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Help Requested on JM Davis Auction

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A very interesting Southern mountain rifle. This is the first one I have seen with the grease hole on the left side of a right-handed rifle. It obviously suffered some trauma at one point. The front end splintering and the barrel being loose from the stock. You can see where the left front splintering is being held together with an iron staple. No doubt the front tennon pin broke or the tennon broke through at the time of impact. I don't believe the barrel has been sleeved. The ring at the muzzle appears to be just decoration. It does not appear to be concentric with the bore. I find old rifles like this enjoyable to muse over. Thanks for posting the pictures.
 
Back in the day, when the collection was hanging on the walls of the hotel, on every floor, guys would come in with an old rifle, when no one was looking, exchange it for a better one off the wall.
And walkout. So the locals say.

This is so true!

The owner of a local restaurant used to have his collection of lever action rifles hanging high on the walls and above the door jams. He removed them do to the concern of theft.

On a smaller scale my family ran an auction service for a number of years. If an antique was selling to cheap my dad would by it and hang it on the wall, just to add some character to the business. The things we noticed exchanged were cast iron pans, enamel cookware and old hand tools.
 
Back in the day, when the collection was hanging on the walls of the hotel, on every floor, guys would come in with an old rifle, when no one was looking, exchange it for a better one off the wall.
And walkout. So the locals say.

If your119 the hotel was new when you were young
 
There used to be a roadhouse in western Pennsylvania that had it's taproom walls decorated with antique firearms. I happened in there one day when I was in the area on a job. I spotted several original Pennsylvania rifles, two or three early Winchesters, and several handguns ranging from flintlock Kentuckys to Colt and Remington revolvers. All were "mounted" to the walls by boring holes through the weapons at various points and driving lag bolts through into the wooden paneling.
 
There used to be a roadhouse in western Pennsylvania that had it's taproom walls decorated with antique firearms. I happened in there one day when I was in the area on a job. I spotted several original Pennsylvania rifles, two or three early Winchesters, and several handguns ranging from flintlock Kentuckys to Colt and Remington revolvers. All were "mounted" to the walls by boring holes through the weapons at various points and driving lag bolts through into the wooden paneling.
What town was that in?
 
It was on the highway west of Leechburg. Don't know what township exactly. Wasn't really in a town in the sense of being on a city street or surrounded by other structures. I still have a mental image of a very pretty Berk's County flintlock with a lag bolt through the wrist of the stock and the muzzle end wired to another bolt with rusty steel wire.
 
I’m only 10 miles from Leechburg. I wish I knew where that was so I could go take a look. Thanks for the info. If you think of the name of the place let me know. Happy hunting
 
Let's see now ..... That must've been around 1977, and I'm guessing the joint probably isn't there any more anyway. I was working in Leechburg and living in Vandergrift but left for a job back in Texas in late `77. The barkeep told me the place was owned by a member of a NYC "family" but didn't mention a name. I never went back in there, because it made me cringe to look at the damage done to some beautiful old guns. I remember that in addition to the ML rifles there were some early Winchesters and Colts mounted the same way. Now that I'm thinking about that time, I wonder if Flavios is still in business. Some of the best home-made pasta I ever enjoyed --- in a tiny little place in one of the little river towns near Leechburg.
Don't remember the name of the town now after 40+ years.
 
Don't know for sure what the OKC gun club or NMLRA matches has to do with this thread, but I recollected the name of the little town in PA I mentioned in an earlier post. It was Apollo, PA. That was NOT the joint with the original Pennsylvania rifles bolted to the walls though.
 
Hello, Muzzle Loaders. I found this forum while trying to get more info on my latest purchase. It’s so new to me that I haven’t even picked the rifle up from the auction house. I am brand new to BP so please bear with me.


Here is the info provided by the auctioneer:

Manufacturer Unknown
Full stock Kentucky rifle
1840s
Heavy Barrel
.38 caliber
“RB” on lock plate
Nose cap appears to be non-original
Estimated value $300-$500

View attachment 12858 View attachment 12859

Any idea on where I can get more info on this gun? I know it’s not the prettiest thing out there, but I like to imagine it had a small role in the Civil War.

Lastly, is a gun like this safe to shoot today?

Thank you all very much.
Trying to identify the actual maker of this rifle is probably a futile mission. However you should be able to determine if you have a 1950's reproduction rifle or an actual antique.

I purchased 4 rifles from the Davis collection during this last auction and all of the rifles were said to have been made between 1830 and 1850. Fortunately I have worked on many blackpowder rifles and I am able to determine if they are original or replicas. Mine all turned out to be 170 plus years old.

As for being "safe to shoot". Of the 4 rifles I got from the Davis collection, one had a pristine barrel, one needed a complete lock replacement, one needed drum and nipple replacement. Are they safe to shoot? They are now! And they are even able to hit where I aim with them.
 
jimmyrayyoung, are you referring to the Jim Davis collection in Claremore OK? Are they just thinning the collection?

They had a stock room of non-display firearms that the JM Davis Foundation sold to raise money for the museum’s operation.
 
RS, First off welcome to this forum. If possible, can you tell us the length of the barrel? And only if your new to muzzleloading, never ever dry fire your rifle. It will eventually "mushroom" the nipple and in the worst case scenario it could possibly set off the charge if it is still loaded.
 
They had a stock room of non-display firearms that the JM Davis Foundation sold to raise money for the museum’s operation.
Thank you for your reply to my question. I know when I was there a few years ago, I was told by a volunteer that they had literally thousands of guns they did not have room to display in storage.
 
They had a stock room of non-display firearms that the JM Davis Foundation sold to raise money for the museum’s operation.
RS,
I am referring to the Davis collection. I bought four of the rifles that have been in storage since 1957. I had to do some work on all of the stocks and a even replaced one lock completely on one rifle. I have all four running now and they work fine. They will be coming up for sale on the forum.
Jimmy
 
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