Hello All
Well. What an interesting Thread this turned out to be. This was completely unexpected. LOL And I do appreciate everyone's comments.
Since my first post, some additional information has surfaced. The seller of the pistol actually posted this gun for comments on the British Militaria Forum back during last year. Many of the conclusions there were similar to comments here, although not as comprehensive as this Thread. But there was one comment on the lock markings that I found interesting: It was mentioned that the Dublin Castle guns seem to lack the wealth of information compared to their other British counterparts during this period. And possibly DeWitt Bailey was doing new, more comprehensive research for these guns. (?)
It was also mentioned that the lockplate engravings on the Dublin Castle locks were done in a bit more armature fashion than the earlier or later British locks.
I'll try to get a better pic of the barrel markings, but they do look genuine British. They don't seem to resemble anything Belgium. I haven't removed the barrel because the barrel band is held on with a pin that does not go all the way through the stock. But I probably will to see if there are any markings on the bottom of the barrel or stock channel.
And here's another interesting feature: The hardware, while hand formed, are all castings. Including that barrel band that looks like it might have come from a French Lebel rifle or some other later carbine (?) LOL
I'm convinced that the lock itself is genuine and not a locally made copy. Under magnification the engravings seem to have been enhanced with maybe black India ink, or something. But the lock quality, including it's internals, are fully up to European/British standards.
So where does this leave us ? Hmmmm. The lock and barrel appear to be genuine from the period. The stock, and other hardware seem to be from a later period. And assembled with economy in mind. Even though the stock is simply made, the quality of the lock mortise area - with it's assembly hash marks - may confirm Corodo's original theory of Belgium manufacture from surplus parts for the colonial/other markets.
I recall a percussion pistol I posted here a while back with similar build characteristics. I'll locate it and post it on this Thread.
Thanks again for everyone's posts. Very helpful.
Rick
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