Hello Jow Forums
I have this old rifle which I know nothing about except that it is in terrible condition, came from an old Jewish aristocratic family from Spain which has seen better days.
Looks to me like it must've been stored in a cellar for many many years seeing how rusted the metal is and how damaged the wood is.
There's also a few tried reparations made to keep the barrel from completely loosing the wood around it.
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You should put an Aimpoint on it. And maybe a MLP sticker or 2.
I don't have much in the way of older firearms knowledge, but I can give you a educated guess until the real autists arrive.
From what I'm seeing it looks like a jezail, a cheap ass rifle made in the middle east/India cobbled together from whatever gun parts the makers could find. Think of it as a Khyber Pass AK of the 17-1800's.
OP I would recommend electrolysis to remove the rust, I doubt that gun was blued.
>came from an old Jewish aristocratic family
Oh, is that what the guy at the gun show told you?
Most likely what said, except a modern reproduction wall hanger.
We,
just put some oil on the metal and hang it on a wall
No, I actually got it personally by a member of that family. Well actually my brother got it, but I did get a pistol myself.
Also a saber but I've no idea where that went.
I read up some on the jezail and got directed towards the Kabyle, which is more or less the same though with a North African origin.
The looks match up a lot more but the Kabyle did not use flintlock mechanisms which mine does have.
But I suppose it's not impossible that some were made as flintlocks.
But the fact that these were very common in the Mediterranean area, especially Spain, which is where the Jewish family came from it makes me think less of the jezail.
You can also see the metal ring around the barrel of mine, among many more of the Kabyle guns.
I firstly thought that they were reparations but I might be wrong about that.
Looks like a wheel lock rifle
Bump
This is most definitely a modern wall hanger gun.
>The non adjustable flint holder
>the rear pad made completely of bone
>the horrible bands on it with the poorly made stamping decoration
>the ugly modern screw on the opposite side of the lock
>nails all over it in the wrong places
>clearly poor work on the insets for the bone decoration
>how thin some parts are, clearly never made to actually work
And don't get me started on that totally fucked looking lock. Most definetly made in India or south east Asia then tossed in a river for a week to age it and sold to an unknowing tourist back in the day. Sorry OP
Its North African from the butt stock, widely used and later copied as tourist pieces. The distinctive north African variety of the snaphaunce lock and the technique of making it came to north Africa after the expulsion of Moorish gunsmiths from spain during the Reconquista moved a lot of lock making to morocco. I would also place the cloverleaf decorative style to North Morroco or Kabyle Algeria. UNlike many of thse guns I see I do not think this is a tourist piece but a genuine berber/kabyle artefact probably a ww1 or ww2 bringback. There were vicious wars fought between the e.g kabyle and French colonial forces. Its a nice piece. Remove the lock carefully and leave it soak in mineral oil
Agree good post. French locks we also imported (and barrels) and in use by e,g the Ottomans. THis style of lock is older and I would say nearly definitely made in morocco. Where it was fitted to the stock and barrel is another question. The kabyle did use snaphaunces
YOu are incorrect on nearly every point in this case although like you I tend to assumethe vast majority of these guns are tourist pieces particularly when in northen indian style. However this is not. THe cock jaw is fully adjustable on it and typically a piece of lead or leather would be in there to hold the flint (or in some cases pyrites). I've seen hundreds of similar guns but I would say this is a genuine piece not a tourist souvenier. The lock is correct as is the decoration as are the barrel bands
Its not that style is a Moroccan snaphaunce
OP I'm 99% sure that's a genuine kabyle gun originally made in morocco with a miquelet lock as per Moorish gunsmiths from spain.
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I like it
By the way overdecoation is a dead giveaway for a tourist piece but in this case its actually just about right including the buttpad
>Its not that style is a Moroccan snaphaunce
My bad on looking it at more closely it is a miquelet lock which is correct.
>the lock is correct
OK, two questions what type of lock is it?
How does one set it?
This is clearly a poor interpretation of a wheellock, the most glaring issue is that there is no way to wind and set the wheel.