Japanese Matchlock Barrel

[asomotif]

Nice old matchlock Rick.
Refreshing subject on the forum

Originally Posted by rickystl

...She's now a .56 caliber with a modern steel smooth bore liner...

With this remark, do you mean the old barrel has a new liner ?
Do you intend to fire it ?

Best regards,
Willem

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Nice old matchlock Rick.
Refreshing subject on the forum
With this remark, do you mean the old barrel has a new liner ?
Do you intend to fire it ?

Best regards,
Willem

Hi Asomotif. Yes, this one will be a shooter. That was my intention from the begining. Yes, it has a new steel liner inside the old iron barrel for safe shooting. There is a fellow in Pennsylvania that can do this. He has done others for me. Since this piece lacks the embellishment disired by most collectors, it is a good candidate for a shooting piece. It is in good condition. The whole gun is held together with pins (brass and bamboo!). Not a single screw. It will come apart and go together only one way. Took me a while to figure out. Actually, it's a clever design. After a few private emails with Philip Tom, we concur that due to the lack of a signature and decoration, this piece is probably a "munitions rack type" gun. Probably contracted by one of the local Lords. Thanks, Rick.

[asomotif]

Dear Rick,

Interesting. Black powder shooting with an oriental touch.
Is it a discipline int he US ?
Will the steel liner make it more accurate ?
And how accurate is such a weapon ?

Best regards,
Willem

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Dear Rick,

Interesting. Black powder shooting with an oriental touch.
Is it a discipline int he US ?
Will the steel liner make it more accurate ?
And how accurate is such a weapon ?

Best regards,
Willem

Hello Willem. Black powder muzzleloading shooting is just one of many shooting disciplines in the U.S. In Japan they actually have annual competition shooting these original (or custom made copies) matchlocks. While I shoot many different black powder guns, I've never shot an original Japanese matchlock. Should be fun.
The old iron barrels are usually rough inside. The barrel on this gun was actually good enough where just burnishing would be OK. But the steel liner makes it very smooth and adds a larger degree of safety. These smooth bore barrels are accurate out to about 50-60 yards. After that, the ball starts to veer sideways due to the lack of rifling. Rick.

[bluelake]

I would shoot my .45 cal. repro Japanese/Korean matchlock (Koreans started shooting that design after the Japanese invasion at the end of the 16th century) when I would visit my hometown in the States; however, I have that one here in Korea now, as I use it as a show-and-tell item when I give lectures on the subject. I still have a .50 cal. Japanese repro in the States, but don't shoot it much.

I fired my original barrel (shown above) in a test. I loaded it with 50gr black powder, .54 cal. round ball and paper wad. I strapped it to a saw horse and touched it off with a slowmatch attached to a linstock.

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by bluelake

I would shoot my .45 cal. repro Japanese/Korean matchlock (Koreans started shooting that design after the Japanese invasion at the end of the 16th century) when I would visit my hometown in the States; however, I have that one here in Korea now, as I use it as a show-and-tell item when I give lectures on the subject. I still have a .50 cal. Japanese repro in the States, but don't shoot it much.

I fired my original barrel (shown above) in a test. I loaded it with 50gr black powder, .54 cal. round ball and paper wad. I strapped it to a saw horse and touched it off with a slowmatch attached to a linstock.

Hi Bluelake. If my memory serves me, those repros were actually made in Japan. I believe the early ones were .45 caliber, and the later ones were .50 caliber. I recently heard that production of the repro is being discontinued. But I haven't yet confirmed this. If that is the case, hold on to both of yours. I never see one of the repros -second hand - offered for sale.
The barrel wall thickness at the breech of my barrel is over 1/4". I going to try to get it to the Shooting Range this weekend (if it ever stops raining here). I have the powder, correct ball size, patching, (mine is now a .54 caliber with the liner) and nitrated match cord. I'll post pictures of targets. Rick.

[bluelake]

Originally Posted by rickystl

Hi Bluelake. If my memory serves me, those repros were actually made in Japan. I believe the early ones were .45 caliber, and the later ones were .50 caliber. I recently heard that production of the repro is being discontinued. But I haven't yet confirmed this. If that is the case, hold on to both of yours. I never see one of the repros -second hand - offered for sale.

My .45 cal. was made by American gunsmith, John Buck. He used a barrel that was about 150 years old, but never used. I also have a .50 cal. Japanese matchlock that was made in Japan. To be honest, I prefer the .45 cal. (It's more reliable).