A miquelet escopeta for comments

machinist · 10th May 2013, 01:29 AM

I recently bought this escopeta at auction and was hoping to learn more about it as this is my first flintlock. One of my areas of interest is the weapons used by Spanish colonists in the south western U.S. and this seems like a slightly fancy version of the sort of carbines that would have been used in that era and area.
What I know so far is that it has a miquelet lock, a Catalan stock, a belt hook and that is about it.
There is a signature of Castano with the last letter partly obscured by the mainspring and several gold lined markings on the barrel breach. One of the marks has lettering that is mostly obscured by the gold being a bit rough and thick but it seems to be three lines of letters with the second and third letters of the first line being NT.
The buttplate is a plain piece of steel that goes about three centimeters down the back of the buttstock. The caliber is .75 and the bore is smooth, there is no rear sight.
I will use the sellers Pics as my camera and camera skill are both pretty bad.
Any information that anyone has, especially about where and when it may have been made as well as how such a thing might have been used, hunting? Defense? Any opinion is welcome.

Cerjak · 11th May 2013, 04:20 PM

Hi Machinist
Very nice Escopeta you have !
I already post last year 2 from my collection and guess that Fernando & Fernando K could help you as they did with me..
This is the link from my old thread
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14820
Regards

Cerjak

fernando · 11th May 2013, 07:59 PM

Nice gun you got there, machinist ... expensive too

.
Probably a hunting escopeta, being half stocked; Fernando K knows better. Maybe he also has a record on Castaño, who doesn't come in Lavin's work. Apparently this is only the lock maker, once the golden mark on barrel is signed by someone else, probably a more well know smith. The two letters you discern will most probably be those of Antonio, but this is a name rather popular and is not enough to ID the owner.
Maybe you have a friend with photograph facilities and post a close up picture of the mark; maybe Fernando K or other member will be ble to ID it.

machinist · 12th May 2013, 12:25 AM

Cerjak, Nice looking piece there also, I have looked through that thread a bit and it is informative.

Fernando, A little expensive but I think it is worth it. Were you following that auction? One of the marks on the breach looks like a cross with a bifurcated, fishtail base, it seems common on such guns and I wonder what is it's meaning?

Yay, I am off newbie probation

Fernando K · 12th May 2013, 12:28 AM

Hello:

I agree with Fernando, I think it's a shotgun. The name on the key (lock) I think it is Italian, if a key (lock) produced in Spain have the punch Manufacturer gold.

It would be interesting a photograph of the punch in the barrel (barrel) to see who produced it.

In short: I think it is a weapon produced in Italy, perhaps in Naples (under Spanish rule) and used a gun / barrel) produced in Spain

Affectionately. Fernando K

machinist · 12th May 2013, 01:00 AM

Hello Fernando K, This is interesting information, I was wondering why some guns where stamped on the lock, trigger guard, barrel, and mine was not.
I was wondering about it being used as a shotgun, it seems like it would be useful against deer with a load of buckshot.

fernando · 12th May 2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machinist

... Were you following that auction?

Coincidence; i saw it while browsing the net for CASTAÑO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by machinist

... One of the marks on the breach looks like a cross with a bifurcated, fishtail base, it seems common on such guns and I wonder what is it's meaning?...

Apparently they call them crosses ... Latin cross, Greek cross, depending on their style. They actually appear in the majority of barrel marks, i suppose for decoration purposes. I ignore the origin of this custom.

aptheo · 12th July 2013, 10:21 PM

I'm pretty sure this is a Spanish trabuco, a type of blunderbuss, which is a shotgun. I have a source that says the Spanish military did in fact use them, and they were also used by Spanish explorers of the Americas. Trabuco Canyon, an area in Southern California, is actually named after this type of gun.

10th May 2013, 01:29 AM	#1
machinist Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 93	A miquelet escopeta for comments I recently bought this escopeta at auction and was hoping to learn more about it as this is my first flintlock. One of my areas of interest is the weapons used by Spanish colonists in the south western U.S. and this seems like a slightly fancy version of the sort of carbines that would have been used in that era and area. What I know so far is that it has a miquelet lock, a Catalan stock, a belt hook and that is about it. There is a signature of Castano with the last letter partly obscured by the mainspring and several gold lined markings on the barrel breach. One of the marks has lettering that is mostly obscured by the gold being a bit rough and thick but it seems to be three lines of letters with the second and third letters of the first line being NT. The buttplate is a plain piece of steel that goes about three centimeters down the back of the buttstock. The caliber is .75 and the bore is smooth, there is no rear sight. I will use the sellers Pics as my camera and camera skill are both pretty bad. Any information that anyone has, especially about where and when it may have been made as well as how such a thing might have been used, hunting? Defense? Any opinion is welcome. Attached Images

11th May 2013, 04:20 PM	#2
Cerjak Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: FRANCE Posts: 1,064	Hi Machinist Very nice Escopeta you have ! I already post last year 2 from my collection and guess that Fernando & Fernando K could help you as they did with me.. This is the link from my old thread http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14820 Regards Cerjak Attached Images

12th May 2013, 12:25 AM	#4
machinist Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 93	Cerjak, Nice looking piece there also, I have looked through that thread a bit and it is informative. Fernando, A little expensive but I think it is worth it. Were you following that auction? One of the marks on the breach looks like a cross with a bifurcated, fishtail base, it seems common on such guns and I wonder what is it's meaning? Yay, I am off newbie probation Last edited by machinist; 12th May 2013 at 01:01 AM.

12th July 2013, 10:21 PM	#8
aptheo Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Southern California Posts: 8	I'm pretty sure this is a Spanish trabuco, a type of blunderbuss, which is a shotgun. I have a source that says the Spanish military did in fact use them, and they were also used by Spanish explorers of the Americas. Trabuco Canyon, an area in Southern California, is actually named after this type of gun. Attached Images

11th May 2013, 07:59 PM	#3
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,642	Nice gun you got there, machinist ... expensive too . Probably a hunting escopeta, being half stocked; Fernando K knows better. Maybe he also has a record on Castaño, who doesn't come in Lavin's work. Apparently this is only the lock maker, once the golden mark on barrel is signed by someone else, probably a more well know smith. The two letters you discern will most probably be those of Antonio, but this is a name rather popular and is not enough to ID the owner. Maybe you have a friend with photograph facilities and post a close up picture of the mark; maybe Fernando K or other member will be ble to ID it.

12th May 2013, 12:28 AM	#5
Fernando K Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 664	Hello: I agree with Fernando, I think it's a shotgun. The name on the key (lock) I think it is Italian, if a key (lock) produced in Spain have the punch Manufacturer gold. It would be interesting a photograph of the punch in the barrel (barrel) to see who produced it. In short: I think it is a weapon produced in Italy, perhaps in Naples (under Spanish rule) and used a gun / barrel) produced in Spain Affectionately. Fernando K

12th May 2013, 01:00 AM	#6
machinist Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 93	Hello Fernando K, This is interesting information, I was wondering why some guns where stamped on the lock, trigger guard, barrel, and mine was not. I was wondering about it being used as a shotgun, it seems like it would be useful against deer with a load of buckshot.