This is an antique percussion "smooth rifle" by the master Bedford County, Pennsylvania gunsmith John Amos. The term "smooth rifle" is an old name that still is used to describe smoothbore muzzle loading long arms with rifle-type features such as front and rear sights and heavy-walled barrels. They are dual-purpose firearms that can be used with shot for hunting small game, and are reasonably accurate with round balls at the relatively short distances that deer are typically harvested.
This percussion era muzzleloader is a relatively plain example of the Bedford School of gunsmithing, with no patch box, inlays, protective escutcheons, or decorative carving. Features that distinguish it as a product of the Bedford School are the rat tail shape of the percussion lock, the configuration of the stock panels for the lock and the lock bolt plate, and the graceful shape of the hammer, with its forward curving spur. The slender appearance of this full stock muzzleloader is facilitated by a nose cap that is only slightly smaller than the forearm in terms of lateral transverse cross-section.
The first image below features the lock and lock panel area of the rifle. Rather than being a raised panel filleted all around to the adjacent surfaces of the stock, most of the peripheral edge of the lock panel is established by a convex rounded corner that is formed between the panel and adjoining surfaces of the stock. Rather than ending in a finial, the trailing edge of the lock panel fades into the wrist.
The drum has a vent screw, which could be used for cleaning access, or to add a bit of powder in the event the shooter forgot to charge the barrel with powder before seating a ball. The image also provides a view into the bow of the trigger guard, which is amply sized for the double trigger arrangement it contains. Both the set trigger and the hair trigger are curved. (Some gunmakers use a rod-like hair trigger to provide tactile feedback to the shooter.) The trigger adjustment screw projects well below the trigger plate.
The next photograph shows the flat unengraved brass lock bolt plate (also known as a "side plate") and the mating panel of the left-hand side of the rifle stock. the lock bolt plate appears to be flush with the surface of the panel. The shape of the panel for the lock bolt plate is similar to the shape of the panel for the lock that is shown in the preceding photograph. The middle and forward screws are threadedly engaged with and retain the lock, and the rear screw retains the lock bolt plate when the lock is removed. The heads of all three screws are worn. The stock appears to be varnished.
The next picture displays more of the left-hand side of this old gun, showing the wrist, more of the trigger guard, and a bit of the rearward portion of forearm. This picture reveals that the wrist has been broken and repaired. Such breakage is fairly common on muzzleloading firearms. A simple incised line is used to accentuate the forward end of the comb.
The next photo shows the butt plate portion of the buttstock of this Bedford County percussion rifle. The toe of the stock has been broken and repaired. This is an exceedingly common stock problem on rifles with cresent-shaped butt plates. Any axially oriented impact to the toe of the stock is concentrated at the tip of the toe, causing the stock to fracture along its grain, as seen here. The buttstock does not incorporate a patch box or a cap box.
The next photo shows the brass toe plate, which is retained to the butt stock by five small screws. The impact that caused the stock damage in the preceding photo is probably also responsible for breaking the rear end of the toe plate.
The next photo shows the underside of the trigger guard area of the rifle, to show the panel-to-panel width of the gunstock and the decorative features that are cast into the brass trigger guard.
The next image provides an oblique view of the front end of the rifle. The surface of the barrel is in excellent condition. The front sight has a dovetailed brass base and a low silver blade. The base has been filed to match the contour of the flats on the octagon barrel. The lateral fit between the nosecap and the barrel is excellent.
The next photograph provides a view of the right-hand side of the forestock portion of this Bedford County smooth rifle. The brass nose cap is retained to the forestock by a transverse brass or copper rivet. The front ramrod pipe is made from brass and has two decorative ridges. The ramrod does not have a metal tip.
The next photograph provides an oblique view of the muzzle of this black powder rifle, and reveals that the barrel is unrifled. The forestock tapers in size to match the cross-sectional shape of the nosecap. The photograph also reveals that the nosecap is fabricated from sheet metal.
The next photograph provides view of the underside of the fore-end of the full-length stock in the vicinity of the ramrod entry pipe. The brass entry pipe is quite simple in shape, compared to those that are found more elegant Bedford County longrifles.
The next picture features the cheekpiece side of the buttstock of this antique 19th century cap lock rifle, and provides a good view of the left-hand side of the cast brass trigger guard. The repaired break in the wrist extends through the comb of the stock. The comb and belly of the buttstock are substantially straight, as typical for Bedford County-style rifle stocks.
The next photo provides an oblique view of the rear sight area of this antique black powder rifle.
The next photo is a closeup of the rear sight, which is semi-buckhorn in style. the small base of the sight appears to be dovetailed into a long blank that is in turn dovetailed to the top of the octagonal barrel.
The last photograph features the fabulous hand-wrought gun lock on this antique muzzle loading smooth rifle. Much of the outer periphery of the narrow lock plate is beveled, save for the lowered portion that is rearward of the slash across the tail. The lock plate, which is engraved with the riflemaker's initials "JA" in script, is a good fit with the mating mortise of the stock. The top edge of the lock plate between the hammer and the drum is eroded and eaten away as a result of the flash of the percussion cap, and the nearby wood of the stock is damaged. The portion of the barrel near the drum exhibits cap-related pitting. Forward of the drum, the top edge of the lock plate is even with the wood of the forearm. The spur the Bedford County-style hammer is deeply curved, and the nose of the hammer is straight.
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