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Scottish Deer Rifle

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Dear Felt Wad .Just an idea, it does have an uncommonly long barrel if a deer was hit & seemed dead enough pokeing it in the eye will clarifie things . And just maybe our rifle owner had a fright when the' dead ' Deer got up and had a go at him. ( Can't blame it can we ?) Accordingly he ordered this rifle to be sure that fright wasn't repeated .Or he was active or planning to go to Africa or India where a long barreled rifle with a bayonet might be useful . I generally carried a knife suitable to finish off a downed but not out animal even a 12" dudgeon dagger sometimes if wild Pigs where likely .Deer rifle loads where not high velocity thinking ,more to bring it down with accuracy .I had the barrel of a Gun / rifled set made by Horsley of York beautiful thing just the rifled barrel of 16 bore I made up a rude stock to try it & it shot well but being' pushed for a quid 'I let Zoran of Kranks have it & regretted it ever since , He got Dereck Fearn of Catton gun to mate it to a loose stock . But of course he sold it on .Always wondered where it got too .
Regards Rudyard

Why not just poke the deer in the eye with the ramrod?
 
Why not just poke the deer in the eye with the ramrod?
Well we are talking hypothetical and the rod if used separately it might leave the hypothetical hunter with two separate parts to consider. Neither of us was there hypothetically or other wise so your surmise is as good as mine .
Rudyard
 
Very nice rifle you have there. I have a William Landell percussion double barrel. It has a set of locks that are the smoothest I think I ever used.
 
Very nice rifle you have there. I have a William Landell percussion double barrel. It has a set of locks that are the smoothest I think I ever used.
Images please it would be interesting to se this piece
Feltwad
Preferably in a new thread specifically for the William Landell percussion double barrel! Let’s not muddle discussion with multiple antique arms under one thread. Please…

David
 
Enclosed are images on a Scottish deer rifle built in 1840 by William Landell Glasgow This gun features a14bore size with a 39-inch octangle Damascus twist barrel with four groves and a three-position leaf sight and a set trigger mainly built for deer stalking on the Scottish hills an unusual fitting is on the side of the barrel at the muzzle for which there have been many explanations my theory is it for the attachment of a stick rest for taking a shots on account of the barrel which is muzzle heavy it has also has been said it is for fixing a bayonet but why do you want a bayonet on a deer rifle Even today many modern stalkers us e a forked stick which is known has a thumb stick to steady the gun when taking a shot so I am sticking to my theory that it is for a stick rest.
FeltwadView attachment 178274View attachment 178276View attachment 178277View attachment 178278
The fancy barrel places this above standard quality. Replacement sights, sure would be nice to have the original sights in hand to go with the gun. The thingybob at the end up near the muzzle is some sort of steadyrest for whomever last used the gun. It is possible the gun left the manufacturer with it on, as it’s not a bad piece of work itself. Many past hunters of 18th and 19th centuries had been badly injured in the nonstop wars and military actions of their times, and quite a few had their hunting weapons outfitted with rests and stands ergonomically fit to the user’s particular physique and limits. I’ll bet this gun is still plenty accurate
 
No doubt a bayonet lug. The first image is a Baker rifle, the other two are a Swiss military rifle (currently on Gunbroker.)
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What a lovely rifle .
I'd say it is a bayonet lug , no need for an attached rest when a hill stick with a forked top was used, almost without exception when one was required , as a shooting rest .
De Witt Bailey's book on British Military flintlocks has a picture on page 32 of a J Twigg officers rifle with a short socket bayonet which was carried in a butt trap , the picture is not clear enough to see if there is a bayonet bar fitted . It lets one realise that the British did use this feature .
I use a hill stick with an antler fork as a rest and in my experience over many shots is there is no way you could use a stick attached at the muzzle , the stick is held in place by the shooters off hand , in my case left hand . A stick at the muzzle would be a problem to reach or use as a steady , as well as being slow to use and a hinderance if the shooter had to move.
 
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If it’s a bayonet lug that has marred this beautiful sporting rifle, then perhaps it was required for service in the county militia, a duty or valued opportunity common when the rifle was made. I have seen special rests made for sporting guns that almost defied understanding, because they addressed some peculiar injury or physical abnormality due to polio. Most hunting in Scotland is done on the ground, crawling up to the crest of the hill, and shooting from there. Several years ago I returned a historic beautiful black powder double rifle to its original huge estate (Knoydart) in NW Scotland to hunt red stag. Ghillies and stalkers from all around came to shoot the gun, as did some visiting sportsmen and women. Anyhow, I spent a lot of time crawling about in the mud and the crags, and some people do shoot off sticks, but most shoot prone off their bag. The beasts won’t stand for a moment’s exposure to humans. I’d like to see an 1880s bayonet charge on a wounded stag!
 
IMHO maybe the maker used an old military barrel, but why would he it looks like a fine gentleman's piece. @Feltwad it seems funny that folks discuss what the lug is for, instead of looking at the beauty of the piece. Bruce
This is no military barrel. It is a very carefully crafted and expensive form of Damascus steel made for quality sporting guns.
 
I have just realized this rifle was on the forum on June 7 2020 so I will refrain from any more comment on it .

The Thumb Stick is a long walking stick with a v shaped top , usually made from forked antler top , the thumb part is where the user walks with his/her thumb in the v notch , giving extra purchase , and making the stick more suitable as a shooting or glassing rest .
I always use what I call a hill stick when stalking red deer here in New Zealand , my current stick is about 5' long and made of Hazel wood with a red antler fork as the notch and a concrete nail as the ground end , these nails are tough and almost never wear out .
The country I stalk in is similar to that of Scotland except a lot steeper and the stick comes into its own when both climbing and shooting off hand in 3' - 4' snow grass when sitting or prone shots are impossible .
 

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