Bazza Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 Hello all, A friend has come across this gun and wonders what it is. I would have though European with Japanese silver inlay were it not for the bulbous muzzle very much in the Japanese style. Ergo, it would seem to be a Japanese made. It is not his gun and he was only able to get the attached photos for interest, which I present here for the interest of all. BaZZa. Quote
Bazza Posted May 15, 2021 Author Report Posted May 15, 2021 John, good question that I didn't think to ask! I'll follow up. BaZZa. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 The butt is very Japanese throughout. The bulbous muzzle looks unnatural, imitative. A clever conversion for birds and small game for an ex-Japanese Daimyo or a wealthy Western gentleman. Shotgun(?) Is there a rim/pin fire or center fire mechanism, and what bore/caliber is it, I wonder? Quote
ChrisW Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 A very interesting transitional piece. I wonder what its story is? We may never know it seems. Quote
Viper6924 Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 Amongst the huge collection at the Stibbert Museum in Florence, there is a matchlock that opens up just like a modern shotgun. I’ve only handled it for a few minutes, but if my memory doesn’t fail me, the gun was pretty much a standard-looking matchlock except for how it opened up. Was it a later modification or just a one-off? No idea. I just know that it’s the only one I’ve seen with such a feature. Jan Quote
Brian Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 It's clearly styled after one of the poacher-style Belgian .410 shotguns, and I expect the caliber will be similar. Maybe a Japanese gunsmith was ordered to copy one. Quote
Bazza Posted May 15, 2021 Author Report Posted May 15, 2021 Thank you all for your comments. I have sent a text to my friend who has seen the gun. He reports he is at a birthday party and will find out more in a day or so. I've pointed him to this thread so do please put any more questions here. My good friend is neither a sword man nor a matchlock gun man, but that hasn't stopped him from acquiring a FUJUSHIMA TOMOSHIGE katana and a bajou zutsu. I presented the latter here on September 18, 2018: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26639-a-bajou-zutsu-in-oz-information-assistance-appreciated/ BaZZa. Quote
Anthony de Vos Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 Hi! Jan, didn’t the Stibbert example have 3 barrels inside a larger one? Anthony Quote
Peter Bleed Posted May 15, 2021 Report Posted May 15, 2021 It is WONDERFUL! that is what it is! Break action modernizations are rare - but out there. I am currently working up description of a couple of Filipino break action cannons. Peter 1 Quote
Bazza Posted May 19, 2021 Author Report Posted May 19, 2021 Some further information on this gun. It is centrefire and the calibre/cartridge might be 11.15 x 36R WERNDL. A thought is that the gun has an Austrian connection, which would support the Werndl cartridge information. That cartridge is the commercial version of the military 11.15 Werndl calibre. See https://www.cartridgecollector.net/1115-x-36r-werndl for a photo of this metallic cartridge. Brian commented "It's clearly styled after one of the poacher-style Belgian .410 shotguns, and I expect the caliber will be similar". On a cost basis the cartridge is more likely to be paper than metallic??? BaZZa. Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted May 28, 2021 Report Posted May 28, 2021 On 5/16/2021 at 6:01 AM, Anthony de Vos said: Hi! Jan, didn’t the Stibbert example have 3 barrels inside a larger one? Anthony 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.