Author Topic: Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?  (Read 604 times)

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Offline CrufflerSteve

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Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?
« on: May 28, 2010, 11:00:54 AM »
IMA has one from Nepal that looks mildly like the Confederate one. I never knew the Brits made one but it looks like it.
http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/2976

It doesn't have the sawtooth rifling the rebs used. For somebody with more money than me it would be fun. Only to be fired by those without a morbid fear of death.

Steve

Offline KABAR2

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Re: Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2010, 05:29:06 AM »
This is an interesting cannon being that the barrel is steel and Bronze,    
Also before it could be fired I think a new vent is in order by the look of the corrosion, they are asking a bit much considering
it is in need of full restoration, the metal flanges they have fit to the wheels have no length to them on the axle
so you would have to make bushings to have them fit the axle properly the tag on the carriage is a probable repro
as it was poorly riveted on, it is going to cost a bit to repro the elevation mechanism it may be a good project for someone
but it is still a cannon used in a backwater area of the world.

 
Mr president I do not cling to either my gun or my Bible.... my gun is holstered on my side so I may carry my Bible and quote from it!

Sed tamen sal petrae LURO VOPO CAN UTRIET sulphuris; et sic facies tonituum et coruscationem si scias artficium

Offline Double D

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Re: Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2010, 06:45:05 AM »
Those guns are from the Nepalese cache and are very real, not repro except the hubs. Here is IMA's Description. Price doesn't matter, I couldn't afford one anyway.

British Victorian Muzzle Loading 7lb Bronze/Iron Rifled Cannon
[ON1863]
   $22,500.00
British Victorian Muzzle Loading 7lb Bronze/Iron Rifled Cannon
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Original Item: This is one of the cannons IMA recovered from Nepal in 2003. Strictly speaking, this is a 7lb Rifled Muzzle Loading Mountain Gun, which dates from the 1860/70s. The front of the barrel is comprised of rifled iron while the rear sleeve, including the trunnions, is bronze. The bronze sleeve is very well marked with a large crown over V.R. Cipher, a Broad Arrow atop the numeral 74. Across the rear appears "CXCVIII" (198) which we understand to be an inventory number. There is a massive foresight on the Muzzle that is quite rare in it self as these sights we generally removed for storage or many simply snapped off in transit. The barrel rifling is a heavy three groove intended for use with a Model 1863 7lb Armstrong studded projectile, one is included with this purchase and more are available separately from IMA (Code BN2007). There is no denying that this cannon really looks the business!

The cannon, as described, comes with the appropriate iron carriage on wooden spoke steel tire wheels complete with brass data plate that reads:

7 Pr. R.M.L. GUN.
200 lbs Reg No.
W D. I. RCD
Wt CARRIge. 206. lbs
WHEELS. 144 lbs
TOTAL. 350 lbs

The gun elevating mechanism is absent from the carriage so currently the barrel is supported by wood. The wooden wheels are 12 spoke and have newly manufactured brass plated steel hubs as the original hubs, which were solid brass, got striped off in Nepal for the scrap value (Ffrtunately the tube was too heavy to steal!). At the present time, the wheel "Locking Pegs" (they stop the wheels falling off the axle) are also absent as are the two "Cap Locks" that lock the trunnions to the carriage. So, do not attempt any field maneuvers without securing the barrel, however, this piece is certainly suitable for display and rolling into position. As stated, this cannon and carriage were included with our Nepalese Armory purchase in 2003 and is offered un-cleaned and un-restored, other than a bit of polishing to expose the markings and the use of the added white chalk to highlight the markings for photography purposes. This is a compact 7lb Mountain Cannon that would certainly be at home in almost any living room:

Approximate Measurements while mounted on Carriage:
Length- 68"
Barrel length- 40"
Width- 32"

Offline KABAR2

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Re: Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2010, 07:53:03 AM »
DD,

I wasn't saying the gun or the carriage were repro I commented on the data plate with what appears to be aluminum rivets
because IMA had added missing data plates with repro's in the past, I commented on the artillery shells because their original
add was misleading using the phrase "Civil War Era" The plates they have had made for the wheels are not made properly
they are almost flat with no outer bushings for a bearing surface I have seen and handled them, most likely made by a company
that makes flanges, the wheels themselves were made of a hardwood in Nepal they are solid but a little cruder than what would
be standard on a British military Cannon,  

 

 
Mr president I do not cling to either my gun or my Bible.... my gun is holstered on my side so I may carry my Bible and quote from it!

Sed tamen sal petrae LURO VOPO CAN UTRIET sulphuris; et sic facies tonituum et coruscationem si scias artficium

Offline Double D

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Re: Anybody Want an Antique Mountain Rifle?
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2010, 08:28:00 AM »
Didn't catch on, sorry...