Japanese Matchlock Barrel

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Nice old matchlock Rick.
Refreshing subject on the forum
With this remark, do you mean the old barrel has a new liner ?
Do you intend to fire it ?

Best regards,
Willem

Hi Asomotif. Yes, this one will be a shooter. That was my intention from the begining. Yes, it has a new steel liner inside the old iron barrel for safe shooting. There is a fellow in Pennsylvania that can do this. He has done others for me. Since this piece lacks the embellishment disired by most collectors, it is a good candidate for a shooting piece. It is in good condition. The whole gun is held together with pins (brass and bamboo!). Not a single screw. It will come apart and go together only one way. Took me a while to figure out. Actually, it's a clever design. After a few private emails with Philip Tom, we concur that due to the lack of a signature and decoration, this piece is probably a "munitions rack type" gun. Probably contracted by one of the local Lords. Thanks, Rick.