# sweet gun



## judu (Jul 27, 2009)

i found this gun today with a bunch of bottles. the bottles are from the 20s and 30s, i wonder if this gun is from then too?..


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## GuntherHess (Jul 27, 2009)

looks a bit like an oreo, have you tried dipping it in milk?
 Sorry, dont know much about weapons made after 1865


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## judu (Jul 27, 2009)

yea, looks like an oreo indeed, if i cant find anything else in the house, i might give it a try...


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## privvydigger (Jul 27, 2009)

I need the chamber off one of those for one we found.


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## privvydigger (Jul 27, 2009)

definately a cool find and who knows where its been


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 27, 2009)

maybe a snub nose 25 cal.I cant see the barrel


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## judu (Jul 28, 2009)

i have it soaking overnight so tommorow you might can see it a little better. i was thinking of where this gun has been and how it made its way to the city dump. i bet theres some really interesting history about this gun that i will never know.....


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## capsoda (Jul 28, 2009)

> maybe a snub nose 25 cal.I cant see the barrel


 
 Hey, Hey....that is a barrel and caliber impaired pistol man... Take it easy with the harsh language..... [sm=lol.gif]

 Looks pretty gone to me. They must have eaten alot of tomatoes and peppers for their poop to cause that kind of damage.[]


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 28, 2009)

lol []


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## riverdiver (Feb 2, 2010)

Hey I found one of those too, mine is a little more rusty though...


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## judu (Feb 2, 2010)

nice find riverdiver, did you find that underwater?...if so, makes you wonder what kind of shady past that gun has ....


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## riverdiver (Feb 3, 2010)

Hi judu,

 I did find it underwater, it was down stream of a bridge in the center of a major city. 
  Since this is a cool subject we are on, I will add one more photo of another gun. 
 I was contacted by a local police department and asked if I could train some of their 'diving' officers in search and recovery techniques with an u/w metal detector. We chose a blackwater river in their district and proceeded to 'mow the lawn' with a 10'sq grid. About halfway though the tank the officer pictured, wrote on his slate that he thought he was detecting a length of pipe. I instructed him to recover it so we could verify it and this is what surfaced. 

 It has been identified as an 1850's cap and ball rifle and was a very common hunting rifle, it is completely intact and since the officer was on duty, his Chief would not let him keep it so it is in my collection now. 
 Sometimes it pays to be the teacher and not the student.


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## Rockhounder55 (Feb 4, 2010)

That's an incredible find riverdiver. The rifle, I mean. It's in remarkably good shape for being underwater, compared to your pistol above.  ~Mike


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## riverdiver (Feb 4, 2010)

Hi Rockhounder55,

 You are correct about the preservation differences. The pistol was lying in a on top of the sand in a swift water river environment, whereas the rifle was embedded in a peat type of bottom with a high tannic acid content (low oxygen level) and was thus preserved to include intact brass trigger guard and butt plate, the rifle was about 12" deep into the 'peat' at about 10' deep. This river winds through farm land and only has a current during the spring snow melt and after heavy rains. Another cool note is that the barrel is octogon shaped.


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## RedGinger (Feb 4, 2010)

That is a really neat story, Matt.  It's a very nice looking gun, too.  Thanks for sharing the story.  What if you had just blown it off as being a pipe?


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## glass man (Feb 5, 2010)

BET THAT OFFICER WAS TICKED OFF HE COULDN'T KEEP IT!!! BET SOME ONE LONG AGO WAS TICKED OFF THEY LOST THEY HUNTING RIFLE!!!


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## Staunton Dan (Feb 5, 2010)

Here's my gun find, the barel of a 6" octagon boot pistol. I found it while digging bottles in an 1850s era privy last April.


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## riverdiver (Feb 7, 2010)

Hey glassman,

 The officer was and still is upset, he is also still one of my dive partners. We have done several law enforcement recoveries since that find and he is an excellent diver with a detector and not a bad bottle digger either. He bought his own detector after that dive and has since made some great recoveries. The rifle is hidden away and when we both retire in 10 years (He is an Officer in the same town I am a FT FF-EMT) he gets the gun.


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## Rockhounder55 (Feb 7, 2010)

Good for you, riverdiver. You're an honorable man. I would have also found a way to get that officer that gun.  ~Mike


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## surfaceone (Feb 8, 2010)

> The rifle is hidden away and when we both retire in 10 years (He is an Officer in the same town I am a FT FF-EMT) he gets the gun.


 
 Well done, sir.

 Did'ya pack it in Cosmoline? Amazing that the stock is intact! Was the wood saturated?  Are you ontemplating any conservation? Or, is it all good?


