A 4 Bore Miquilet Wall Gun.

PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/807503882;

Cleaning Your Gun In The field.

Cleaning Your Gun In The Field is part of my "A Woodsrunner's Day" series.

Fitting a Gun Flint to A Lock.

British Museum Shot Pouch. Undated!

 Museum number

Am1991,09.4

Full: Front

Rectangular flat pouch or bag, with strap, fingerwoven of wool. The flat bag is constructed from one or two pieces of red wool plaited cloth, with a central resist [undyed] paler horizontal stripe across the front. The vertical edges include black wool.

Rectangular flat pouch or bag, with strap, fingerwoven of wool. The flat bag is constructed from one or two pieces of red wool plaited cloth, with a central resist [undyed] paler horizontal stripe across the front. The vertical edges include black wool, with a line of opaque white beads and stitching in a brown vegetal thread. The bottom seam also includes stitching in a brown vegetal thread, with a line of quill wrapped wool fringing, each ending in a red hair filled metal comb, the colour of the quills being alternating black and white bands. The front of the bag is further decorated, just above the resist dyed strip, with a further fringe similar to that at the bottom. Woven into the front of the bag is a geometric design in irregular opaque white beads: two vertical lines of chevrons, with a double zig zag line up the centre and single zig-zag lines up both vertical edges. The points of the chevrons face downwards. The back and less faded side of the bag is decorated with a double row, vertical, each of butterfly-like geometric designs, each row being 3 high; the vertical seams each have rows of five small diamonds. All the patterns are in the same opaque white glass beads. The top of the bag is edged with green tape, enclosed in lines of white beads, back and front. The bag is lined with a coarse reddish manufactured cloth. // The strap is also plaited, in two greenish colours, that at the edge being slightly yellower than the reddish green colour of the body of the strap. The strap is attached by sewing with the brown vegetable thread at the two top corners of the pouch opening. The strap finishes on both sides with a plaited wool fringe, on the left [from the front] with six plaits, and on the right with five plaits. Woven into these plaits or braids are white beads, incorporating slightly darker green wool. The main body of the strap incorporates in the weaving a diamond pattern of white beads, with along the slightly contrasting colour edges, rows of white beads, at the absolute edge and at the boundary between the two colours. Repairs to the beadwork seem to have been carried out with this darker green wool.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=110978001&objectid=516326;

Guns & Ammunition. The Old Bailey Records.

Guns & Ammunition. The Old Bailey Records.

 he caused a Ladder to be fetched, and a Blunderbuss charged with Peas, being Fired in at the Grate under the Arch, the dread of a further Harm, induced them to more calmness. However, they continued to declare, they would rather dye in the place, than be Executed at Tyburn,

Ordinary's Account, 15th July 1689.

And upon that, did (that is, one of them) shoot him with a Brass-Piece or Blunderbuss, and lodged seven or eight Bullets in his Body. 

Ordinary's Account, 7th February 1705.

 and purchas'd 2 Pistols and a half Blunderbuss, which was all the Arms he ever used on the High way, although Jo-s carried along with him (also) a sharp Knife, and sometimes a Dagger. 

Ordinary's Account, 26th July 1731.

 a Guard thereto, as soon as the Passengers had been plundered, discharged a Blunderbuss, and shot W - in the Hip with a Slug, and graz'd him under the Eye with another; upon which Fluellin set Spurs to his Horse, and riding up to him, shot him Dead upon the spot, and then gallopp'd off.

Ordinary's Account, 8th November 1738.

The Cleaning & Maintenance Of A Muzzle-Loading Gun. VIDEOS.

The Cleaning Of A Muzzle-Loading Gun-Documentation.

 "The Care and Cleaning of Firelocks in the 18th Century: A Discussion of Period Methods and Their Present Day Applications."

George Edie, A Treatise on English Shooting (London 1772) (7-8) "When a person is master of a good Piece, the keeping it in proper order is a main article in the doing execution with it: it is necessary the inside of the barrel, the touch-hole, and the lock, be kept clean; and the springs and moving parts of the lock properly oiled. The barrel should be washed at least after every eighteen or twenty fires, where the best sort of powder is used; but if the gun-powder is an inferior sort, then the barrel will require oftener washing. The best method of washing a barrel is, by taking out the britchpin; but as this can seldom be conveniently done, take the barrel out of the stock, and put the britch- end in to a pail of warm water, leaving the touch-hole open; then, with an iron rod, with tow or a bit of linen rag at the end, draw up and down in the syringe manner, till it is quite clean; changing the water, and rinsing the inside, as the foulness requires: when this is done, it will be proper to put in a red-hot iron, of six or eight inches in length (which any blacksmith will furnish), and move it up and down to dry any remaining damp: the outside of the barrel should be well dried, and a little oil rubbed over every time of cleaning." ________________

