Old powder horn

[pbcasterlin]

Does anybody have an idea of how old this Powder Horn is? It's been passed down for I don't know how long. My Grandfather had it and I believe it was passed down to him, he was born in 1894

 

[S.Kenton]

I’d guess it to be around the mid 1800’s maybe a little earlier.. it’s really hard to tell without examining it firsthand. Do you know what kind of fastening system they used they used to hold the base plug in? What is all that stuff smeared on the side of the horn?

 

[pbcasterlin]

It looks like someone painted a design on it at some point, that's what you see smeared on it. As far as fasteners it looks like some kind of small nails but I cant be sure. I try a magnet on them.

 

[S.Kenton]

Ok, I was hoping it wasn’t cracked and that was someone’s JB weld “fix”.
I’ve seen a few of those before.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Neat old horn. At least, from the pics, it looks old to me. I don't know if it is possible to accurately date an item like that. I have a horn my father made and scrimed in 1922 when he was about 10 years old. I posted it here as a quiz to guess it's age. The guesses were all over the board with about a 200 year spread. Don't fret the actual age. It was your grandfathers'. That's all that matters. Keep and cherish.

 

[pbcasterlin]

Neat old horn. At least, from the pics, it looks old to me. I don't know if it is possible to accurately date an item like that. I have a horn my father made and scrimed in 1922 when he was about 10 years old. I posted it here as a quiz to guess it's age. The guesses were all over the board with about a 200 year spread. Don't fret the actual age. It was your grandfathers'. That's all that matters. Keep and cherish.

Thanks, I wish I could remember what the story was about it. My dad and grandfather have both passed on so there is nobody to ask. I know my Great Grandfather was in the civil war and before him there are revolutionary war ancestors. I'll definitely cherish it and pass it on...

 

[dlpowell]

Old small horns are typically late 1800's early 1900's. the base plug will have dried up and feels like plastic. Probably has an old tip plug broke off and rattling around on the inside. I'd scrape that paint off it make a plug for the tip n use it. Seal the base with bees wax rolled in the cracks.

 

[4065shooter]

Although not in vogue, I figured they painted details on a few horns back the in the day.

 

[mudcreek]

kinda looks like somebody scrimshawed it then applied the paint to high light the scratches but the paint dried before they wiped it