Caplock Conversion Jaeger Rifle

[Heelerau]

Gents, a mate dropped this around for me to check out the broken lock. The nose of the scear has been snapped off. I am wondering if it can be repaired, or needs a whole new scear made. The rifle has a lot of features that are very similar to my early Lancaster Long rifle, the barrel is also slightly swamped. The lock has and adjustment screw through the tumbler to tune up the let off, as well as having a fly. Bore will clean up nicely.

 

[Einsiedler]

Hmmm!!!!???!!! Rastatt! Baden-Württemburg.

I like Jägers! If it were mine I'd risk posting that sear to a good parts place and see if they could match it up as close as they could to something of new mfg like L&R, Davis, etc., before I got into trying to repair the old one. But that's just me.

There are others here that could make quick work of repairing the old one. I just don't have that kind of equipment.

Nice piece!!! Thank you for posting!!!

About 35 years ago an older lady walked into a
shop where I worked with a nice percussion conversion Jäger and two nice old highly decorated flat powder horns. One with roccoco relief scrimshaw carving. The other with an awesome hunting scene!

The rifle had a stumpy rifled BRASS barrel maybe 20" long. Larger calibre, .62+. deep swamp. Like 1 1/4" to 1" at waist to 1 1/8" at muzzle. Shop owner took it all home with him! 😟

C'est la guerre!

Good Luck

Le Nez

 

[rich pierce]

Originals were often repaired by brazing a piece of spring steel to the nose and quenching just as the braze "set". That hardens the nose. Then can safely draw to bronze or purple color. Downside is then you have to shape through nose with stones or diamond files. If you ground the existing dear nose back and created a v shaped cut in it then you could carefully fit a new nose about the perfect size and shape and braze it in place.

 

[Heelerau]

Rich, I was wondering about setting a new piece in there, would a piece of hacksaw blade be strong enough?

cheers

 

[rich pierce]

Lots of hacksaw blades are high speed steel which is hard stuff to work, harden and temper. But I really like the idea of making a slit and fitting a piece in there.

 

[Einsiedler]

😊

Please keep us posted on this! Again! Thanks for posting photos!!

 

[Heelerau]

Gents, squibbed on the repair and sent the lock off to a chap I know who does really good work. I should be back in the next few weeks. In the meantime I made up a piece of brillo pad to fit around a smaller old copper bore brush, soaked it with light oil and gave the bore a scrub. Lo it has come up like a mirror, there are few pits, pretty shallow. When I passed a tight cloth patch down to wipe out the oil it went down and up very smoothly, no rough patches , so should load ok. Looks like it is around .50, tried one of my patched .490 balls at the muzzle with a patch and it look like a good fit. Fairly rapid twist and left hand. As the barrel is pretty short, in fact just under 26 inches.
I am wondering what sort of charge. I normally use 90 grains of FFg in my .50 missouri style full length stocked plains rifle and that is a real tack driver.

 

[ron wehmeyer]

Many of the old Jaeger rifles from that period , have a ROT of one turn in the barrel lenth rather quick twist. I have an original Jaeger very much like yours. It is .56 cal. 26" barrel and has a ROT of 1-26". Having the fasr twist it does very well with a charge of 45-50 gr. fff and a tight denim prb. With that .50 I would start off with a 40 gr. charge and work up from there. Good luck with the old Jaeger .,,,DT

 

[Heelerau]

Dusty, thanks for that mate, my gunsmith mate even suggested the rapid twist might mean it was made for a bullet. I don't think that is the case as the rifling is ver deep. I will start off with your suggested 40 grains and work up from there. Alan just emailed me re the lock asking if ok to lighten the mainspring as he felt it was far to strong, for the cap lock, still the original spring for flint I guess. Long and short of it will get the lock back soon and be ready to wake her up after a ver long sleep !! Will post again with range results.

cheers
Heelerau

 

[Heelerau]

Gents started off a 35 grains of FFg with a .490 ball and thick denim patch lubed with Dutch Shoultz recipe. Off the bench at 5 yds, first shot quite low, so bumped it up to 40 grains, lifted point of impact, shot a reasonable 3 shot group. took it up to 50 grains and shot a 3 inch group. I reckon with a tighter ball as the rifle is likely about .52 it will shoot better. Little recoil, ver light let off as the set trigger is ver fine, cone will need replacing as it is a bit worn and a bit more gas escape. Rifle did not foul much and the patches did not tear so I don't think the few pits are much of a problem. Bore is now like a mirror. So to tighten the group, new cone and a larger ball. The rifle at 50 grains seemed to be shooting at point of aim so suspect the charge is pretty close to right. The repaired lock worked a treat. Rifle is lovely to use and it great waking her up after a likely as not 130 year sleep !!

 

[Dr5x]

We all automatically knew you meant 50 yards and not 5.

I was wondering if some of us, would take the time to send a brief note to
[email protected]

and invite him to join the Forum.

He lives in Germany and his English is better than mine.
His effort to get a licece toplay with black powder and such is speeding along like the cancer cure but there is light at the end of the distant tunnel/ He is in the precess of building a flintlock of no further description and when he has his licence he won't have allow some older licensee to put powder in his rifle.

He seems pleasant and has NO ONE to discuss things ML with.
I had another German Subscriber who dwells in Krefeld, Germany, who has to sneak over to Holland for a short 1 hour access to a range every month or so. .
Think about this on election day

Blind as a Bat I think that email address is OK.

We need to expand our membership outside the country just for the inspiration /

Dutcho

 

[Heelerau]

Dutch, you are quite right , I meant 50 yards !!Trust you are keeping well. I will post photos of the next target I shoot with the Jaeger to show the results.

Cheers

Heelerau

 

[ron wehmeyer]

Even though its almost been a yr. the topic is still interesting . Have you been able to test /shoot the old Jaeger more ? If so I would like to hear of your results , and how is the lock repair working out ? My own Jaeger rifles have had a rest for a few months , but are in the dusting off and bore cleaning stages of getting ready for some shooting / testing . DT