Need a gun identification

[Mabe65]

I have an old long rifle and I can't figure out what kind it is or what it's purpose was in its life. Any help would be great.

 

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[XLV]

few more question can u see rifling inside the bore , what the length and and outside diameter of the bore end , do u see a circle like maybe a liner been installed ...it dose look like it was converted from flintlock

 

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[smokeythecat]

To me it looks like a flintlock Pennsylvania rifle converted to flint. "Kentucky" rifle was the general name used, but most came out of Pennsylvania. It is not a military issue per se. These were used for hunting and it would have been made in a small shop.

 

[Mabe65]

few more question can u see rifling inside the bore , what the length and and outside diameter of the bore end , do u see a circle like maybe a liner been installed ...it dose look like it was converted from flintlock

Smoothe bore

 

[namxat]

Given lack of rifling, I think we have a musket-converted-to-shotgun.

A Sears catalog 1907 was still selling such things.

For reasons unkown to me these pop up in Google as Zulu shotguns and were made from very different musket models.



Greets

Namxat

 

[Stringtyer]

Looks like worthless junk and you should send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[DCMatt]

Given lack of rifling, I think we have a musket-converted-to-shotgun.

A Sears catalog 1907 was still selling such things.

For reasons unkown to me these pop up in Google as Zulu shotguns and were made from very different musket models.

Greets

Namxat

I don't know why they are called Zulu shotguns, but it was common to take old long rifles and "sporterize" them into cheap shotguns. As the armies of the world moved away from muzzle loading weapons, there were literally tons of obsolete guns available at scrap prices. They were stripped down and modified into shotguns.

I have a British P1842 that was converted around the turn of the 20th century. As you can imagine, the .75 bore loaded with bird shot will really reach out. Mine shows plenty of use.

 

[Mabe65]

I don't know why they are called Zulu shotguns, but it was common to take old long rifles and "sporterize" them into cheap shotguns. As the armies of the world moved away from muzzle loading weapons, there were literally tons of obsolete guns available at scrap prices. They were stripped down and modified into shotguns.

I have a British P1842 that was converted around the turn of the 20th century. As you can imagine, the .75 bore loaded with bird shot will really reach out. Mine shows plenty of use.

I've found one in a search that was French and it looked identical except for the trigger guard. The Freench used octagonal to round barrels evidently.

 

[DCMatt]

You may want to post it here:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/britishmilitariaforums/sporting-rifles-and-other-old-guns-f6/

These guys are some of the best in the world when it comes to old muskets.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Smoothbore makes more sense for the octagonal-to-round barrel. Calling it a "rifle" threw me off. The barrel was possibly European and assembled into a gun in the US.

"Zulu" shotguns are a different beast. They were French or Belgian muskets fitted with a Snider breech and bored out to 12 gauge. They had the word "ZULU" stamped on the tang or lock.

 

[Duckshot]

Maybe65, welcome to treasure net. The correct term is half-octagon barrel. That might improve your interweb searches. Gotta get the vernacular correct or the whole world will fal apart.

 

[Duckshot]

It might be a later trade gun such as might have been sold to other nations. Early barrels were made by wrapping a steel bar around a round arbor in a spiral then forged together. The purpose of hammering the barrel into an octogon was likely to aid in straightening the forged barrel out.

 

[Mabe65]

It might be a later trade gun such as might have been sold to other nations. Early barrels were made by wrapping a steel bar around a round arbor in a spiral then forged together. The purpose of hammering the barrel into an octogon was likely to aid in straightening the forged barrel out.

Did some cleaning and the lock is a Henry Parker Warranted

 

[Duckshot]

Did some cleaning and the lock is a Henry Parker Warranted

Try sticking "Gunsmith Henry Parker" into your interweb search engine.

 

[Retired Sarge]

What I was able to find out is that Henry Parker was a maker of locks in Trenton, New Jersey and died circa 1860.

There are a lot of rifles out there with locks made by him.