Dutch target arquebuse dated 1630

[Marcus den toom]

This special "arquebuse" (for a lack of a better term) came to me recently. First the obvious, it is in need of restoration. A delicate proces i intend to do right.
The lack of sources on these guns makes it difficult to be sure how this gun would have looked like complete. Especially the lock is up for debate.
My, somewhat educated, guess is that it would employ a snap match/tinder lock. This would work best, i think, in combination with the set hair trigger action. This is also underlined by earlier work by Michael and Richard: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7524 post 7 and 8.
The barrel has been altered to percussion action but even though the new addition, there is no evidence to sugest a powder pan integral to the barrel. Which leads me to assume it would have been a powderpan integral to the lock. Of this i have seen some other instances as well with these type of guns.

As to the rest, it has some wood worm damage and cracks. And, something which upsets me without bounds, a damage to the barrel mouth. This was done during transport and was due to a lack of good packaging. Lessons learned, always instruct the people that handle your precious antiques, they seem not to comprehend simple logic... pointy item will want to point through some bubblewrap and a single layer cardboard box.. end rant, sorry.

The rest of the gun has to speak for itself as i did little to no investigation on its marvelous decorations and design, yet.

My question to all who might find these guns interesting too is: Do you have pictures or information on any of such Dutch target guns. Lock type (in and outside), trigger guard design and sights are most precious to me, but any information is welcome. I will of course update on the progress, which might be slow.

[Marcus den toom]

A lock like this could make a good candidate, it dates from around the same time.
Many thanks to Richard for this image (found somewhere else )

[Marcus den toom]

Sold at auction, lock with integral powder pan. Somewhat excentric looking.. must be Dutch

[Raf]

Its a fascinating thing Marcus but I wouldn’t personally relish the responsibility of deciding what to do with it. Although I sympathise with the desire to see it as a converted snap matchlock this needs thought . Although the stock looks convincingly early I would need to convince myself that this wasn’t a nineteenth century re use of an earlier venerable barrel in which case the percussion lock and stock might be contemporary. The worry is why would anybody go to the trouble of fitting a new percussion lock to a matchlock target gun? Hopefully their is some good evidence that this is not the case.

Since their is no indication of the flash pan being dovetailed into the barrel we have to accept that if it was a matchlock it would be the later style of lock with the flash pan as part of the lock plate following emerging dog lock / flintlock form . I also doubt whether there is sufficient space within the lock rebate to fit an earlier style of matchlock without a lot of new cutting and patching of the woodwork which I think would be unacceptable. A responsible compromise might be to remove the percussion bolster , plug touchhole and make up a new matchlock with a lock profile matching the existing rebate . Basically similar to the reference example you post. The percussion lock can be archived as part of its history and the restoration is potentially reversible. I am at a lost explain what appears to be a detachable extension to the but . The extension itself appears to have been cut down . The reference example you post has the same feature but the extension is much longer and appears to end in a spike. Further research might show the purpose of this.

On the subject of conservation in my experience this degree of woodworm is terminal. Only a paper thin layer of solid wood remains on the surface of the stock and given the weight of the barrel any rough handling could cause the stock to break. Soaking in cellulose wood hardener can help but it won’t add much to restoring the integrity of the wood. I think I would want to consult with a museum conservation specialist to see if their were any better modern solutions.

[Raf]

Might the area inside the line on this detail be a later patch ? This might indicate the approximate shape of the original lock which would justify the matchlock re conversion.

[Marcus den toom]

Originally Posted by Raf

Might the area inside the line on this detail be a later patch ? This might indicate the approximate shape of the original lock which would justify the matchlock re conversion.

Very astute observation and thank you for pitching in. Indeed this piece of wood has been added later into what appears to be a rectangular shape. Attached two pictures from the inside were the same line can be seen. The only odd thing is that the cut seems to go up all the way towards the tang of the barrel. This piece is now obscured by a thin sheet of brass.
As to the age of the stock it is good to keep all options open. The shape of the stock does correspond with the few examples i know of from other Dutch target guns from the early to mid 17th century. It is quite an odd ball for any other later musket.

The other gun i posted does have a metal bar at the butstock, for whatever reason (see picture). Why these stocks are made in two parts eludes me as well sofar

Luckily the worm damage has only affected a small portion of the butstock and the resting slate of wood on the "foot" of the stock. Other than that the wood is structurally sound. There is one crack at the counter lock plate were there is evidence of older holes for lock fastening bolts as well as the new holes for the percussion lock. For safety reasons i have treated those parts with profesional wood worm killer (used for antique wood).

[Cerjak]

My question to all who might find these guns interesting too is: Do you have pictures or information on any of such Dutch target guns. Lock type (in and outside), trigger guard design and sights are most precious to me, but any information is welcome. I will of course update on the progress, which might be slow.[/QUOTE]
Marcus
I know a beautifull matchlock target gun housed in the Musée McCord Stewart
https://collections.musee-mccord-ste...47117/no-title.
Also one very rare wheellock target gun sold by fisher ( wheelllock are very rare on target gun)

[Raf]

Here , out of interest is another conversion of a snap lock target gun to percussion

[Marcus den toom]

Thank you both for the contributions.
Thank you Cerjak for pointing out the rare wheellock gun as well!!
As to the dates, i am not sure why so many have been dated. Maybe the shooting guilds had an annual competition and these guns were the price (far fetched i am sure)?

The choice for a snap lock has, i think, also another reason. A conventional matchlock requires sufficient power to operate the mechanism. The target gun with hair trigger lacks that power, it is alot of energy put into speed rather than power. A snaplock serves best with it stored energy, ready to be released with a small squeeze of the trigger.

That lockplate you posted Raf seems to have been reused, but the internal workings have been (completly?) been remade. Is this yours?

[Raf]

Is this yours? [/QUOTE]

Nice if it was.Your point about the snaplock being less disturbing to aim is well made and presumably explains why it continued to be used on target guns. My point was that although the snapping matchlock develops quite early it was largely superseded by the more familiar lever action lock for the reasons I mentioned. Shooting competitions, arquebus or crossbow, seem to have been a feature of guilds which were effectively militia groups . One wonders if the dates had something to do with when an individual was admitted to a guild. By the way the Dutch name "zwamslot" freely translated means Mushroom/fungus Lock.One wonders whether the internals of the lock I posted were completely re made since all that was really required was to cut away the flashpan and fit a new serpentine.