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Greetings - and questions about inherited blackpowder gun parts

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  • Greetings - and questions about inherited blackpowder gun parts

    Dear Forum Members,

    My name is Alex, I live in the westernmost part of Austria, close to the Swiss border.
    Apparently as many others, I have registered here mainly because I am looking to shed some light on some items I inherited. These were found on the attic of my grandmother's house, a 250+ years old farmhouse, shortly before it was sadly torn down. I am thus trying to find out more about my ancestors, or at least, about their guns.

    The first item is an old flintlock. After extensive online research, I believe it to be from an Austrian infantry musket, model of 1784. All parts have 4 tiny dots on them, and on the plate I believe I can see the number ?19?. Can anyone confirm this, or tell me any details, for example where it was made, and by whom?

    The second item is a muzzle loader pistol barrel. The top half is angled, the lower half, which supposedly was seated in the wood of the stock, is round. It is 25cm long. Caliber, measured at the muzzle, is 16,4mm. No rifling, no markings. The ?ignition hole? (don?t know the proper term) measures 4,5mm in width, which I think is quite wide ? does that indicate, it belonged to a percussion gun, or was converted to one? Not that I am an expert, it is the first of its kind I ever hold in hand. How old could it be? Is 16,4mm the famous .69 caliber?

    The third item is another barrel, this time a long one, for a percussion gun. Again without markings or rifling, cal. at the muzzle is around 14,4mm. There could, however, be markings below the slight surface rust I have not had the time or tools to remove yet. Lenth in total of the octagonal barrel is 96cm. How old is it, what was it for?

    I am happy about any information or comments!

    Thank you and best regards,

    Alex

    PS: Here are the pics of the flintlock first
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    This gallery has 5 photos.

  • #2
    And the pistol barrel.
    You do not have permission to view this gallery.
    This gallery has 5 photos.

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    • #3
      And, finally, the long barrel.
      You do not have permission to view this gallery.
      This gallery has 5 photos.

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      • #4
        Alex, I'm afraid the condition of your relics will keep us from providing any, except general , information. We mostly concentrate on cartridge firing sporting guns, but a couple of us do study muzzle loading guns. Maybe one of them can be more helpful than I. The lock is unknown to me, but is interesting nevertheless. I can't dispute your assessment of it. I believe the hole in the pistol barrel is to screw a bolster into, for a percussion nipple. However, given it's possible age and large caliber, if someone said it is to attach a flash pan, to go with a flint lock. The long barrel is obviously from a percussion gun. We usually use proof marks for information, but your relics seem to pre date proof laws. If the rust is removed, you might discover some Hallmarks or touch marks that may give some limited information. There are several methods of removing heavy rust that mostly preserves the base metal . You can find out about them from "You Tube". My impression is that your family likely had little connection to the guns the relics were part of. They very much seem to be battlefield relics, discovered years after being lost. Since you identified the lock as dating from after 1784, I would look for battle taking place in the area from that date to before the beginning of the cartridge era. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.
        Mike

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        • #5
          Dear Mike,
          Thank you very much for your reply! I knew the chance to get new information was a small one. I don't believe that they are battlefield relics, as there were no battles with percussion guns in the area. From the finding situation, I do believe they were just sitting in a dark corner of the attic for well over a century. Well, maybe this little enigma will never be solved.

          Thank you for your kind reply.

          Best regards!
          -Al

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