# musket hammer



## Grampy Green Jeans (Jun 17, 2010)

Not from walmart.... very neat []


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## Grampy Green Jeans (Jun 17, 2010)

other side. Dug this from old home stead


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## RED Matthews (Jun 17, 2010)

Hello  What you have is the hammer system for a percussion cap for gun using black gun powder.  A little electrolysis should clean it up nicely.  RED M.


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## Grampy Green Jeans (Jun 17, 2010)

Should i clean this up? it is rust... and not patina[]


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## Poison_Us (Jun 18, 2010)

Usually, you wouldn't if it was a whole gun.  But in this case...maybe.  It has character as is though.  Depends on what you want to do with it.


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## Grampy Green Jeans (Jun 19, 2010)

any way to date this style?  is it a late throw, or was this style used  in late 1800's? Or earlyer?


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## Poison_Us (Jun 19, 2010)

That would be the job of an antique weapons dealer/collector.  I have handled several, but never dis-assembled.  I don't think my brother would know and he's a gunsmith.  I'm not sure how old of guns he dealt with.  I could ask....but I'm skeptical.

 I do know this, It's post flint lock, and pre cartridge.  It's a percussion cap design as far as I can tell.  A quick look online might tell you the range of time they were produced.


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## Poison_Us (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok, my brother responded with this:

 yea, its a percussion cap of the 1800's.  flint locks were made up to about 1820-1830.. then ushered in the percussion cap, then about 1842-1843 we get rim fire then 1885-1890 we have the first center fire. the "percussion cap" gets an anvil in it and now its called a primer. now its in the back of the case and we have not had any major evolution from that design. 

 this could be from the civil war of the 1850's we had all three technologies. flint lock, percussion cap and rim fire (rimfire repeaters were the newest tech)

 this specimen has a few pieces missing. for one of the V-springs is missing, the sear is rusted to far to be recognizable, the nipple is gone (that would be part of the screw on breech and the barrel. this is basically a side plate, hammer, cam, hammer spring, hammer retaining screw, the sear is too badly rusted but there, and the sear spring is not all there.. looks like it was broken at the fold of the "V". this gun is all V-Springs, as such they are vulnerable to breakage. they normally brake at the fold of the "V". I see the trip lever for the sear, and some screws.. 
 if you really want to figure the vintage.. you must first get all the dirt off of it, then dunk it in good toilet bowl cleaner until a gray patina.. a bit darker than the SS frame on the gun I sent you. then re-photograph it and let me see it again..  if the person does not want to do this.. then, leave it and hang it on the wall.


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## Grampy Green Jeans (Jun 19, 2010)

Thank you Poison.us! Thanx for doing some research. I found this in with remains of an old barn site. Which consists of four stones in a rectangle, on a flat spot on the ground.. 
   Lots of trash metal debris in the ground, some broken glass. I did locate what looks to b the main dumping area, though it is in a pile of rocks, like a quarry, and most everything appears broken. [&o]  Nice glazed jugs, some good looking shards.... 
    Looked it over pretty good though im sure ill go back at some point. That is one thing that surprises me how you think a site is not yeilding anything, and then out of the blue something _not _busted jumps out at you!


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