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Identifying Old Guns-Help!!

BigBarnBigBarn Member Posts: 361 ✭✭✭
edited March 2004 in Ask the Experts
Hi guys, I have gotten myself into a project for the local museum, trying to identify a collection of old guns that have been donated to the museum, over the years.
The majority of these guns have no serial number, and a lot of them do not even have names on them. So my question is, how do I go about figuring out what they are and where they came from.
Do any of you experts have any suggestions on where I could go from here? Are there any business' out there that specialize in this kind of thing?
Thanks for any help you come up with.

BigBarn [8]

"Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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Comments

  • bobskibobski Member Posts: 17,866 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    take pics of them and post them here. or, have pics and we will email you and ask for downloads. its easy. we can do it.
    Retired Naval Aviation
    Former Member U.S. Navy Shooting Team
    Former NSSA All American
    Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot
    MO, CT, VA.
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If they are "modern" firearms, that is, manufactured, there will be folks who can ID them. Muzzleloaders would be much more difficult without names as there were so many makers and in some cases regions and states is a close as you can reliably get.

    He Dog
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  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hello BigBarn...

    Do you have a copy of "Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values"? It could be of some assistance to you. If the old guns are of the percussion era (or early flint design), Jim Whisker is the person to contact.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!

    WACA Historian & Life Member

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  • cussedemguncussedemgun Member Posts: 985 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BigBarn
    check out "www.bbhc.org"
    I'll bet one museum to another, they can help

    "all I really need to know I learned in kindergarten" Robert Fulghum


    anyone who says "nobody needs a full auto" has never been in front of a brown bear charge
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  • Contender ManContender Man Member Posts: 2,110 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If for nothing other than cataloging purposes you should have a photographic record.

    Use a digital camera that permits closeups and make a "photo" record of each piece with shots of each marking found on the piece.

    Now as you complete the record for a given piece you can post the digital images on forums, such as this, and ask for assistance.

    If you do not have the means to post digital images, use the email icon at the top of this reply to contact me and I will give you my direct email address so you can forward the images to me as standard email attachments and I will post them on the forum for you.

    There's a tremendous amount of talent here and I bet you can get info on many if not most of the pieces in pretty short order.

    Just remember that every little marking on the gun has meaning so your text accompanying the images should include as much information as you can give.


    2470099-S.jpg
    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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  • BigBarnBigBarn Member Posts: 361 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You guys are fantastic! I absolutely thank all of you for your input. I will be on my way to the museum today, and will post pictures, and any info I can find, and we can go from there.
    Again guys, thanks for your help. I will be back with pictures ASAP!
    [^]
    P.S. One thing I am not very familer with, what is the easiest way to insert those pictures here?

    "Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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  • Contender ManContender Man Member Posts: 2,110 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You have to have an image hosting site. This can be a web site that you are allowed to set up with your internet package as long as it allows direct access to the images you upload to it. Or you can go to a 3rd party hosting service or which there are some free ones (fair amount of advertising on them) and others you pay a fee for and those fees are typically less than $30 per year.

    Once you have your images on a site then you insert the site/file address info. to access the image. On the icon bar above your post message area are some buttons (icons) the icon showing the right arrow head touching the top left corner of what appears to be a picture of mountains and the sun (third one to right from the HR icon). And when you click on that "image icon" it will automatically insert some program code in your message "[img][/img]" in the space between the two bracketed/boxed codes is where you put in the site/file address info.

    If you have problems email me and I'll help you. Also if you don't have the host site and/or don't want to mess with all of this, you can send images to me and I'll post them for you.


    2470099-S.jpg
    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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