A neat blunderbuss ... probably loaded

fernando · 6th July 2010, 06:48 PM

Hi Stu,
This is the shortest blunderbuss i got, as also one of the shortest you may see out there ... before you start consider them blunderbuss pistols.
I have 'longer' ones also with belt hooks. Well, belt hook is a mode of calling them, as indeed they were (also) hanging from baldrics, used across the chest and also hanging devices on horse saddles.
Fernando

Dmitry · 6th July 2010, 07:40 PM

Nice piece. Too bad it was "converso"ed. The stepped iron barrel looks to be 18th century. A coach gun?

Matchlock · 6th July 2010, 08:07 PM

Hi 'Nando,

Taken into account what I wrote in my current thread on earliest handgonnes concerning often firing shot out of them, they might even be called the 'primeval blunderbusses'.

Apart from that, I like your piece of course. Do not worry too much about its being converted to percussion; it is known that only the really well firing specimen were converted in the 19th century.

Best,
Michl

fernando · 8th July 2010, 04:58 PM

Thank you Dmitry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dmitry

Nice piece. Too bad it was "converso"ed. The stepped iron barrel looks to be 18th century. A coach gun?

Could well be a coach gun; a short range piece, in any case.

fernando · 8th July 2010, 05:05 PM

Thanks a lot you for input, Michl ... and for embellishing my thread with those great images of medieval blunderbusses

'Nando

M ELEY · 9th July 2010, 06:09 AM

Very nice piece, Fernando! I particularly love blunderbusses. Although not made of brass, it could still have seen naval use. Blunderbus were extremely popular ship-board for both naval actions and to 'discourage mutinies". The belt hook is a common attachment on naval firearms. An iron barrel could indicate "private purchase" for a merchantman or privateer...

fernando · 9th July 2010, 07:10 PM

Thank you Mark,
I usualy become extremely sad (read mad) for not being able to identify a specimen, and this is no exception

.
If this were a military weapon, it could be that the marks onthe lock plate were erased, at the time it became a private gun.
But you are right in that it must have been a private piece since the very beginning, reason why it only bears the lock maker name in the interior.
One of these days i will try and disassemble the barrel, to check whether there are some signs there.
Oh well, who was the owner; a stagecoach guard, a merchantman or a privateer ... the excitement is increasing

.
Fernando

6th July 2010, 08:07 PM	#3
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi 'Nando, Taken into account what I wrote in my current thread on earliest handgonnes concerning often firing shot out of them, they might even be called the 'primeval blunderbusses'. Apart from that, I like your piece of course. Do not worry too much about its being converted to percussion; it is known that only the really well firing specimen were converted in the 19th century. Best, Michl Attached Images

6th July 2010, 06:48 PM	#1
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Hi Stu, This is the shortest blunderbuss i got, as also one of the shortest you may see out there ... before you start consider them blunderbuss pistols. I have 'longer' ones also with belt hooks. Well, belt hook is a mode of calling them, as indeed they were (also) hanging from baldrics, used across the chest and also hanging devices on horse saddles. Fernando

6th July 2010, 07:40 PM	#2
Dmitry Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 607	Nice piece. Too bad it was "converso"ed. The stepped iron barrel looks to be 18th century. A coach gun?

8th July 2010, 05:05 PM	#5
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Thanks a lot you for input, Michl ... and for embellishing my thread with those great images of medieval blunderbusses 'Nando

9th July 2010, 06:09 AM	#6
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,196	Very nice piece, Fernando! I particularly love blunderbusses. Although not made of brass, it could still have seen naval use. Blunderbus were extremely popular ship-board for both naval actions and to 'discourage mutinies". The belt hook is a common attachment on naval firearms. An iron barrel could indicate "private purchase" for a merchantman or privateer...

9th July 2010, 07:10 PM	#7
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Thank you Mark, I usualy become extremely sad (read mad) for not being able to identify a specimen, and this is no exception . If this were a military weapon, it could be that the marks onthe lock plate were erased, at the time it became a private gun. But you are right in that it must have been a private piece since the very beginning, reason why it only bears the lock maker name in the interior. One of these days i will try and disassemble the barrel, to check whether there are some signs there. Oh well, who was the owner; a stagecoach guard, a merchantman or a privateer ... the excitement is increasing . Fernando