Thomas Simes, The Regulator: or Instructions to Form the Officer and Complete the Soldier (London, 1780) “How to clean the Barrel. After every firing day the barrel is to be washed, by taking it out of the stock, and putting the breeching into water, leaving the touch hole open: then with an iron ram-rod and worm, with a piece of tow or rag, draw up and down the barrel till it becomes quite clean; when dry, rub it out with another piece of dry rag, and the outside of the barrel with buff leather. The lock not to be taken to pieces but when necessity requires it – and that is, when the trigger or hammer goes stiff, or sounds unpleasant to the ear.”

https://www.scribd.com/doc/292985859/The-Care-and-Cleaning-of-Firelocks-in-the-18th-Century-A-Discussion-of-Period-Methods-and-Their-Present-Day-Applications

18th-Century-Small-Arms-Manual PDF.

http://www.nps.gov/stri/upload/18th-Century-Small-Arms-Manual-Final-Draft.pdf

A New Ramrod For My Pistol.

I have made a video on making ramrods this afternoon. Not one that shows the actual making, but a description of the process & a talk on ramrods in general. Right now Part One is still loading, & I have Part Two to edit. But while you are waiting, here are some stills from the video.
Keith.

Ramrod with an antler tip.

Flintlock blunderbuss by GE Kope Wangen, circa 1750.

Flintlock blunderbuss by GE Kope Wangen, circa 1750. 

http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2581;

Making Wood Screws. A LINK.

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=18831.0

Why Firearms Restrictions?

Why Firearms Restrictions?

·      Terrorism

·      Crime

·      Suicides

Do restrictions on law abiding licensed firearms owners do anything to stop the above problems/threats? Answer: No

Why No? Because law abiding citizens are not criminals or terrorists & if they want to commit suicide they have other gentler means of killing themselves without blowing their brains out.

How do restrictions to muzzle-loading long arms & pistols effect the above? They don’t is the easy answer. No criminal will choose a muzzle-loading firearm over a modern breach loading firearm to use in committing a crime.

Why are restrictions placed on muzzle-loading firearms by the Australian government if by doing so it has no effects on crime, terrorism or suicide? Good question, & if we could actually ask the government this question & get an answer, it would be very interesting to hear but probably complete & utter bullshit.

Firearms restrictions are based on the premise that they keep the public safe, but to date that has never been proven to be the case, in fact, there is some question as to whether being able to carry a side arm in public may not actually be a deterrent to crime & terrorism.

Let us take a look at the rules in NSW concerning muzzle-loading firearms:

·      Antique muzzle-loading guns do not require a permit to purchase, registration, or a firearms licence. But you are not legally allowed to fire an antique gun.

·      Replica muzzle-loading guns are exactly the same as antique muzzle-loading guns, exactly the same in all respects. The loading procedure, the firing procedure, & the ignition method. All are the same. Replica muzzle-loaders are just that, they are replicated copies of originals. Not breach loaders, not smokeless gunpowder, not fast loading, not high powered. But still they require registration, permit to purchase, & a firearms licence. In the case of a flintlock, matchlock, tinderlock or wheel lock pistol, they require a Pistol Licence, & to get a pistol licence you have to join a pistol club, & to maintain membership you have to attend regular meetings, & the membership is expensive. On top of this you are not allowed to use this muzzle-loading pistol anywhere except on an approved firing range.

Anyone wanting to make a crude muzzle-loading gun can do so in about 30 minutes using a piece of gas pipe. It would be illegal to do so, but it could easily be done. Yet the above restrictions on these primitive guns are supposed to be keeping the public safe from harm. If it were not so serious, if it did not seriously affect people’s rights to recreation through Living History & Historical Re-enacting, it would be laughable. The legislators who pen these laws may well be looked on as a joke, but the restrictions they place on law abiding citizens is no joke.

I respect other people’s points of view, I understand why some people are frightened by guns. I understand & respect their wish not to own or use a gun, even in the defence of their loved ones & themselves. But I simply can not understand why they are unable to look at the situation & understand that law abiding citizens are not the enemy, we are not a part of the problem, and we are not criminals. Treating us as such is unforgivable & an offence against human rights.

Disagreeing with someone is a human right, but spreading misinformation & lies is something else. The Greens, the government & other anti-gun lobby groups are guilty of spreading misinformation, lies & fear mongering in order to achieve further restrictions on firearms & ammunition just to satisfy their own need to control people, to gain some sort of power. It makes them feel good. What then does this say for these sorts of people?

We, the law abiding gun owner are not totally blameless in the restrictions that we suffer. Self-serving organisations such as the S.S.A.A. (Sporting Shooters Association Of Australia) could be doing a lot more for Australian gun owners, but instead it seems to me that they are more interested in not rocking the boat & at the same time lining their own pockets. Individuals are divided, muzzle-loading shooters have always readily backed modern gun shooters, but modern firearms owners are often guilty of hanging us black powder enthusiasts out to dry! I don’t see that anyone is dividing us, we seem to have divided ourselves. When we finally have so many restrictions & possibly even confiscations, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Keith H. Burgess.

