Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Hoping for help.

Hoping for information on my newest rifle. Looks like an early mule ear target, has anyone seen anything like it?

Thanks Chris

Huh, that one has me treed.

Any writing on it Chris?

wow.....no....post up anything you might find, please!!

Here are a few more pictures of the lock. Stamped are RWH on the lock stock inside the lock as well as bottom of bbl. I should have taken some full length pictures. Any thoughts on era of manufacture?
Thanks Chris

First of all bear in mind anything in this post is speculation on my part. It appears to me that the stock is of military origin, from where I have no idea. And, that the lock has been fitted to the rifle with either a barrel change or a reworking of the existing barrel. Probably the trigger mechanism had to be reworked also. The coil spring in the lock really throws me for a loop. That seems to me to be of a much later era than the stock.

I sure hope you learn something definitive about that rifle. I'm curious as all get out.

Thanks for the thoughts. I will try and get some full length pictures tonight. I have found no info on RWH though I am pretty sure this was not his only attempt at this.
Thanks Chris

Sharps 4590
Here are some more picts, lots of interesting fearures, poured forend, crazy beaver, the front sight is interesting, what do you make of the rifling?
Thanks Chris

A couple more.

The last.

Well I still have had no luck finding any information on RWH, William Hankins keeps coming into the mix, I have seen pictures of an Hankins pistol with the initials RH. I thought if I brought it up top a new set of eyes may see it and lend some info?
Thanks Chris

Wow....good set of pics but I'm more clueless than before.

The only thing that comes to mind would be Richard Wesley Holms
He would have been out of NY state in the lat 1860�s
Specializing in heavy rifles .

As to the stock . Looks like to me that someone customized a military stock .
If that�s the case then the piece may be a German or Austrian possibly Swiss
Military gun that someone sporterized.
But then the lock and triggers are not something one would expect to see in a military piece beings they are tunable .
As to the coil spring in the lock .
The use of coil spring goes way back. I have read of their uses as early as 1600 and it probably goes back before that . But for firearms use they are rear and very seldom seen . for the original mule ear designs , it would IMO have carred a flat spring .
Beings this is a mule ear lock , this would put one into the mid to late 19th century .
From what I can see in the photos . The spring does look to be of drawn heavy gage wire . But its hard to tell from a photo .
Also some of the workings look to be newer . So it could be that someone had the lock plate , tumbler and hammer . .


As sharps stated though this is all speculation .
But the part I having a hard time grasping is the vast differences in quality of this gun .
IE the quality of workmanship in the stock and its decorations, does not match the quality of the lock and trigger.
The lock triggers , speak of someone with experience . But the rest screams total lack of understanding in basic firearms design . Almost to the point of being thrown together .
The BP doesn�t align properly with the comb . The barrel doesn�t set well to the lines of the barrel and the inlays are crude at best .
Even the patch box is odd . The surround appears to have been carefully done. While the finals are crude cut plate .
So again we see work done with care , surrounded by work that�s very simple and quickly done .
Then you have the pewter nose cap which calls for a basic understanding of casting . But its completely out of place .

So im going to say this . Know though that I could be completely off base .
But IMO what you have is a gun that someone made from 2 guns .
Possibly the first was a original Later dated rifle of quality .
They used those parts . IE the Trigger , barrel , nose cap , butt plate and Basic cap box on different stock OR made their own stock . whic apears to be possbaly Beech ???????
possably they even used the lock . but frankly its makeup looks completely out of the norm and may infact also be made from parts and pieces .

Again I could be completely off base on this But IMO this would answer the question of the drastic differences in quality .
definatly a big puzzle thats for sure

Holy Wa
Thank You for your thoughts I know if I typed that response I could easily have had an hour into it. The middle 1800's is what I thought of the piece and at the very least the stock was sportorized a bit and to tell you the truth I am not certain of anything beyond that. Is there anyone in Michigan I could show this critter to that may have an understanding of what it is?
Thanks chris