Dip Pen?? Gun Hardware?? Please!!

[xcolo1]

Can anybody please help with this stumper!!!! found at an old stone foundation, house from early 1800's

 

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[Broken knee]

It is a ramrod guide. HH
BK

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Broken Knee is correct. More specifically, it is the ramrod-guide from the "front end" of the stock of a muzzleloading musket or pistol from the Colonial era through the early-1800s. Its function was to "guide" the end of the ramrod when you put it back into the long tunnel under the gunbarrel.

Although gunpart #23 in the diagram of Brown Bess musket gunparts below is not shaped quite like your ramrod-guide, it will give you an idea of what it did and where it was on the gunstock.

 

[BosnMate]

It's called an "entry thimble," located where number 21 is on CBG's diagram above. Here are a couple of photos.
The top one is an "entry thimble," the others are called "ramrod pipes."
The ramrod goes down a groove in the fore stock and is held in place by ramrod pipes, then on the left of the photo, note the ramrod enters the fore stock, leaving the groove and entering a hole or tunnel in the stock via the entry thimble. The ramrod has to to reach the bottom of the barrel, and although it's out of sight, it still travels all the way to the breech plug under the barrel of the gun.
Here is an example on a flint lock pistol. The ramrod enters the stock and goes at least to the front of the trigger guard.