Interesting Miquelet Pistol

rickystl · 14th July 2018, 08:49 PM

Hello All

Here is a pistol that has seen a LOT of action and use. It's just barely held together. LOL

After studying this for a while, here is my assesment:
I believe this gun started life as a Spanish made pistol from about the first quarter of the 19th Century. And somehow ended up in North Africa, probably Morocco.
Lock: Typical Spanish miquelet pistol lock from the early 19th Century. No marks on the lock inside or out. I can't believe it's still in working order with an old original flint and leathers.
Stock: There is a large break at the wrist area that was repaired with leather a long time ago. The butt cap area was originally longer but had been broken off and a brass butt cap just crudely nailed in place. The cap is not a casting and looks like it came from another Balkan type pistol. The barrel tang screw goes through the top and threads into the trigger plate ala European style. There was originally a full length ramrod hole/channel cut. The brass Spanish style side plate is missing. The long barrel band and trigger guard are made very typical of Moroccan guns during this period.
Barrel: The barrel is likely Europen and originally of decent quality. The breech plug/tang integrity tell me this. Although Spanish made barrels usually have at least some markings, there are none on this barrel top or bottom. I can't detect any signs of damascus. But I still thing the barrel is European and originally built with the pistol.

The barrel and lock look to have been chemically cleaned at some point in the recent past. While there is little collector value in this piece, I think it is a good example of how areas of North Africa would cobble together most anything that could be made to shoot. It would be interesting to know everywhere this pistols been, LOL

Any way, picture heavy and hope you enjoy. Comments always appreciated. And thanks for looking.

Rick

rickystl · 14th July 2018, 08:51 PM

MORE PICS............

rickystl · 14th July 2018, 08:52 PM

MORE............

rickystl · 14th July 2018, 08:54 PM

STILL MORE..........

rickystl · 14th July 2018, 08:55 PM

LAST ONES..........

kahnjar1 · 15th July 2018, 12:12 AM

Interesting little pistol which has obviously got a long history. Pity they can't talk! Needs some serious restoration but IMHO is not beyond being retrieved.
Stu

Philip · 15th July 2018, 08:10 PM

It may be in groady-toady condition but if the barrel is structurally sound with a tight breechplug and good bore (from the outside it looks in better shape than the lock) it might be fun to carve a new stock for it and put it back into service as a shooter. See if the lock throws a lot of sparks with a good flint.

14th July 2018, 08:49 PM	#1
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	Interesting Miquelet Pistol Hello All Here is a pistol that has seen a LOT of action and use. It's just barely held together. LOL After studying this for a while, here is my assesment: I believe this gun started life as a Spanish made pistol from about the first quarter of the 19th Century. And somehow ended up in North Africa, probably Morocco. Lock: Typical Spanish miquelet pistol lock from the early 19th Century. No marks on the lock inside or out. I can't believe it's still in working order with an old original flint and leathers. Stock: There is a large break at the wrist area that was repaired with leather a long time ago. The butt cap area was originally longer but had been broken off and a brass butt cap just crudely nailed in place. The cap is not a casting and looks like it came from another Balkan type pistol. The barrel tang screw goes through the top and threads into the trigger plate ala European style. There was originally a full length ramrod hole/channel cut. The brass Spanish style side plate is missing. The long barrel band and trigger guard are made very typical of Moroccan guns during this period. Barrel: The barrel is likely Europen and originally of decent quality. The breech plug/tang integrity tell me this. Although Spanish made barrels usually have at least some markings, there are none on this barrel top or bottom. I can't detect any signs of damascus. But I still thing the barrel is European and originally built with the pistol. The barrel and lock look to have been chemically cleaned at some point in the recent past. While there is little collector value in this piece, I think it is a good example of how areas of North Africa would cobble together most anything that could be made to shoot. It would be interesting to know everywhere this pistols been, LOL Any way, picture heavy and hope you enjoy. Comments always appreciated. And thanks for looking. Rick Attached Images

14th July 2018, 08:51 PM	#2
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	MORE PICS............ Attached Images

14th July 2018, 08:52 PM	#3
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	MORE............ Attached Images

14th July 2018, 08:54 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	STILL MORE.......... Attached Images

14th July 2018, 08:55 PM	#5
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,623	LAST ONES.......... Attached Images

15th July 2018, 12:12 AM	#6
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,739	Interesting little pistol which has obviously got a long history. Pity they can't talk! Needs some serious restoration but IMHO is not beyond being retrieved. Stu Last edited by kahnjar1; 15th July 2018 at 05:02 AM.

15th July 2018, 08:10 PM	#7
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	It may be in groady-toady condition but if the barrel is structurally sound with a tight breechplug and good bore (from the outside it looks in better shape than the lock) it might be fun to carve a new stock for it and put it back into service as a shooter. See if the lock throws a lot of sparks with a good flint.