Civl War Era Guns?

Anyone here have antique civil war era guns? I've got an 1860's English made 12-gauge side-by-side percussion muzzle loader. It belonged to my great grandfather, and he used it in the Civil War. It needs some TLC to remove inner barrel rust and general dirt that it accumulated over time. I have no intention of doing a restoration - just want to make it a mantel piece to share the story. Any advice is appreciated. Hope there are some in this forum that can share their knowledge and experience. TIA.

 

Pictures????



you can not go wrong with Hoppes Gun oil,, it has been around since the beginning of time. There is all sorts of different oils out there now but I would keep it simple. Just a light cleaning and leave just a very light coat of oil on the gun. If you are not comfortable doing anything like that or worried about damaging the gun I would make some phone calls and find a very good gunsmith that deals in that type and era of gun and have them do a general cleaning and then put it somewhere away from any place it is humid.

I had a friend put his guns in a closet in the bathroom and in 6 months when he went to look at his guns they were all rusty. DO NOT PUT YOUR GUNS IN THE BATHROOM!!

 

Love to see it.

 

Call some muzzleloading shops. Or get on the muzzleloading forum for advice. Back when I was into muzzleloading, Mr Dixon from PA that held the PA gunmaker fair told me to use hot water (not boiling) because it opens up the pores. Then lightly oil it. But there is many ways of doing it.

 

All I know about antique guns is to keep that damn "frog lube" away from them. That crap is nasty all the way to the T.

 

Inherited an 1873 trap door 45-70 from my dad. He told me it was never fired. Has a bayonet too. Might get a buddy to hand load me a round for it and shoot a deer w it. Field dress w bayonet.

 

Wow, that's cool. Yes, pictures please!!

No, the oldest thing in my collection is an SKS.

 

Here's my oldest pew-pews. A pair of .69 caliber Model of 1842 smooth bore muskets aka "Pumpkin Chuckers".

Top is an early model that was deactivated for parade duty. Lower one is a later model in original condition.

 

How did you make out with the gun? What cleaning process did you do?

 

Purchased Hoppe's Gun Barrel Cleaner. Plan to pour it down each barrel and use a standard 12 Gauge Shoot Gun cleaning brush. Found replica hammers to replace original. Going to be my Fall/Winter project as time got away from me. Took it to a gun smith - they wanted to do a full restoration for a grand. Did not want to listen to my desire to keep the history or cosmetics. It will be a wall piece with history for visual enjoyment. I will post pics when done.

 

Got a black powder percussion cap 45 cal jukar pistol thats probably supposed to be a cut down rifle. I’ve got a bandolier belt & holster, copper ?powder flask? Or whatever its called. Really need to run it. Might be a decent EDC.

 

A grand for restoration sounds like they were trying to take advantage of you. Did you go to a muzzleloader shop? Probably only needs a good cleaning and the locks working parts probably need polishing. And check for cracks in the wood.

 

Yep it was a muzzle loader shop. I agree with you on the cleaning and polishing. The stock is like new. Locks and all moving parts work perfectly, but a little TLC won't hurt them. They simply saw it as an opportunity to make a buck and did not care about what I told them I wanted. Would not recommend them or return to their shop. Nothing that needs to be done is beyond my skill or ability. It will give me a good winter project.

 

Sounds like a good plan for you. I would use it. I’ve been thinking about getting a smoothie kit for the winter. I had a 58 cal trade gun. (Round ball) It was also a 24 ga for shot. (5 & 6 shot) I got deer, (no bucks ) turkey and a lot of squirrels. Smooth bores are nice.