1763 French Flintlock

[wpjson]

I recently got a 1763 Libreville French flintlock pistol. I have tried to search the forum, but I must be doing something wrong. Since my recent surgery, my mind seems to be misfiring. Anyone have any dope on it? Looks about .69 cal. smooth-bore. Nice condition. I can not find any marks other than the M. de Liberfille below the pan and M1763 on the tang. RN on the barrel.

 

[Electric Miner]

This one?


1763 French pistol

 

[wpjson]

Yes, it is. It has no manufacturer's marks that I can see. It does have RN stamped on it, but I am not sure as to what that means. If it is a Veteran's Arms reproduction, what is the quality of their products? It appears to be a well built weapon.

 

[Electric Miner]

You may have to pull the barrel to find marks. They may be on the underside of the barrel.

Any chance on photos?

 

[wpjson]

Try to show photos tomorrow

 

[TFoley]

Veteran Arms products appear to have been made in India, so finding any meaningful proof marks, let alone maker's stamps, is going to be unlikely in the extreme.

However, you are not the first person to ask this question, and this might answer you -
http://www.veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/Proofing.html

This also appeared in response to remarks about their products on sale in the USA - I quote it as found -

Dear Mr. XXXXXXX,

I typically do not respond to comments on message boards regarding our weapons. The major exception is where a person pretends to inform others that our products are not safe. I am the owner/operator of Veteran Arms, LLC and can attest to the safety of all of our products. It is our number one priority. As pointed out above, all of our weapons undergoing inspection and proofing - using the traditional method - at our facilities prior to sale. Our safety record is flawless. We have inspected and sold literally hundreds of weapons without a single failure or other incident.

BTW, although I am in no way affiliated with any other company, I feel I must point out that your charge of "bald faced lie" is totally erroneous. The United States presently has no standards, either legal or industry based, for the proofing or other testing of muzzleloading firearms. At the outset of our business, I attempted to have weapons submitted to the top Lab in the US for testing. Their response was that they would not accept muzzleloaders for testing as there were no accepted standards, nor even guidelines to use to perform the work. The muzzleloading community relies, as it always has, upon itself to use good judgement and perform its own tests free of government regulation.

Whether or not someone likes or dislikes our products is a matter of personal opinion, and like anyone else you are entitled to express yours. Please, however, do not pretend to label our products as unsafe. We have worked very hard to build a reputation for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Reproduction Firearms within the reenacting community and have many satisfied customers.

For anyone wishing to learn more about proofing - what it is and is not, as well as what Veteran Arms, LLC weapons undergo, please see the following:

Veteran Arms, LLC Proofing

If you would like to learn more about our products and read responses to frequently asked questions regarding safety, authenticity, quality, etc., I invite you to read visit the discussion section of our facebook site, which can be accessed through our website at:
www.VeteranArms.com

Thank you.
Charles Misulia, Pres.
Veteran Arms, LLC www.VeteranArms.com


Your call.

tac

 

[wpjson]

thanks

 

[wpjson]

Computer is going real slow this morning, so I am only posting one photo. :surrender:

 

[TFoley]

Looks nice.

Needs some careful 'neglect' though! :haha:

tac

 

[wpjson]

Sparks well. Thinking of filling it with shot and using it on gophers. :hmm:

 

[Electric Miner]

Like I said. If it is Indian, any marks will likely be on the underside of the barrel. I have one Indian fowler, and have seen two others, and that is where they were on all three guns.

 

[wpjson]

Happy with 'em?

 

[AFMSgt]

I have the same pistol, but imported by MVTC with brass trim. The barrel is marked on the underside just ahead of the breech plug. The gun sparks very well and is great fun to shoot.

 

[LongKnapper]

I have several pieces from Veteran Arms, including a 1763 French pistol like yours, and have been very happy with them. All of mine have the serial numbers and other info stamped beneath the barrel. I recently acquired one of their Sea Service pistols - like this one:
http://www.veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/Sea-Service-Pistol.html

I took it to the range over the holidays. It shoots great and drew quite a crowd.

 

[torn moc]

I had one...like it very much...I shot 40 grains 3fff and never had a problem other than I wished the furniture was Iron and not shiney...This pistols are getting expensive as time roll by...so I would assume they are selling at a good rate !

 

[Electric Miner]

Yeah, it's ok. I won't say it's my favorite.