Jezail for comment

Berkley · 24th September 2012, 08:51 PM

Mindful that weapons from Afghanistan are often less than they are represented to be, I consulted earlier forum posts related to jezails before acquiring this one. I hope I learned enough to choose wisely, but would be grateful for all observations and discussion. In any event, this piece can't be more recently made than the Italian Colt replica revolver I traded for it.

Richard G · 25th September 2012, 12:02 PM

It looks old to me, however, how old is another question!
Specifically, this looks to be a real E.I.C. Baker pattern lock, in commission from 1819 to 1839.
Regards
Richard

Berkley · 25th September 2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard G

this looks to be a real E.I.C. Baker pattern lock, in commission from 1819 to 1839.

Thank you for the information.

rickystl · 25th September 2012, 07:06 PM

Hi Berkley. I would say that you got the better of the trade.

Your Jazail looks to be a good representative example. Looks like the all the decoration is there. The sling is a plus. The Baker pattern lock, original ramrod - it all looks real good. Interesting that the barrel is tapered octagon for it's entire length. Most of the barrels on Jazails I've seen (actually quite a few) have either tapered round barrels, or tapered octagon-to-round. Yours is the first one O recall being full octagon. One thing I noticed: The vent hole in the barrel seems very large and appears to have threads. Is this true? Or is it just the photo? Would be interested to know.
Anyway, great looking piece. Much better than the one I just purchased. Thanks for Posting. Rick.

David R · 25th September 2012, 09:18 PM

Lookin' good. Decent barrel and a good lock, brass decoration rather than MOP.

Berkley · 25th September 2012, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickystl

Interesting that the barrel is tapered octagon for it's entire length. Most of the barrels on Jazails I've seen (actually quite a few) have either tapered round barrels, or tapered octagon-to-round. Yours is the first one I recall being full octagon. One thing I noticed: The vent hole in the barrel seems very large and appears to have threads. Is this true?

It is true. One internet source suggests that the use of vent liners in European firearms dates back as far as the seventeenth century. Is it possible that, contrary to usual practice, the barrel is not of local make, but rather another western trophy like the lock?

rickystl · 26th September 2012, 09:29 PM

Hi again. The size of the hole in the barrel looks too large for a vent liner. But it does look to be about the correct size for a percussion drum.
The barrel could have been European made for the local market? Although from the photos it seems more likely it was locally made. The rear sight is the most common style I see on Jezails. Turkish and Persian barrels commonly use this rear sight arrangement.
Maybe you could post a close up photo of that barrel vent area? Is there a smaller hole inside the larger one?
At the momment I'm going to go out on a limb and take a guess: It looks like the barrel at one time was perussion - or converted to percussion - and then re-converted back to flintlock. If true, makes the gun that more interesting. Hope you can get a close up pic of the vent area. Again, thanks for Posting. Rick.

24th September 2012, 08:51 PM	#1
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Jezail for comment Mindful that weapons from Afghanistan are often less than they are represented to be, I consulted earlier forum posts related to jezails before acquiring this one. I hope I learned enough to choose wisely, but would be grateful for all observations and discussion. In any event, this piece can't be more recently made than the Italian Colt replica revolver I traded for it. Attached Images

25th September 2012, 12:02 PM	#2
Richard G Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 406	It looks old to me, however, how old is another question! Specifically, this looks to be a real E.I.C. Baker pattern lock, in commission from 1819 to 1839. Regards Richard

25th September 2012, 07:06 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Hi Berkley. I would say that you got the better of the trade. Your Jazail looks to be a good representative example. Looks like the all the decoration is there. The sling is a plus. The Baker pattern lock, original ramrod - it all looks real good. Interesting that the barrel is tapered octagon for it's entire length. Most of the barrels on Jazails I've seen (actually quite a few) have either tapered round barrels, or tapered octagon-to-round. Yours is the first one O recall being full octagon. One thing I noticed: The vent hole in the barrel seems very large and appears to have threads. Is this true? Or is it just the photo? Would be interested to know. Anyway, great looking piece. Much better than the one I just purchased. Thanks for Posting. Rick.

25th September 2012, 09:18 PM	#5
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,079	Lookin' good. Decent barrel and a good lock, brass decoration rather than MOP.

26th September 2012, 09:29 PM	#7
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Hi again. The size of the hole in the barrel looks too large for a vent liner. But it does look to be about the correct size for a percussion drum. The barrel could have been European made for the local market? Although from the photos it seems more likely it was locally made. The rear sight is the most common style I see on Jezails. Turkish and Persian barrels commonly use this rear sight arrangement. Maybe you could post a close up photo of that barrel vent area? Is there a smaller hole inside the larger one? At the momment I'm going to go out on a limb and take a guess: It looks like the barrel at one time was perussion - or converted to percussion - and then re-converted back to flintlock. If true, makes the gun that more interesting. Hope you can get a close up pic of the vent area. Again, thanks for Posting. Rick.