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Family Heirloom need help identifying

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halfhitch17

32 Cal
Joined
Mar 5, 2021
Messages
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Good afternoon everyone, my first post. I recently acquired this family piece and would love some help identifying and locating missing parts. A local shop dated it 1830-1860 and thought maybe the lock would be a Lehman or Goulcher?? It is a small caliber (maybe 32) like a squirrel gun. It appears to have some repairs around the stock, but has no markings to indicate any other dentification. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Would love to restore it to shooting condition as well as a display piece. thanks
 

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Hi,
My first guess is southern Midwest like southern Ohio, Indiana, or northern Kentucky or Tenn but I am not very sure about that. I believe the rifle was originally full stocked.

dave
Dave, yes, I would agree the full stock was broken and repaired @ half stock. My great grandfathers brother was a well known gunsmith in SE Ohio named Dave Taylor and May have done the repair. Any idea on what lock would fit this gun?
 
I cant claim to be too well versed on such rifles but the only original American rifle I own is remarkably like the one you have and I know it came out of Darke County Ohio it had neither lock or barrel but the stock details are so strongly Greenville area & under the butt plate it had details of its sale SH in the Versailles area in 1917. My guess is it had the Golcher lock these being popular mid 19th c . I like to muse it may be by Sweitzer of Greenville. It now sports a 40 cal Delcur barrel with rib & new lock The set triggers meant I had to make the full cock only tumbler made to suit it .
Rudyard
 
Good afternoon everyone, my first post. I recently acquired this family piece and would love some help identifying and locating missing parts...et al.

To make things easier for old folks like me, can I ask you to take photos with the gun horizontally, instead of vertically? We all, me included, tend to view a gun horizontally when we are handling it and looking at it, rather than hold it pointing up in the air.

TIA.
 
Horizontal pics below... thanks!!!
To make things easier for old folks like me, can I ask you to take photos with the gun horizontally, instead of vertically? We all, me included, tend to view a gun horizontally when we are handling it and looking at it, rather than hold it pointing up in the air.

TIA.
posting horizontal pics below.
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I cant claim to be too well versed on such rifles but the only original American rifle I own is remarkably like the one you have and I know it came out of Darke County Ohio it had neither lock or barrel but the stock details are so strongly Greenville area & under the butt plate it had details of its sale SH in the Versailles area in 1917. My guess is it had the Golcher lock these being popular mid 19th c . I like to muse it may be by Sweitzer of Greenville. It now sports a 40 cal Delcur barrel with rib & new lock The set triggers meant I had to make the full cock only tumbler made to suit it .
Rudyard
The golcher locks do oook like they would fit this gun. Hate to spring for $120 and it be the wrong one....
 
The golcher locks do oook like they would fit this gun. Hate to spring for $120 and it be the wrong one....
If you have a TOW catalog, they pride themselves that their photographs are the ‘exact’ size of the items they sell. If you don’t have their catalog, you can download and print photographs with your ‘resize’ limits off when you print for a fairly accurately sized photograph that you can compare to your stock mortise. And if order the lock and it doesn’t fit for some reason after you receive it, you can return it and only be out shipping. Quite the deal for the opportunity to restore a family heirloom piece, at least in my opinion.
 
I wasn't aware there was an Golcher replica lock available but I cant see $ 120 as being at all dear if its any good . I have seen unused originals like new but pure flook to find one . I was thinking the L&R Late English might do ? be about the size. I could measure one I've in stock .

Your rifle is what ide call a' sleeper' ' attic pristine' the way we like to find such guns . Ide say explore the L&R but never worry about modifieing one to fit the rifle but don't go the other way .
I once restored an original pre 1806 Govt Baker rifle it was cut half stock, whittled to take some band all the loops & sights cut off robbed of every brass item except the side plate & whrist escution & no lock . So I made oversized wood patterns for all missing mounts, had them cast in yellow brass and fettled each to fit the robbed inlets/mortises not removeing any original wood ( A hard way to go! ) Scarfed on a new fore end, I had the nose caps & pipes allready & a friend who was armourer on the' Sharpe's', series gave me a rammer . & by happy chance found an original lock at Allentown gun show . I carried a card cut out so I knew it was the right detented Govt lock & it practicaly fell in close to perfect .
.Was'nt a five minet fix but I thought worth the trouble . The bore being good & the first shot was a bull not that the rest followed it but nice it did so . Its way perhaps of thanking me for recovering it from ignominious ruin ? . The B net bar was cut off by the UK Ordnance & cut back to admit a socket B net some time after Waterloo some 2,000 being so altered before a simpler plan was adopted . I did incidentaly 'Do' Waterloo in 1995. I camped with the 95th but I did 92nd Gordon's ' A regiment of three 'as it turned out Me , Benton Jennings he a Supernumery Colonel , Me just OR. & ' Stumpy' the piper who was in the real Gordon,s . More fun than a bag of rats ! glad I did it on that sticky original battle field week of rain sodden not far from the original L, H aysant farm & in sight of the original Hugomont . Any way I digress . Regards Rudyard
 
Are you anywhere near central Ohio? You could take it to the Log Cabin Shop and compare to all the originals there and perhaps find a lock.
I’m in SE Ohio about 2.5-3 hours away from the Log Cabin Shop. Maybe a good day trip at some point.
 
If you have a TOW catalog, they pride themselves that their photographs are the ‘exact’ size of the items they sell. If you don’t have their catalog, you can download and print photographs with your ‘resize’ limits off when you print for a fairly accurately sized photograph that you can compare to your stock mortise. And if order the lock and it doesn’t fit for some reason after you receive it, you can return it and only be out shipping. Quite the deal for the opportunity to restore a family heirloom piece, at least in my opinion.
I printed them off, I’ll compare to the inlay and post findings...
 
So I actually printed out and cut out the Gulcher lock and the Ohio Rifle Lock page 184 of the TOW catalog. The Ohio Rifle lock was nearly exact on length and width but the cut out in the top did not line up. The Gulcher lock from front towards back fit perfect except it was roughly 1/4” too long. I looked at every lock sold on there and these are the only two that are close. Any ideas????
 

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So I actually printed out and cut out the Gulcher lock and the Ohio Rifle Lock page 184 of the TOW catalog. The Ohio Rifle lock was nearly exact on length and width but the cut out in the top did not line up. The Gulcher lock from front towards back fit perfect except it was roughly 1/4” too long. I looked at every lock sold on there and these are the only two that are close. Any ideas????
I would contact places like TOW, Chambers and L&R and see what they suggest. TOW sells a ‘gunmakers lock’ in flint with an oversized plate that you cut to fit. Maybe someone makes or could make one for you in percussion. You are not the first one to travel down this road.
 
You could always buy a gun makers lock and cut the plate too match the lock mortice, or weld up the bolster cut out on the repro lock plate and re-finish too match.
 
Look at R.E.DAVIS site #0211 may be able to be re-worked or contact any reputable muzzle loading vendor they may be able to point you in the right direction.
 
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