Hello guys, I have been wanting to assemble a muzzleloading firearm and I wanted to make something to do with my heritage. I think interest began 7 yrs ago and cannot be contained now.
From what I can tell, Taiwanese matchlocks seemed to have been essentially Chinese ones - I don't think there was a Taiwanese-specific flair to them - though if there is I'd love to find out. While I will be substituting the matchlock for a flintlock mechanism (due to laws in my area) I want the rest to be somewhat authentic in construction...
Here are my questions, and I hope you guys can help me...
Securing the barrel:
Did they use tenons or just bands to secure the barrel to the stock? Were the bands pinned to the stock? What material are the bands made of? Did they have a breech-plug with a tang?
Ramrod:
Were the ramrods stored under the barrels? Was it just a groove on the underside or a tunnel drilled in there?
Sights:
Did Taiwanese matchlocks use sights? If so, what were they like?
I am under the impression Taiwanese ones did not generally have sights... maybe their Chinese counterparts did..?
"Pistol-grip":
They often have an L-shaped pistol grip, do you find that they usually select wood that has a natural curve in the grain? ...if not, was the way they were shot not as stressful for the grip?
I can see that being a weak point, but then again, it's not like a conventional shoulder-stock where the recoil goes to the shoulder...