My New Balkan pistol.
 

Posting it here as I believe it to be a Balkan made flintlock, but not the general run of such. I have not seen this style of stock before, other than on French made pistols, but I admit I am no expert in this area. There is no ramrod, or provision for one, which makes it fairly clear that it was made for the Eastern market, on one side of the Bosphorus or the other.

Balkan?
 

This does not look like a Balkan pistol to me. The stock and no provision for a ramrod indicates to me that it was put together elsewhere and it would only be a guess. What kind of wood is it?- bbjw

European for Afghan market??
I'm not sure if it's French either... You should post it on the European Forum...

Unfortunately, the gun has nothing to do with the Balkans.I maintain that it is French or German. :shrug:

It is a conundrum, which is why I posted it. The butt is very French style, first half of the 19th C, but there is no provision for a ramrod. The lock is again European in look, but has the serrated face to the frizzen we see on Eastern locks. The trigger is a small one with a curl at the end, just like my other pistol which is without a doubt a Kubure. The barrel is held to the stock by a band, and appears to have been wired to the stock at sometime, as opposed to using barrel lugs and pins.
I think I will have to take it apart and see if I can find more clues, and failing that, post it in the European section. The two things that keep popping up in my mind are, Western made for the Eastern market, or Eastern but made North of the Ottoman Empire.

Hi David

Nice pistol. The butt of the pistol does indeed look second quarter of the 19th Century. It does seem that many of these horse pistols made in or for the Eastern market have French influence in one form or another.
Hmmmm. This is a tough one to guess. The short trigger is a bit curious. I notice the trigger guard is set with screws versus simply nailed to the stock as most Balkan style pistols I've seen. I notice the frizzen screw is attached from the inside of the lock rather than the outside, which seemed to be favored on Eastern made pistols.And the squared, serrated frizzen also being typical. And no ramrod provission. Both the barrel and the lock are probably unmarked. But a view of the inside of the lock may give us additional clues.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards this being a made for export pistol - from somewhere.

Rick

One suggestion on the European side of the forum is that it is Spanish. A gunsmith friend then suggested a Madrid made pistol, which would account for the "French" style lock and stock. Which seems as good an answer as any at present. When I dismount it, I will post further pictures on both forums.

Hi David.

A good pic of the interior of the lock and the breech plug of the barrel could give us additional clues. Looking forward to your pics. Thanks.

Rick