[fernando]

These are the first pictures.
The shortest blunderbuss i got; total length 61 cms (24").
The barrel, contary to most usualy seen (over here) was originaly made for a blunderbuss ... no cut offs and no muzzle swellings, as it all appears. Length 29 cms (11 1/2").
So amazingly the stock is longer than the barrel!
The conversion to percussion looks rather professional (arsenal ?), with brass filling on the emptied area, a sturdy hammer and a military chimney.
The lock plate inside is signed OTTERO, sounding Spanish; could either be the maker or the converter (?). This name puzzles me a bit, as i thought this gun was British; but that was just intuition.
OTHH there is a tiny mark on the plate face that looks likew a J under some symbol; the type of punction letter used by French inspectors.
So i am lost on what counts origin ... which drives me mad.
Suddenly i had the feeling to lurk inside the barrel, before i blew it, as always, to check if it is clean, and i discern some paper plug. I pick up a stick and compare lengths between outside and inside the barrel, and over an inch of space is occupied by something.
Could it be that this thing is loaded?
I have to see what has to be done about it ... and how.
Coments on either gun and load are welcome.
Fernando

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