which probably means an attempt to re-use an old barrel.

Jim

[Bull Schmitt]

My father had a 41 Caliber percussion half stock rifle with a barrel marked like yours. I don't recall if it was Remington or E. Remington. The story we were told at that time was that Remington made barrels for other rifle makers. It is interesting that the barrels are maker such that the name is not visible unless the stock is removed. I believe the barrel we had was 1 1/8" across the flats.

[A. F Medic]

I hope this helps. The barrel is .48 inches across the flats. Across the muzzle is about 1.07. Caliber is about 36.

More images..



Front sight...



Rear sight....

[Johnny Peppers]

You should be able to look at the rate of twist, and the depth of the grooves to tell if it was a cartridge barrel or a muzzle loader barrel. A muzzle loader would have an extremely slow twist where a cartridge barrel should be fairly quick. A cartridge barrel will have wide grooves and narrow lands where a muzzle loading barrel will typically have narrow grooves and wide lands.

[Jim K]

There was a period in the percussion era during which the fad was for quite heavy barrels, even in hunting guns. The shooters felt that they needed a heavy barrel for a gun to "hang" properly (hold on target). I never understood that and earlier guns, which were really carried by pioneers, were nowhere near that heavy. But in the later time, hunters were fairly close to home, so a heavy gun could be tolerated.

Maybe it has to do with folks using their hunting guns in competition shooting, but a .36 caliber in a 1" wide barrel was not at all unusual.

In pursuit of that "hang", some barrels were "swamped", meaning that they were larger in outside width at the muzzle and breech, and smaller in the center to reduce weight. Swamping was hard to do in the old days when the barrel was hammered by hand, and is even harder in a way today when it is tricky to mill that curve by machinery. Not many barrel makers will do it.

Jim