1840's Cooper-made Pepper box...

[tac]

cased, with ALL accessories, mint and apparently unused - that is to say, unfired. This was bought by my pal Ken at a local auction house in Bedford that specialises in older firearms. Take a look and see why it got us all of a quiver!!


Mahogany case - note the 'timed' screwheads.

The six-barrelled pistol with Cooper's patent underhammer double action - as sweet in action as the day it was made.

Calibre is .45" - note the beautiful shaping on the barrels - NOT a cheap piece, this.

Left to right - Hawkesley three-setting powder flask, cap box [empty], ramrod/nipple wrench and pricker, plus original horsehair tow, oil bottle still containing whale oil. Centre - ball box [empty], bottom - apparently unused turnscrew.

Original Sykes capper.

Another view of the flask showing setting for three loads.

Details.

Nipple wrench and pricker.

Unused turnscrew.

Ramrod & jag.

Close-up of mechanism - each chamber has a different proof stamp - I'll use my macro setting next time so you can see.

He paid $910.00 - including 20% tax and buyer's premium.

I think he got a bargain. What do YOU think?

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[Andy54Hawken]

What do I think...?
I think he ought to send it to me for a closer look .
Beautiful pistol for sure.
Andy

 

[Spitpatch]

Thank you for the privilege of seeing it. A time capsule in firearm form.

The screw driver ("turn screw" if you will) and scraper hearken back to a time when apprentices were required to manufacture their own tools before they were ever allowed gun work. Equal quality was expected.

 

[jackrv]

Beautiful work of art and yes he did get a good deal.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

*Andy54Hawken: Interest intensifies*

Very cool pistol @tac !

 

[tac]

Wisht' it wuz mine.....................................

The ownist is unlikely to ever shoot it, given the hoops he'd have to jump through here in UK to do it legally.

Doing it sneakishly and getting caught doing it is just not even to be thought about.

 

[TNThomas]

Killer deal!

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Great craftsmanship and attention to detail.

 

[CountryGent]

Super neato!

 

[RVTECH]

The ownist is unlikely to ever shoot it, given the hoops he'd have to jump through here in UK to do it legally.

Well, seeing as he owns it legally What additional 'hoops' would he have to jump through to shoot it?

I assume he is a member of a club, or range etc. one has to be to shoot at all, and being it is black powder doesn't that make it easier ?

 

[tac]

Well, seeing as he owns it legally What additional 'hoops' would he have to jump through to shoot it?

I assume he is a member of a club, or range etc. one has to be to shoot at all, and being it is black powder doesn't that make it easier ?

In order to shoot an antique here in UK - ALL of UK - you MUST be a member of either gun-club or a re-enactment group.

SMOOTHBORE LONG ARMS - muskets, matchlocks, flintlocks, wheellocks, any kind of medieval firelock or gonne with a barrel or barrels longer than 24" - requires you to have a Section 2 Shotgun Certificate. This allows you to shoot blanks in re-enactment OR if you want it for the pursuit of small game - rabbits - flighting/lofting birds and so on - having a shotgun certificate allows you to do that wherever it is legal to do so. It also permits you to own as many as you want or can afford - NO limit.

HANDGUNS OR SMOOTHBORE LONG ARMS WITH BARRELS LESS THAN 24 INCHES IN LENGTH - you must have a Section 1 Firearms Certificate [FAC], just as with any modern rifled barrel firearm or shotgun that can hold MORE than three rounds [obviously NOT a muzzleloader]. Each such firearm has to be individually authorised and detailed on your FAC. Note that no CARTRIDGE-FIRING handguns of any kind can be legally shot in MAINLAND UK with a LOT of serious thinking, documentation, and draconian restrictions that I refuse to put up with. However, cartridge-firing long arms up to .750cal are permitted on an ordinary Section 1 FAC.

To have a Section 2 [Shotgun] Certificate is allowed to ANY member of the public over the age of 18 who has no criminal record or imprisonment longer that six months who can show a use for it. The certificate-issuing authority the County Police Chief Constable devolving his vested powers from the Home Secretary, SHALL issue such a certificate, or else show why they refuse to do so.

To have a Section 1 Firearms Certificate [FAC] in order to shoot your antique you must be a full member of a Home Office-approved gun club. In practice, ALL gun clubs are approved, and subjected to annual inspection by Health & Safety and Environmental Authorities. If you go this route, then your FAC is issued on the condition that you only shoot it on a range. Given the perceived limitations of BP firearms here, this is the only 'good reason' for which you can have a rifled antique firearm of the muzzleloading kind, or, indeed, any other kind on long arm or handgun. So although you might have a double rifle in .600 Black Powder Express, you will not be permitted to take game with it here in UK - deer-stalking, boar-hunting and so on.

However, having said all that, it is ultimately at the discretion of the Chief Constable whether or not he accepts your bid to use your antique PB firearm in the field. The REAL problem there lies in the actual physical limitations of the projectile fired from the gun - velocity and muzzle energy - and the assessment of the humane treatment of the animal. Scotland, for instance, requires a minimum of 0.25 cal bullet or ball, but also a minimum velocity of 2250 fps and 1750 ft lbs m/e, which puts muzzleloading and the vast majority of BP cartridge-loading guns on the 'nope' shelf.

Please read and inwardly digest -

For all deer of any species - the bullet must weigh at least 100 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,750 foot pounds. Scotland requires that the minimum calibre be .25cal. It must be stressed that all these figures are the minimum legal requirement.

The FACT that millions of one-ton Bison were killed using a .300gr lead bullet from a .45-70Govt at 1500 fps cartridge is a never-mind - that happened 'somewhere else'.

 

[tac]

Meanwhile, somewhere in the USA -

Enters antique gun store - I like the looka that old gun!!

Buys gun using plastic and nothing more - it's an antique gun, right?

Goes home, rummages around in the garage and finds some ball and black powder left over from making a few blanks.

Goes into back yard lot - loads up and shoots.

Yippee!!

 

[RVTECH]

Doing it sneakishly and getting caught doing it is just not even to be thought about.

Are people ever caught doing this?

 

[tac]

Are people ever caught doing this?

I have no idea. However, I'm also sure that a few people have done it - just to see what it's like to shoot. You gots to remember that the chances of getting found out these days are pretty high, what with social media and all that cr**.

Being a law-abiding citizen who values a. my freedom and b. my pretty substantial [by UK standards] gun collection, I've never done it, and that's the plain truth. Illegally discharging an unlicensed firearm here can get you a three-to-five with great ease, and I'm not talking about weeks or months.