[bratry]

The gun seems to be missing the serpent sideplate. He thought that the shotgun style barrel with the bead at the end didn't seem right. He also said that it is easy to get a fox stamp to put on the barrels but the only markings on the gun are the foxes so I'm not so sure someone put those on there. He thought maybe someone had built if from spare parts? He sent me link to another web site North Star West, Inc | Manufacturer of Historically Correct Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Smooth Bore muzzleloading guns. a company that makes authentic reproduction trade guns. The guns they produce look very similar but still with small differences. I sent the same pictures in an email to them to get some insight.

[CA357]

Very interesting. Good luck with your quest.

[bratry]

Thank you everyone for your input. The mystery seems to be solved. I heard back from the owner of North Star West Inc. he identified the gun as one of the companys very early productions from the early 1980's. He believes that past owners made the gun by hand with parts purchased from them. After having inspected the gun and viewed their website I believe he is most likely correct. It has been a fascinating and informative investigation. Regardless of it's origin I love it.

[CA357]

Excellent! Mystery solved.

[Hawg]

Cool, now you know.

[Portugal]

Hi All,

I'm from Portugal, and I have a Westley Richards "Monkey Tail", a caplock musket from 1867. But I have a problem: There's a piece that is broken, some kind of little tube (I think it was a tube where the soldiers put the gunpowder, I'm sorry, I don't know the name of it). I have an image of the tube, but not the broken one (below).

The little piece is broken, therefore, when the hammer goes down after I pull the trigger, it doesn't hit the broken part, because that little tube that was supposed to be there isn't.

So, my questions are: Is that piece replaceable? Where can I buy it online, ordering it from the US? Is it expensive?

Thank you.

[Portugal]

Sorry, here's the image of the little tube that's broken in my rifle:

[bratry]

Hey Portugal

I'm no gun expert but I do own and hunt with a percussion cap style muzzle loader and the piece your asking about is called a 'nipple'. The percussion cap that ignites the powder in the barrel goes on top of that. The hammer slams down on that cap and ignites the cap. Around here you can buy a replacemnt percussion nipple at almost any place that sells guns for just a few dollars. Based on your picture it looks like a standard number 11 style nipple. You should be able to buy that piece at Cabelas.com or any other hunting supply site.

[bratry]

And also, they are just threaded in the gun. You should be able to just untwist it with a small wrench.

[Hawg]

You will need to know thread size. Once you get the broken one out and it may require a little heat if it's seized in place you can take it to a hardware store and they can most likely tell you the thread size.