My first jezail

[RDGAC]

Well, in no small part thanks to you load of loons, I've gone and bought myself a jezail of my very own. The dealer's information listed it as "circa 1870", though where he got that date I have no clue. No pictures as yet, so I'm afraid I'll have to give a rather verbose description.

She's 53 inches in length overall, with a 39-inch, round, smoothbore barrel of what appears to be ordinary steel; no pattern is visible on any part of the barrel, including that part covered by the forestock. Extensive but light rust and two engraved sets of parallel lines, one approx. 2in from the muzzle, the other approx. 4.5in from the breech plug, are the only things visible upon it. There are nine barrel bands, all of brass and with some crude, if not unattractive, engraving; geometric line patterns, flowers and so forth are present on all. Both sling swivels are still there, the fore one displaying a good, close fit to the stock. The barrel tang is odd; it seems to be attached by some unknown method, possibly as little as friction, is loose and can be moved in the vertical plane. The breech plug is present (huzzah), but currently the joint between plug and barrel, if visible at all, is buried beneath corrosion and general muck. No obvious weld, however, so I suspect it's been hammered in and shrunk-fitted.

The (flint) lock is pretty obviously native-made, and bears a copied British East India Company pre-1816 Heart emblem, surmounted by a large number 4. The same number is repeated in the centre third of the heart, with two capital I's to either side. Where one would normally find a maker's name, e.g. "Tower", there is what looks like five more capital I's, with the first somewhat smaller than the rest. The maker has, however, engraved a rather attractive border onto the lockplate. The lock is intact, but pretty badly frozen, and until I'm able to remove it for inspection I'm not going to attempt a dry-firing. Currently the foremost screw of the pair, which is very broad and has a very shallow slot, is refusing to turn. Application of WD40 to the threaded portion piercing the lockplate has failed to move it, and no screwdriver I have at home will bite; tomorrow I shall have a go with some of the works equipment. The frizzen and pan cover still pivot smoothly, and with the cock removed, they fit the top of the pan fairly snugly. The lock, too, is rusty, but some de-corroder and patient work should sort that out well.

The trigger and its guard are both of the crude-but-effective school; the former is very nearly straight, though with a pleasing curl-over at its end, and moves freely within the stock, the lock being in the "fired" position. The trigger guard is steel, somewhat rusty, and overall around 7-8in long; it has a screw forward, the remaining portion being nailed to the stock. The stock itself is of dark wood, possible stained, and the most damaged part of the weapon; two portions towards the muzzle are held in place only by the first pair of barrel bands, although since the "break" is parallel and unusually clean, I have my suspicions that these post-date the rest of the stock. There is a loose portion just forward of the lockplate, again held in place by the barrel bands, which falls off when they're moved but is secure with the bands in place. The stock is cracked on its lowest part in several places, probably weakened by the drilling/cutting of the ramrod channel. The butt has some carving, which looks rather like a wooden version of the brass piece found in this photograph, and some pieces of iron. Judging from the 3/4in slot that is mising from the butt near its termination, and the nail hole about an inch beneath, I surmise that this jezail once had a buttplate, and that the two iron plates present just before it are to hold the butt together after whatever damage gave it yet another long crack in this area.

Overall, a very workmanlike gun which needs some TLC - which is precisely why I bought her. I have no doubt that she's a pretty low-end, bog-standard jezail (and once pics are up, Ward and Philip will doubtless confirm that - or worse!), and that's exactly her appeal. This weapon is most definitely not a piece of art; it's a machine designed to kill and maim. To quote Ash from the immortal Alien: "I admire its purity."

Incidentally, the ramrod (which looks fairly aged too, but nothing like the large, decorated iron ones I've seen on other jezail photos) is present, and even has a handy little slot in its non-ramming end; any ideas as to what it's for? I've pushed the rod down the bore at found an obstruction, so I hypothesise that this weapon, like the Museum one, has a load still lurking within. First order of business tomorrow is to remove that load, ASAP, but what astonishes me is the sheer size of it: whatever the obstruction is, it's a column about 2in deep in the bore.

Edit: as a quick aside, I am assured by the dealer that this is a genuine antique weapon. Which is why I am keen to ensure that I get it unloaded as soon as I can; apart from anything else, in this state, I'm worried as to whether it becomes a "weapon" rather than an "ornament or curio" in the legal sense. I can do without being prosecuted for owning a gun I didn't intend to fire and bought purely to cherish and admire!