lock identification

[zimmerstutzen]

 

[rickystl]

Turkish rifle with miquelet lock. Lock is Turkish or made in the Balkans for the Turkish market. Early to mid 1800's. Do you have photos of the whole gun? :thumbsup:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

yes, I bought the gun at an estate auction back in the 1970's down near Philadelphia. The family had been from southern Russia, maybe Odessa.

All I have is my cell phone camera and it doesn't take very good pictures.

here is the butt stock

 

[rickystl]

Thanks for posting. Yes, definately Turkish. The guns were decorated in infinate differnt ways to suite the owner. The rifles were made in both smooth bore and rifled barrels. The rifled barrels tend to bring more money today. Interesting that the Turks preferred the miquelet lock on their longarms, and the traditional style flintlock on their pistols. The Middle East used flint ignition well into the late 1800's. That these were used virtually unchanged for some 200 years probably accounts for the variety of specimens available today. Nice gun. Rick.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I think Ricky is bang on. I am sure Turkish guns wound up in the hands of southern Russians owing to the many wars between the two countries.

dave