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## riverdiver (Feb 10, 2010)

Hi Surfaceone,

 I did the only thing I knew to do after the recovery, I photographed it and took my info to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, VT. They told me how to best preserve it and gave me very specific instructions which I followed and although it is still rusty, it is fully dried out and well stored in a cool, dry environment. 
  I know a local gunsmith that specializes in restoration of old guns. I am going to have him restore it, mount it and I will present it to my dive partner at his Law Enforcement retirement party. 

 It is still one of the most awesome finds ever with an u/w metal detector!


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## FloridaRecycled (Feb 10, 2010)

> ORIGINAL: Rockhounder55
> 
> Good for you, riverdiver. You're an honorable man. I would have also found a way to get that officer that gun.  ~Mike


 
 AT LEAST...he has this picture to hold him till then!  What a great retirement gift...even better than a "watch"!!!


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## surfaceone (Feb 10, 2010)

> ORIGINAL:  riverdiver
> 
> I know a local gunsmith that specializes in restoration of old guns. I am going to have him restore it, mount it and I will present it to my dive partner at his Law Enforcement retirement party.
> 
> It is still one of the most awesome finds ever with an u/w metal detector!


 
 Hello Matt,

 This is such a great gift! He's gonna be so delighted. Did'ya give the gunsmith a sneak preview? If so, was he able to tell you anything about the rifle?  

 "Awesome," is the word!


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## riverdiver (Feb 10, 2010)

Hi Surfaceone,

 Shortly after the conservation process ended, I took the rifle down to Manchester, NH to a Militaria Auction/Appraisal house and had them look it over. One of their employees used a solution on the breech area and was able to pull up an engraved name and set of numbers. Using their microfiche database they produced the name of a gunsmith from Boston who made primarily pistols and this was the gunsmiths first foray into an inexpensive hunting rifle for everyday use, kind of like the Mossbergs of today. 
  In the dug/ as is condition I brought to them, they valued it at $200.00. "IF" it was mint it could go for upwards of $1500.00, still not a bad find. The gunsmiths name is evading me and now that I have posted the (as found) photo it might be high time to take it down from the rafters and take some more photos and some close-ups too!


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## surfaceone (Feb 10, 2010)

> The gunsmiths name is evading me and now that I have posted the (as found) photo it might be high time to take it down from the rafters and take some more photos and some close-ups too!


 
 Hey Matt,

 Sounds like high time indeed. We'll stay tuned...


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## riverdiver (Feb 10, 2010)

Hi judu,

 I want to apologize for hijacking this thread...your gun find is awesome!


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## surfaceone (Feb 10, 2010)

> ORIGINAL:  judu
> 
> i have it soaking overnight so tommorow you might can see it a little better. i was thinking of where this gun has been and how it made its way to the city dump. i bet theres some really interesting history about this gun that i will never know.....


 
 Yeah, Dan,

 Me, too, but it sure has been fun...

 Did'ya take it outta the secret sauce? Could'ya tell better what it was?  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Any found weapon has gotta instill that ole "I bet there's some story here..." feeling.


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## judu (Feb 10, 2010)

hey river, i have enjoyed reading this thread now very much. i figure this is everyones thread, i just got it started. the gun you have found is very very cool and even cooler that your giving it back to the officer......i love hearing about underwater finds.


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## judu (Feb 10, 2010)

HEY SURFACE, I DID GET IT A LITTLE CLEANER. ILL POST A PICTURE FOR YOU IN A BIT....


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

Hey juda and surfaceone,

 I finally got around to some pictures of the rifle, the battery on my cam died before I got any shots of the butstock area, here are the rest, enjoy and thanks again judu for a great thread.


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

Awesome engraved brass trigger guard with sun motif.


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

Trigger and hammer assembly


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

Other side of hammer area


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

The working end with ramrod


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## riverdiver (Feb 18, 2010)

Ramrod stored under barrel


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## judu (Feb 18, 2010)

wow! ...thats incredible.i guess with it buried in the substate it was able to keep intact like that.really cool.


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## surfaceone (Feb 21, 2010)

Hey Matt and Dan,

 I kinda lost track of this thread. Matt, that is a fantastic find, plain and simple. Did your gunsmith have a date for that rifle? I'm assuming it is rifled, and is it a flintlock? I hope you can get a history of that colonial gunsmith. Amazing that it survived at all, phargin phenomenal that it is in such great shape. Was the bottom peat like, where he found it?


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## riverdiver (Feb 21, 2010)

Hi surfaceone,

 The rifle is dated to 1850 and is a cap and ball percussion, it was recovered from a peat like bottom with a high tannic acid level and very low oxygen content thus preserving it.


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