April 27-30, 2021 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/29/2021
A very slick little designed rifle that was converted from a bellows air gun, to flintlock, to percussion in order to extend its working life and usefulness. Styled after the classic jaeger rifle with full length wood stock and ergonomic trigger guard. Top flat of octagonal barrel is signed "Jofinn Reyreift" (?, very difficult to read) with a deeply struck poincon. Brass inlays throughout and some incised carving near trigger guard, lock, and tang. Ramrod, probably the original, retained by two ferrules and a reinforced mouth. Careful "breaks" in the wood likely done intentionally to access bellows mechanics. Lock is engraved with scenes of hunting, sailing, and a village, with mythic creature at fore. Careful removal of the brass buttplate reveals the original bellows, with access to the crank slot on right side. Rifle was subsequently converted to flintlock, evidenced by modification to lock that screwed frizzen in place and was subsequently filled. The gun was then further converted to its current percussion configuration, using a reversed set up with pan at back and cock in front. The rifle also has the original, now separate, bellows spring from the original air mechanism. CONDITION: Very good, especially considering what must be a rather extensive working life. Barrel was painted with an enamel of some kind at one point, with some fine areas of pitting throughout. Barrel legends are somewhat obfuscated. Tang has had a splice repair to wood, with numerous bumps and bruises throughout, with a few cracks. One, possibly intentional, break on left side ahead of cheek piece that reveals bellows and a crank mechanism. Action works appropriately, with exception given to cock that will not hold on full cock. Deeply cut rifling is very good with some oxidation from age throughout. This is an extremely interesting firearm that obviously had a very long service life and is a way to see the progression of technology. EW
Accessories
Bellows Spring