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Old November 20, 2000, 05:11 PM   #7
James K
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Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
By that time, very few gunsmiths were actually making anything but stocks, and even those were available roughly inletted. Barrels, furniture and locks were bought from outfits like J&D Little in Pittsburgh. The lock you describe sounds like a typical English lock, turned out by the thousands in Birmingham and sold all over the world. Many are marked "Warranted", though they don't say by whom or how a claim can be made if the product is defective. (Sound familiar?)

The caliber indicates it is a small bore rifle for deer and smaller game or for target shooting. Value is hard to judge, and there are many variations. Percussion rifles generally bring less than flintlocks and average $2-3000 in top condition. Obviously, rust, broken stocks, other broken parts, etc. will reduce the value considerably.

One interesting thing to check - many of the rifles of that era have straight rifling. I don't know why.

Jim
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