A neat blunderbuss ... probably loaded

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

9th July 2010, 06:09 AM	#1
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,165	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	#2
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