Tanchika Long Gun - With Load in the Barrel !!

[rickystl]

Hello again.
Here is another Tanchika from my collection. This is a medium length gun with a 36.5" (92.71cm) barrel. The full length stock is the usual combination of iron and brass covering. The lock is a typical Balkan style miquelet you see on these guns, and is in working order. Even the sling rings and ramrod appear original to the gun.
I'm sure there were at least two additional brass barrel bands that are missing But they've been missing for a long time since the age patina between the barrel and iron stock does not show where the bands would have been. So they've been missing for a long time. Maybe I can locate an Albanian Rat Tail pistol in bad condition that I can steal the bands from. LOL
The big dissapointment was when I removed the lock to discover there was a stress crack that extended on both sides of the vent hole. DARN!!
The rear portion of the crack goes almost through the breech wall. Hmmmm. That's when I decided this gun would be a good candidate to make into a shooter. The crack will need to be welded up and a new steel liner installed. I'll post pics of the breech area of the barrel a bit later in this Thread before sending it off to the gunsmith. You will notice in two of the photos there is a large gap between the barrel and breech plug tang. That's just from me removing the breech plug. I just screwed the plug in loose to re-assemble the gun for these photos.
Before removing the breech plug, I noticed there seemed to be a soft blockage in the bore. So I ran my tiny drop light down the bore and noticed a piece of cloth. So I used a patch puller and removed it. Well, right after that, a very undersized lead ball came rolling out!! It still had it's sprue that was never cut off. But then I felt another soft piece still in the barrel So another run with the patch puller exposed another cloth wad!! And then, finally the black powder!! So the barrel still had a period load in it. Very cool!!! The cloth is very old. And the black powder has that old muddy color you see with original period powder. Black powder back then had the substance that looked more like cake flour than waht we see today.
Anyway, picture heavy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking.
Rick.

[rickystl]

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[mrcjgscott]

Hello Rick,

What a wonderful piece of history, Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

The very first Brown Bess I ever bought was still loaded. It had come from an old farmhouse, and somebody had obviously tried to remove it long ago, using what appeared to be a bicycle spoke, which was also firmly lodged down the barrel!

Kind regards,

Chris

[BANDOOK]

BEAUTIFUL TANCHIKA RICK,ITS IN MY WANT LIST OF ETHNIC GUNS ,CHEERS

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by mrcjgscott

Hello Rick,

What a wonderful piece of history, Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

The very first Brown Bess I ever bought was still loaded. It had come from an old farmhouse, and somebody had obviously tried to remove it long ago, using what appeared to be a bicycle spoke, which was also firmly lodged down the barrel!

Kind regards,

Chris

Hi Chris.
Thanks for your response. The bicycle spoke is funny.
I once owned an original 3rd Model Brown Bess that I bought as a teenager in 1965/66. Paid $125.00USD for it. And shot it frequently. Should have never sold it.
Rick.