The Left Hand Lock Pistol.

I have had requests to show my left hand pistol in more detail. The lock plate is brass, & the cannon barrel is brass (possibly bronze) & .70 caliber. This is an antique, but it came with no history & no maker's marks. More than likely French going by the cock design, stock & cannon barrel.  Not all makers would mark their guns.
But searching further, I came across some French pistols made by Duval a Nantes made in the mid 18th century. I think there is a very good chance that my pistol is an earlier Nantes. If it is a Nantes, why didn't he mark it? Possibly because it was one of his first guns? Did he make this whilst in an apprenticeship working for another gun maker? Or could it have something to do with it being left handed? We/I may never know.
There is also the possibility that this was made by someone else copying the Nantes. Any thoughts? 

Made By French pistol maker Duval a Nantes.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8140205_flintlock-brass-barrel-pistol-cassaignard-a-nantes;

Now I have all I need.

Brass or bronze barrel of .70 caliber, left hand brass lock flintlock. Designed to be carried on the right side so the lock faces outward away from the body.

IMPORTANT: Firearms Survey.

** URGENT ATTENTION REQUIRED **

This survey has been generated for ALL Australians, not just LAFO's. Please, not only complete the survey, but PLEASE SHARE IT to your own family and friends.

The purpose of the survey is to ascertain what the Australian public perceives regarding firearm ownership.

A survey utilsing sophisticated tools such as Qualtrics has not been used before and the results of this survey, assuming an appropriate number of respondents fill it in, can be used as evidence on a variety of platforms.

As we lead into 2016, if you want to start to address what many firearm owners are concerned about may happen, this survey is the first step of many to educate the Australian public.

Please be careful when answering the questions, as some of the sliders reverse themselves.

Firearm ownership in Australia - Public

An Australian survey, not sponsored by any pro or anti firearm organisations, to ascertain the views of ALL Australian regarding firearm ownership in Australia.

UQBEL.AZ1.QUALTRICS.COM

http://uqbel.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aXmT6m3SvHtBxfT?q_sm=Facebook

WANTED to buy in Australia only.

WANTED: Antique late 17th to early 18th century flintlock or snaphaunce pistol in 20 gauge/.60-.62 caliber.
Alternately I would like to purchase just the barrel.
A FINDERS FEE APPLIES.

Converting A Drum & Nipple Percussion Firearm To Flintlock.

The process of converting a drum & nipple percussion lock firearm to flintlock is very simple. First you remove the percussion lock. Next you remove the barrel. Now you unscrew the drum & nipple from the barrel turning it anti-clockwise.
Next screw in the vent liner. You may have to drill a countersink for the shoulder of the vent liner to inlet into the barrel depending on the type of vent liner you use. You could screw a part of a bolt into the vent & pin punch it in place, then drill the touch hole. But do NOT pin punch the barrel, only the vent liner. But the bought vent liners are a better option. If you don't feel comfortable fitting the vent liner yourself, get a gunsmith to do it for you.
Now put the barrel back in the stock & secure. Now fit the flint lock in place on the stock. Job finished.

This is a CVA percussion rifle. The hammer is lowered onto the nipple.

This shows the barrel removed with the drum & nipple in place.

Drum & nipple unscrewed from barrel.

Drum & nipple unscrewed from barrel.

This is a vent liner, showing the inside on the left, & the outside on the right. This screws into the vent hole where the drum & nipple used to be.

This is a CVA flint lock. This will replace the CVA percussion lock.

This image shows the vent liner screwed in place & the flint lock attached. Job finished.

18th Century Firelock Drill. Video.

Artwork By Steve Noon.

Flintlock Pistol & Clasp Knife Combination.

http://www.knifeology.com/flintlockpistolk.html;

Grave Guns, Cemetery Guns, Trap Guns.

This type of firearm was generally used to protect graves from grave robbers in the 18th century. These grave robbers worked at night so as not to be seen, but this also meant that they may not see these guns mounted on a grave, & would probably not see the trip wires. Several trip wires could be fitted to the trigger mechanism, running in different directions. This not only covered a wide area, but it also meant that any one of these wires could swivel the gun in the direction of the intruder.

http://www.guns.com/2013/08/06/cemetery-guns-and-coffin-torpedoes/;

http://milpas.cc/rifles/ZFiles/Odd%20Fellows/18th-century%20French%20Flintlock%20Grave%20Robber%20Trap%20Gun/18th-century%20French%20Flintlock%20Grave%20Robber%20Trap%20Gun.htm;

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/flintlock-spring-gun-bp552/;