English Blunderbuss

[Dave Wallis]

I was due to collect a Japanese matchlock from a vendor at a local Militaria market at the weekend, unfortunately, there had been a cock-up on their website and the gun had in-fact already been sold. So I sulked off round the market and a chap was just putting his stall out, selling his old collection; Every cloud has a silver lining, they say and lo and behold he bought out this brass barrelled Blunderbuss! Money exchanged hands and home it came. Have you good fellows any idea of a date for this piece? Engraving looks late 18thC but there is a roller frizzen, which, I thought, would indicate 1820 ish.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'd say that the frizzen screw head being internal to the lock indicates 19th century....but that's a SWAG (scientific wild arsed guess).

LD

 

[Grenadier1758]

Those proof stamps ought to be telling us a time frame for the proof test. It can be seen from the NRA list of proof marks that the view and proof stamps date from 1670:
http://www.nramuseum.org/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf
What does the HM inspector's stamp date to?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It can be seen from the NRA list of proof marks that the view and proof stamps date from 1670:

Yep from 1670 to 1811, so with that on the barrel, and the lock tech, likely first decade 19th century or even last decade 18th century. "Napoleonic" might be the adjective to use ???

LD

 

[dave_person]

HI,
It is William Hollis of Cheltenham who was active 1829-1856.

dave

 

[Dave Wallis]

Looks like a bit of a date discrepancy there, 1811 to 1829? Is 1829 a bit late for flintlock?? Maybe Hollis was using an earlier proofed barrel? I suppose the 1820s was a time of changeover from flint to percussion, perhaps the person whom the gun was made for didn't want "one of those new 'detonator' things !"

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Those proofs are legitimate after 1811 and the gun is a utilitarian piece many of which still used flintlocks well into the 1830s and 1840s. The British military did not make the transition to percussion until almost 1840.

dave

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Have you had it inspected for safety? If so, you could fire it with a very light load. I would try 30 grains or so 2Fg and a half ounce of shot for starters.

 

[Zonie]

Looks like a bit of a date discrepancy there, 1811 to 1829? Is 1829 a bit late for flintlock?? Maybe Hollis was using an earlier proofed barrel? I suppose the 1820s was a time of changeover from flint to percussion, perhaps the person whom the gun was made for didn't want "one of those new 'detonator' things !"

I don't know about the U.K. but it wasn't until 1833 that the US military started using percussion caps. That was on the Hall breech loading rifle. It was originally flintlock.
The U.S. military also did not start issuing regular style percussion muzzleloading guns to the troops until the Springfield 1841 Muskets were made.

 

[Feltwad]

Care must be taken if you wish to shoot this blunderbuss , With a brass barrel which is 200 years old , although the barrel may look in good condition brass that age looses strength and becomes more brittle making it dangerous, there is no way that I would shoot a gun with a 200 year old brass barrel. I have seen blunderbuss brass barrels with hole, bulgers, and cracks
Feltwad

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Never mind! Don’t shoot it, op.

Nobody makes a good blunderbuss anymore. Traditions offers a kit but they’re a joke, look like Elmer Fudd gun.

 

[Dave Wallis]

Care must be taken if you wish to shoot this blunderbuss , With a brass barrel which is 200 years old , although the barrel may look in good condition brass that age looses strength and becomes more brittle making it dangerous, there is no way that I would shoot a gun with a 200 year old brass barrel. I have seen blunderbuss brass barrels with hole, bulgers, and cracks
Feltwad

Noted, thank you.

 

[robinghewitt]

Looks good to me. In the UK that piece would fetch around £2000.

All the makers tended to make the same flintlock blunderbuss, so either there was a pattern book or they bought in a kit of parts. The spring bayonet and the sliding safety were probably optional extras.

 

[toot]

what ever it is I rely like it.

 

[Dave Wallis]

Looks good to me. In the UK that piece would fetch around £2000.

All the makers tended to make the same flintlock blunderbuss, so either there was a pattern book or they bought in a kit of parts. The spring bayonet and the sliding safety were probably optional extras.

I best not tell you what I paid for it then!

 

[appalichian hunter]

Nice purchase. Always liked the blunderbuss but just never got around to getting one.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

With blunderbusses, you either get very expensive unshootable antiques, or bottom of the barrel head scratcher factory guns like the Traditions abomination.

Too bad Pedersoli doesn’t make an authentic blunderbuss. Getting one custom built is possible but I don’t know of anyone making barrels for them. The one or two guys doing it are dead or no longer taking orders.

 

[SandWatcher]

L

With blunderbusses, you either get very expensive unshootable antiques, or bottom of the barrel head scratcher factory guns like the Traditions abomination.

Too bad Pedersoli doesn’t make an authentic blunderbuss. Getting one custom built is possible but I don’t know of anyone making barrels for them. The one or two guys doing it are dead or no longer taking orders.

Rumor has it that Pecatonica Long Rifle is working with Rice Barrels on putting together a 4-gauge blunderbuss kit that will be available in a couple of months. I expect that to be a pretty good set of parts.

 

[Treestalker]

HI,
It is William Hollis of Cheltenham who was active 1829-1856.

dave

Hi Dave, Was this the same Hollis who made trade guns out of Enfield parts? Someone posted a picture of one on the Forum that was supposedly a 'late' trade gun in percussion and had the military bolster and c. Thanks, George.

 

[Dave Wallis]

Those proof stamps ought to be telling us a time frame for the proof test. It can be seen from the NRA list of proof marks that the view and proof stamps date from 1670:
http://www.nramuseum.org/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf
What does the HM inspector's stamp date to?

Why does this gun have an HM inspectors stamp?