Item:
ONSV9774

Original U.S. New England Underhammer Percussion Target Rifle with Named Ramrod circa 1850

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. Just purchased at a recent military auction! This is a very nice "New England" style underhammer percussion target rifle, complete with its original long ramrod. These could be used for hunting, but more often were a pastime for the more wealthy, who would use these for target shooting. Somewhat delicate and quite heavy, they were not not really hunting friendly. Still they could be used for competitions shooting fowl, and there is a nice "double bird" inlay on the left butt stock cheek piece.

This lovely rifle has a .40" caliber 26 inch long fully octagonal barrel, with a muzzle turned down for a bullet starter. This would add the rifling grooves to the bullet, so that the six groove rifling would not be worn down by the loading process. This does not seem to have happened much, as the bore is in excellent condition, clean with bright finish and crisp rifling. The lock is very sensitive, and has a long rod trigger, so even without a "set trigger" it is pretty close to a "hair trigger", and fires very easily.

The underhammer lock design is perfect for a target gun, as it avoids interfering with the sighting of the rifle, and the usual issue of the cap nipple falling off would be much less of a problem in a stationary position. The rifle has "German Silver" cupronickel alloy fittings, with a lovely brass patch box on the right side of the butt, which still contains multiple original patches. It also has it's original heavy wooden 36 1/4" ramrod marked JAMES NOVINGER, possibly a previous owner of this rifle.

The rifle features a nice long hood protected bead front sight, and a rear aperture "peep" sight, which has a sliding range adjustment, that engages grooves on the back of the wrist. It is most likely custom made to order, and the only markings on the entire rifle are 6 --- 3 --- 3 on the bottom of the barrel.

A very nice example of a mid 19th Century "New England" target rifle, ready to add to your collection!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: c.1850
Caliber: approx .40" - 6 Groove Rifling
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 26 Inches

Overall Length: 42 1/2 Inches
Action type: Underhammer Percussion Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.

  • This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey

    This product is available for international shipping.
  • Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon

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