If guns could talk: notches in the gun stock

[Pete123]

This is a Springfield 1863.  I feel sure that it saw action in the civil war.  Muzzle loaders were obsolete by the end of the war.  Many were destroyed.  Many were fitted with a trap door option.  Many were taken by poor soldiers to hunt with, either as a rifle or shotgun conversion.

 

The first pic shows the gun as a whole.  The next one shows where the owner carved his initials in the gun, which I've seen in other period guns.  

 

The final one is the interesting one.  There are three notches carved into the underside of the stock right in front of the butt plate.

 

Of course, there is no way to say for sure what they represent, though it caught my attention and imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete123]

I bought it from an estate. 

[Wingshooter]

Awesome. It bagged at least 3 of something. Very interesting

[Sunfish]

Nice squirrel gun Pete. When you shoot that one I want to watch. Sunfish

[Mike.357]

kind of odd how the first vertical hash in the H is sort of crudely carved out and the rest of the letters are more finished.

 

You going to shoot it?

[Pete123]

Whether to shoot it is an interesting question.  It is actually loaded, with a lead ball halfway down the barrel.  Even if I could get the nipple removed I'm not sure the hole is big enough to put something in that could dislodge the ball, though I could get the powder out.

 

Shooting it with a reduced black powder charge would be one way to get the ball out.  

 

I'm not sure whether the gun has value.  There is always risk of damaging the gun, or worse yet, blowing it up.  

 

Any Civil War weapons enthusiasts here?  Input could help with that decision.

[Djay3]

Imagination material for sure!

With that particular piece I bet the odds that those were war related notches are prolly just as good a guess as hunting related notches. One thing is certain those were cut into the stock many years ago based on the patina.

Personally, I would be inclined to not prep it and fire it. I'd keep it "frozen in time".

Very nice find! Edited October 17, 2015 by Djay3

[Sweetmadness]

There's a doohickey that screws in place of the nipple that will let you use a co2 cart to blow the ball out. Or a ball puller on the end of a ramrod. Or see a gunsmith.
Even a reduced charge of powder is a bad idea to get that ball out.

[Pete123]

I appreciate all the input.  I don't think I'll fire it.  At the very least it risks ruining a gun that can history enthusiasts pleasure of trying to figure out its story for generations after I'm gone.

 

There were a couple of questions above.  I came into possession of this and some other nice guns by luck.  I was chatting with a friend and mentioned that I love guns.  He told me about a friend of his that had guns from an elderly family members estate.  I asked for an intro.

 

Wound up at his house, saw what he had, took a risk and bought the lot.  It was a good bet on my part.  There are guns that aren't worth much and two very nice guns that have been abused. See the threads about K98 and the Marlin 336.  

 

My current interest is vintage military guns.  The lot included some nice ones - an M1 as well as a Springfield 1903.  It also included an Enfield No. 5 Jungle gun.  It also included a Russian SKS that is currently my favorite gun.  (Not trying to be a traitor here, once I figure out how to aim with the sights on the M1 it will become the favorite.  I've never shot a gun with a circle for the rear sight.)

 

Those of you who followed the epoxy abuse threads can get ready to cry.  I got the K98 stock of of it yesterday.  The metal parts of the gun are a fully matched bcd 4.  The only metal part I have identified that doesn't match is the safety tab.  Unfortunately, the abuse on the gun has been severe - lots of epoxy permanently attached to the barrel and some of the Nazi cartouches removed.  The abuser also to a wire brush attached to a drill and took off much of the finish.  

 

The lot also included a few civil war guns.  I'll share more about them as I work through them and have questions or a story to tell. 

 

The gem of the lot from a civil war perspective is a Colt Army model 1860 with belt, holster and cartridge pouch.  I've already learned a lot about the civil war.  Previously, I thought the war was fought with muzzle loaders.  I've learned that they had lever action repeaters and breech loading single shot rifles

[peejman]

That's really cool. You got some great stuff in that lot.

Peep/aperture sights are really easy to use, easier than blade sights IMO. This is from the original WWII training films...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yj5KsXDflS4