Bought this ol wall hanger looking for some info.

[Saltwater60]

I don't know much well nothing about guns from this area. Honestly my wife said she'd like one for over the fireplace so I bought the first one I saw that looked pretty. I know I probably paid too much for it, but I wanted to seel the deal before she changed her mind. I pay $270.00 with shipping. Again I bought it for looks and not really interested in shooting it at all. I know a few of the screws are replacements, one of the ram rod holders is missing, and a barrel ring is missing.
I see no makers mark or any markings at all. I'd like to know age and who made it, but I figure I'll never know that. Any info would be great. Thanks guys.
Also it's a smooth bore no riffling.

 

[Saltwater60]

Also the hammer does cock back it looks like 2 positions and the trigger does release the hammer.

 

[GOYABEAN]

Cool Old precussion cap musket

 

[GOYABEAN]

Rifles in the American Civil War - Wikipedia

Percussion rifle - Wikipedia

Antique Long Guns for Sale | Collectors Firearms

 

[GUNSICK]

Did you check to see if it's loaded yet?

 

[GOYABEAN]

Did you check to see if it's loaded yet?

Missing ram rod and if it is

 

[NirvanaFan]

I'm totally guessing here. You've probably got something from the 1820s-40s. By the second half of the 19th century, most long guns were rifled. There were tons of manufacturers of these guns. It's possible that this was originally flintlock and then converted to percussion cap. I'm not really sure how to tell. Do you have any pictures of the whole gun from the side? The length of stock can tell us more about the gun. The military type sling swivel makes me think it was a military gun.

 

[Saltwater60]

I did check if it was loaded and I think no. There was some rust in the barrel just light surface so I cleaned that up and oiled the barrel. The overall length is 51". I did a light coat of oil and it looks great. I have some microcrystalline wax coming this week and I'll wax it up. Then I have some nice hand forged hooks coming from a guy in Texas to hang it.

 

[Saltwater60]

Also a 12 gauge shot gun brush fit good, but a bit tight. Don't know if that would help narrow down a caliber. I don't even know that.

 

[zzrguy]

I'd Pull it apart clean the crap out of it and clean the 100+ years of crap off the stock and rub it down with some Danish oil [you'll be shocked how much will soak in and soak in the wood} to brighten up the wood. Bronze brush down the metal and give it a nice soaking in oil wipe it all down and put it back together.

I do like the hex to round barrel.

 

[GUNSICK]

A rubber band and some duct tape and that bad boy will be ready for the range.

 

[Criticalt]

You never know, ive seen some pretty shabby guns worth thousands. An antique gun expert may be able to give you info.
I would not clean it at all until I found out. Cleaning it will completely destroy any value.

 

[Saltwater60]

You never know, ive seen some pretty shabby guns worth thousands. An antique gun expert may be able to give you info.
I would not clean it at all until I found out. Cleaning it will completely destroy any value.

I agree. I won't do anything other than what I did. The stock is in good shape and clean. A bit of build up and that's it.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I generally don't point people in the direction of other forums, but you'll probably get some better information if you post it here
The Ask the Pros & What's It Worth? Forum
They helped me with the old Potsdam musket I bought a while back.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I took a closer look at the pictures today on a larger monitor. I'm still guessing what you have, but I'd bet what you have is a sporting shotgun. They are/were commonly called "fowlers."

It doesn't look like there any any military markings on the gun. In particular, military guns were (always?) market with at least the date.
The short stock was common in fowler guns because they wanted them to be light weight. Also, at the time, bayonets attached to the barrel of the gun, and stocks were long.

It's a nice looking firearm and a great wall hanger.


edited for clarity

 

[stuck in ny]

I took a closer look at the pictures today on a larger monitor. I'm still guessing what you have, but I'd bet what you have is a sporting shotgun. They are/were commonly called "fowlers."

It doesn't look like there any any military markings on the gun. In particular, military guns were (always?) market with at least the date.
The short stock was common in fowler guns because they wanted them to be light weight. Also, at the time, bayonets attached to the stock of the gun, so the stock had to be long.

It's a nice looking firearm and a great wall hanger.

Huh? Bayonet on the stock, like a SMLE? On a 19th century arm? I've only seen sword or socket types.

 

[NirvanaFan]

Huh? Bayonet on the stock, like a SMLE? On a 19th century arm? I've only seen sword or socket types.

Wow, I really screwed up my wording on that. lol

Should have said something like, "bayonets attached to the barrel of the gun, and the stock was long." Indeed, socket type bayonets (like on my old Potsdam Musket) were the most common at the time his firearm was made.

 

[Saltwater60]

Wow, I really screwed up my wording on that. lol

Should have said something like, "bayonets attached to the barrel of the gun, and the stock was long." Indeed, socket type bayonets (like on my old Potsdam Musket) were the most common at the time his firearm was made.

I took a closer look at the pictures today on a larger monitor. I'm still guessing what you have, but I'd bet what you have is a sporting shotgun. They are/were commonly called "fowlers."

It doesn't look like there any any military markings on the gun. In particular, military guns were (always?) market with at least the date.
The short stock was common in fowler guns because they wanted them to be light weight. Also, at the time, bayonets attached to the barrel of the gun, and stocks were long.

It's a nice looking firearm and a great wall hanger.


edited for clarity

You know what I agree with you. The barrel is pretty thin like a shotgun. The riffles seem to have thicker barrels from the pics I've seen. Hey that's cool. I agree it looks nice and will be great by my fireplace. I will eventually add 2 pistols I think and my grandpas service flags when my grandmas pass. I think it will be great and a great way to honor them and their service. No one else will display their flags.

 

[Saltwater60]

So here it is hanging above the fireplace. My loves it and so do I.

 

[Saltwater60]

Pic didn't upload.

 

[Saltwater60]

Oh finally worked. I did the same thing all 3 times.

 

[GOYABEAN]

How about these more rustic

 

[Saltwater60]

How about these View attachment 12367 more rustic

Wife would not go for that.