Jezails: Collection or addiction?

Berkley · 2nd December 2013, 03:14 AM

Last year I acquired my first jezail, and felt that I had filled a gap in my collection of exotic firearms. Apparently some part of my collecting psyche was not fulfilled by just one. Having recently gone through the same thought process as RDGAC and arrived at a similar result, I feel emboldened by the resurrection of his jezail thread to put forward the latest Afghan hound to follow me home.
First is a collage of the seller's photos.
Next the lock, analyzed by a kind (and tactful) friend on the British Militaria Forum thusly:

Quote:

the lock may have begun its days as an Ordnance India type 1. I don't know where the cock came from but it isn't original. Someone did a little extra engraving around the sear screw on the front of the plate. I don't think the tumbler is original, and probably due to the differences in where the replacement cock sits on the stop, the main spring is perilously close to going off the edge of the tumbler. Surprisingly the springs and screws look right. Someone at some point in time took exception to the crown.

Next a view of the entire assemblage after cleaning of accumulated dirt and dry red rust.

To RDGAC, my admiration for the lovely barrel on yours, and my sympathy for succumbing to the apparently insatiable lure of the jezail.

Raf · 2nd December 2013, 11:07 AM

The lock is the 1793 India pattern type 1. The double line around the sear screw is slightly unusual but presumably even ordnance contractors were permitted a small degree of self expression. Normally its a single line and was omitted altogether on the 1809 type 2. The cock is 1809 type 2 , Their isnt anything inconsistent with this since the basic locks are the same and after the end of the Napoleonic war the Ordnance system had a vast stockpile of parts to use up . I have one stamped crown V.R. so even as late as the 1850s the Tower was still assembling these locks for use in far flung corners of the world. And yes . the spring is about to drop off the end of the tumbler , but this is generally just wear and tear. Hope thats helpfull.

RDGAC · 2nd December 2013, 11:13 AM

Oof! That's a hefty-looking barrel, Berkley. Looks like a nice piece though. The mother-of-pearl's probably recent but quite artistically done, which is always satisfying to see. What sort of dimensions is she?

The buggers do get into one's imagination somewhat, don't they? I think for some people (i.e. people with overactive imaginations, such as I), the jezail has the same romantic, frontier lure as the Colts and Winchesters associated with the Old West. Perhaps, too, there's just a hint of that eternal fascination with all things strange and exotic which is one mark of humanity's insatiable curiosity.

I'm blaming the second one for my lustful looks at a couple of Moroccan Moukhallas...

- Meredydd

trenchwarfare · 2nd December 2013, 03:40 PM

Nice piece. I got into, and outta Middle Eastern/North African smoke poles, a few years back. Problem now is, the PRICE! Just a couple years ago, you could get nice ones off Gunbroker for under $500.00. I even bought a couple off ebay. Now, the raggediest rag, is $700.00, and up. Nice ones start at $1,200.00. And, most of those, aren't even real guns. You'd think, with the number of guns coming from Afghanistan, the market would be a little more forgiving. Just the opposite. More guns, more money.

I'll stick with my Tanegashima. Much easier to resist, cuz they're waaay over my head.

Berkley · 2nd December 2013, 06:23 PM

Raf, thank you very much for the further information on the lock. That is very helpful indeed.
RDGAC, I agree with the comparison to Old West guns, although the closest comparable is probably a relic condition Winchester with a rawhide repair.and brass tacks ornamenting the stock. (And I'm not interested in a moukhalla, I'm not, I'm not….

).
Trenchwarfare, I feel well pleased then, since I was the only bidder for this "North African flintlock musket" and got it for the opening bid - well under $500.

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2nd December 2013, 11:07 AM	#2
Raf Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 252	The lock is the 1793 India pattern type 1. The double line around the sear screw is slightly unusual but presumably even ordnance contractors were permitted a small degree of self expression. Normally its a single line and was omitted altogether on the 1809 type 2. The cock is 1809 type 2 , Their isnt anything inconsistent with this since the basic locks are the same and after the end of the Napoleonic war the Ordnance system had a vast stockpile of parts to use up . I have one stamped crown V.R. so even as late as the 1850s the Tower was still assembling these locks for use in far flung corners of the world. And yes . the spring is about to drop off the end of the tumbler , but this is generally just wear and tear. Hope thats helpfull.

2nd December 2013, 11:13 AM	#3
RDGAC Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: York, UK Posts: 167	Oof! That's a hefty-looking barrel, Berkley. Looks like a nice piece though. The mother-of-pearl's probably recent but quite artistically done, which is always satisfying to see. What sort of dimensions is she? The buggers do get into one's imagination somewhat, don't they? I think for some people (i.e. people with overactive imaginations, such as I), the jezail has the same romantic, frontier lure as the Colts and Winchesters associated with the Old West. Perhaps, too, there's just a hint of that eternal fascination with all things strange and exotic which is one mark of humanity's insatiable curiosity. I'm blaming the second one for my lustful looks at a couple of Moroccan Moukhallas... - Meredydd

2nd December 2013, 03:40 PM	#4
trenchwarfare Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 385	Nice piece. I got into, and outta Middle Eastern/North African smoke poles, a few years back. Problem now is, the PRICE! Just a couple years ago, you could get nice ones off Gunbroker for under $500.00. I even bought a couple off ebay. Now, the raggediest rag, is $700.00, and up. Nice ones start at $1,200.00. And, most of those, aren't even real guns. You'd think, with the number of guns coming from Afghanistan, the market would be a little more forgiving. Just the opposite. More guns, more money. I'll stick with my Tanegashima. Much easier to resist, cuz they're waaay over my head.

2nd December 2013, 06:23 PM	#5
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Raf, thank you very much for the further information on the lock. That is very helpful indeed. RDGAC, I agree with the comparison to Old West guns, although the closest comparable is probably a relic condition Winchester with a rawhide repair.and brass tacks ornamenting the stock. (And I'm not interested in a moukhalla, I'm not, I'm not…. ). Trenchwarfare, I feel well pleased then, since I was the only bidder for this "North African flintlock musket" and got it for the opening bid - well under $500.