Rifle from Sind (Sindh)

[rickystl]

Hello again.
I purchased this gun from a fellow Forum member maybe three years ago. It required no real restoration. It was already in the excellent condition as shown in the photos below. It is a typical Sind rifle with the wide, but very thin butt. It is brass mounted with silver barrel bands. Looks like the k is rosewood, maybe from the Malbar coast (?). An interesting feature is a Period break - and repair - at the wrist area that was repaired with brass. Looks like the repair may have been done by the same gunsmith that built the gun (?). Hmmmm.
It has a beautiful swamped, thick wall barrel. It took a lot of cleaning, but the rifling was in good shape. Just a lot of loose rust and dirt in the bore. But no real corosion. So I was most happy with that. The only other two small issues were the lock and the nipple. The lock was in perfect shape, but the hammer was slightly binding against the stock when pulled back. Just a small amount of shim material inside the lock mortise solved the problem. The nipple had to soak in penetrating oil for a few days, then heated slightly to get it out. The original nipple was in good shape, but the size required a #12 percussion cap that haven't been made since about the early 1980's. So, just turned the nipple down a small amount to use #11 caps which are available everywhere.
So, it just took a good bore cleaning, and a couple small fixes to get the gun in firing order. And it shoots fine. It's a .41 caliber. I use a .400 round ball and patch for shooting. The original 7 groove rifling is still very accurate.
Picture heavy, so hope you enjoy. And thanks for looking. Rick.

[rickystl]

Some more pics.....

[rickystl]

And the final ones.....

[kahnjar1]

Another nice piece Rick. I would look good alongside my other Indian items!! Seems the stocks on these had a rather weak spot judging by the number that have had wrist repairs. What is overall length please?
Stu

[Kubur]

Amazing piece! I love the leather and beads pendant.
I wonder where the barrel comes from, Persian or Ottoman??
Best, Kubur

[BANDOOK]

AS KUBUR ,MENTIONED LOVE THE LEATHER TRIMS AND ETHNIC BEAD /WEAVING WORK,ADD CAHARCTER TO THIS SIND JEZAIL ,WELL DONE

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Amazing piece! I love the leather and beads pendant.
I wonder where the barrel comes from, Persian or Ottoman??
Best, Kubur

Hi Kubur.
Thanks for your comments. The sling and beaded pendent came with the gun. And yes, the fancy knot work on the sling at the barrel and the beaded pendent really add a "tribal" look to the gun. Very neat.
Can't really tell where the barrel was made. No watered/damascus pattern. Just straight iron. Doesn't really look Persian, Ottoman, or Indian. But it's very well made. Beautiful outside profile, with flip-up rear sight, and well executed rifling using the later round bottom rifling, making it easier to clean. And it shoots well. Unfortunatly, there are no marks on the gun anywhere. Thanks for posting.
Rick.

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Another nice piece Rick. I would look good alongside my other Indian items!! Seems the stocks on these had a rather weak spot judging by the number that have had wrist repairs. What is overall length please?
Stu

Hi Stu
Overall length is about 50 inches. LOP about 13.5 inches. Yes, the combination of the heavy barrel and thin butt stock would make for a weak point at the wrist area. It's very comfortable to shoot from the bench. Interestingly enough, if you cup the butt stock under your arm pit, it's very easy to carry. The heavy barrel is less noticable. Thanks for posting.
Rick.