J.Bourne &Son, Birmingham, Eng. 12gauge. English Coach Gun

 

J.Bourne & Son of Birmingham, England was one third of the founders of B.S.A: Birmingham Small Arms.

Prior to forming B.S.A,  J.Bourne & Son made high quality caplock muzzleloading guns, like my English Coach gun, circa 1840-45.

This was a time before interchangeable parts and mass production, and guns like this were designed from a pattern, but essentially were on of a kind items.

The hickory  ramrod is said to be original, and it certainly appears to be over 175 years old.

At some point, a gunsmith installed a replacement left hammer, and did a good job at matching at least the style of hammer.

The SXS 22" barrels are a perfect length for self defense purposes. I suspect that was the original use for this particular coach gun.

Baikal MP-641k Co2 Pistol/Carbine

There have been some interesting & exciting Airguns designed and made in Russia throughout the 20th century, and this BAIKAL  model 651k is definitely one of the more interesting.

 

BAIKAL MP-651k Co2 Pistol/Carbine Kit

-Caliber: 4.5mm Lead roundball or .177 cal. Pellet

-Rifled Bore suits 4.5 mm lead roundball and approximately 30 rounds can be loaded and fired semi-autimaticly.

-Co2 powered Revolver action

-muzzle velocity: 475 fps

-made in Russia

Carbine Kit includes unique periscope style rear right that is surprisingly effective.

Smith & Wesson "Tip-up" Rimfire Revolver Models: 1, 1½ and 2 (Disassembly/Assembly)

I have become  the "caretaker" of these Antique firearms which I have purchased, and collecting information such as the following disassembly guide for the S&W "Tip-up" Revolvers is very helpful.

 (The above pages were borrowed from a Gun Digest Book on Antique firearm restoration, and I don't hold any copyrights and will remove the pages if necessary.)

A fellow who is interested in Antique firearms should be fairly handy with tools and working with  fiddly little parts.

Being able to repair and restore Antique firearms properly is a necessity, because the shortage of gunsmiths that specialize in Antique firearms, and the fact that most broken or missing parts must be fabricated from scratch, cause the cost of sending your Antique firearm to the Gunsmith is quite high.

There are many invaluable books focused on disassembly and repair of specific Antique guns, like these pages covering the early S&W rimfire revolver models, taken from a Gun Digest Published Manual on Antique firearm restoration.

Tacticool

Antique Derringer's, Muff Pistols & Spur Trigger Pocket Revolvers

 My  little guns: Bliss & Goodyear "Protector" . 32 Rim-Fire Spur Trigger Pocket Revolver & Belgian Double Barrel  Boxlock Percussion "Muff" Pistol...

The following are an assortment of late 19th Century Civilian "self-defense" sidearms, mostly chambered for .22 caliber, .32 caliber, 38 caliber & .41 caliber Rimfire cartridge ammunition.

My "Pocket Pistols" from the 19th Century

 This Norwich Pistol Co. "Suicide Special" type of .32 caliber rimfire revolver was the first antique revolver that I owned.

Norwich Pistol Co. "Protector" single action spur trigger revolver circa 1880's  & Belgian double barrel Muff pistol circa 1850's

Antique SXS Double Barrel Boxlock Percussion Muzzleloader "Muff" Pistol circa.1850

 

Belgian Boxlock SXS Double Barrel  Pocket Percussion muzzleloader  Pistol (circa.1850)

.45 caliber, 2" long smoothbore barrels

Hardwood stock and some engraving on the Boxlock, trigger guard and upper & lower tangs.

Black powder or alternatives like Pyrodex, #11 percussion cap ignition and a lubricated patched ball or bullet.

🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

Underhammer Muzzleloading Black Powder Guns

The 19th Century was a period of incredible innovation, especially regarding firearm development.
The "Underhammer" action is in my opinion, the most elegantly designed ignition system ever developed for Muzzleloading guns.

With very few simple parts, this type of gun is reliable and durable.
Plus, the action is under the barrel, so the sightline is unobscured, and Underhammer pistols were used by competitive target shooters.

There were many different Underhammer designs, and they were all very simple, easy to use and maintain.

DIY Gunsmiths are still making Underhammer Muzzleloading pistols and rifles to this day!

I am building my own Underhammer pistol that is only intended to set off caps and not fire any type of projectile. Over the coming months I plan to document the building process here on my blog.
I am considering using an Underhammer action for a homemade single shot airgun that I am also in the process of building.
Canadian firearm law doesn't allow me to legal build a projectile firing black powder pistol, but a non-firing, cap gun is within the legal framework of CDN gun laws.

Black Powder Caplock Muzzleloader Antique Guns

North American Caplock muzzleloader, 18 gauge(.647cal.) /20" smoothbore  barrel. Circa 1830-40

J. Bourne & Son SXS 12 gauge Caplock muzzleloading English Coachgun/Shotgun
2 x 22" barrels / .729 caliber bore or 12 gauge
Made in Birmingham, England
Circa.1840-45

Flobert-style  .50 caliber muzzleloader handgun
10" smoothbore barrel
 #11 Percussion cap "center-fire" hammer fired single action
Circa 1870?

Flobert guns were typically chambered for 6mm or 9mm "flobert" cartridge ammunition.
They were popular low powered,  indoor target shooting guns and backyard/garden guns for plinking and shooting small pests and vermin.
I can't find any reference online to this type of muzzleloader handgun made with a flobert action, and a modified flobert rifle stock.
It may have been someone's custom gun  project, but I'll never know for sure.
I did also buy an antique  flobert shoulder stock in but the action didn't fit properly into the shoulder stock.

One day the global pandemic will be over, and I will have some fun blasting soup cans with these relics from the 19th century.