AR761 - 12 bore late 18th century flintlock sporting gun with straight rifling.
AR761 - 12 bore late 18th century flintlock sporting gun with straight rifling.. With no visible serial number or obvious maker, stylistically likely made circa 1780, with octagonal swamped 32 ½” barrel signed in white metal on the top-flat 'I.M.(symbol)T.P' (this is very likely Old Cyrillic: transliterated as I.M. T. R.) and rifled in straight grooves. It has a lined touch-hole, solid top-tang set in carved saddle, plain radiused lock with bevel-edged bar and reduced “nose” to the lock plate: an unusual design feature. The broad, carved frizzen is fitted with a roller to the feather spring (rather than the more normal roller on the frizzen tail), separable (in the Continental manner) semi rain-proof pan and swan-necked cock; long solid side-plate to the left hand side secured with two side nails, although the side plate extending much further back towards the wrist. It has a walnut full-stock with carved and moulded margins around the ramrod channel, furniture, cheek-piece and top-tang. It has brass furniture with strong traces of gilding and wood ramrod, again putting this into the 18th century. There has been some old cleaning to the stock, particularly around the butt, although fortunately the carving remains clear. This was clearly firearm of some quality when first made, the grooves being intended to reduce the effects of black powder fouling; such rifling dates back to early 18th century (seen in a few better quality French arms of the period) although some have suggested that the idea originates in the 17th century. This sort of arm is seldom seen and worth some further research by a specialist collector in this difficult area.