17thC Scottish Snaphaunce Musket

Matchlock · 27th July 2012, 10:14 PM

Hi Norman,

This indeed looks to me like the drilled-out remains of a heavily cup-grease felt wad inserted as a conservative treatment by a curator of some arsenal in the 19th c.
I have often seen these and at least one is preserved in perfect condition in my collection.

How far back of the muzzle did you locate it and was there any sort of load right behind it?
If it was inserted after the gun's active service it should have been set close to the muzzle - as sort of a dust plug.

Best,
m

27th July 2012, 10:14 PM	#26
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Norman, This indeed looks to me like the drilled-out remains of a heavily cup-grease felt wad inserted as a conservative treatment by a curator of some arsenal in the 19th c. I have often seen these and at least one is preserved in perfect condition in my collection. How far back of the muzzle did you locate it and was there any sort of load right behind it? If it was inserted after the gun's active service it should have been set close to the muzzle - as sort of a dust plug. Best, m Last edited by Matchlock; 27th July 2012 at 11:40 PM.