Chinese? matchlock for comments

BANDOOK · 29th January 2015, 09:11 AM

AM PUTTING UP PICTURES OF 2 OF MY MONKEY GUNS FROM LAOS,BOUGHT INTO NEW ZEALAND BY AN AMERICAN C.I.A AGENT POSTED THERE IN THE 70s

trenchwarfare · 29th January 2015, 03:18 PM

Very nice BANDOOK!

BANDOOK · 30th January 2015, 05:37 AM

THANKS TRENCH,HAS A PART OF MONKEYS TAIL ON THE IGNITION AREA,MAY BE FOR GOOD LOOK OR TALISMAN

trenchwarfare · 30th January 2015, 03:36 PM

Yes, all four of mine, have monkey fur frizzen covers.

Peter Dekker · 7th September 2016, 10:30 PM

Hi guys, I don't check the forum that often so I must have missed this post.

The gun in question is most likely from the Miao people, an ethnic minority living in large parts of southern China, including Hunan, Yunnan and Guizhou.

Miao soldiers were feared gunners, William Mesny faced them while leading Qing troops in the area and he hailed their skill as snipers.

Identifying features are the shape of the stock and the multitude of sheet metal bands holding the barrel in place. The standard Chinese musket had far fewer, and often narrower bands and a slightly different shape of stock.

Some interesting passages on these people, their muskets, and their skills with them are described in Ian Heath's Armies of the 19th century; China. (The original sources it quotes are long out of print and hard to get.)

David Leffman wrote an interesting book on Mesny, titled: "The Mercenary Mandarin: How a British adventurer became a general in Qing-dynasty China" that will give some context to these guns.

A nice find!

29th January 2015, 09:11 AM	#1
BANDOOK Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: AUCKLAND,NEW ZEALAND Posts: 624	2 OF MY MONKEY GUNS FROM LAOS AM PUTTING UP PICTURES OF 2 OF MY MONKEY GUNS FROM LAOS,BOUGHT INTO NEW ZEALAND BY AN AMERICAN C.I.A AGENT POSTED THERE IN THE 70s Attached Images

30th January 2015, 05:37 AM	#3
BANDOOK Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: AUCKLAND,NEW ZEALAND Posts: 624	LAOS MATCHLOCK THANKS TRENCH,HAS A PART OF MONKEYS TAIL ON THE IGNITION AREA,MAY BE FOR GOOD LOOK OR TALISMAN

7th September 2016, 10:30 PM	#5
Peter Dekker Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kingdom of the Netherlands Posts: 63	Chinese, Southern minorities Hi guys, I don't check the forum that often so I must have missed this post. The gun in question is most likely from the Miao people, an ethnic minority living in large parts of southern China, including Hunan, Yunnan and Guizhou. Miao soldiers were feared gunners, William Mesny faced them while leading Qing troops in the area and he hailed their skill as snipers. Identifying features are the shape of the stock and the multitude of sheet metal bands holding the barrel in place. The standard Chinese musket had far fewer, and often narrower bands and a slightly different shape of stock. Some interesting passages on these people, their muskets, and their skills with them are described in Ian Heath's Armies of the 19th century; China. (The original sources it quotes are long out of print and hard to get.) David Leffman wrote an interesting book on Mesny, titled: "The Mercenary Mandarin: How a British adventurer became a general in Qing-dynasty China" that will give some context to these guns. A nice find!

29th January 2015, 03:18 PM	#2
trenchwarfare Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 385	Very nice BANDOOK!

30th January 2015, 03:36 PM	#4
trenchwarfare Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 385	Yes, all four of mine, have monkey fur frizzen covers.