My neighbor inherited this antique percussion Colt's Model 1849 Pocket Pistol from his father many years ago. Not being a gun guy, he simply stored the pistol for many years.
He asked me if I would like to clean and lube his father's antique guns. For me, there was only one possible answer. YES! The gun appears to be complete, all numbers matching, and functions. Of course, I did not shoot it.
I carefully removed a little bit of rust, without removing the patina, over the course of a few hours with some Eezox and brass punches, shaped with a dremmel into scrapers. The bore has some pitting, but not a lot. One can still see the stagecoach scene on the cylinder.
The wedge, with its matching serial number (I understand that is is common that the original wedge gets lost) does not get held snugly in place by the set screw. Does anybody know how I can get the wedge to stay firmly in place?
This is the first antique percussion Colt, which I have been privileged to inspect and handle. Thus, I know little about these interesting and well built pistols. It would be great if you can add whatever knowledge you have about this old gun, including the financial value. I could not find any that had sold on Gunbroker.
My neighbor cares little for guns, and none of his children or grandchildren care about guns. However, he likes vintage guitars, and is a skilled guitar player (classic rock and roll, mostly). Since this pistol was built at the start of the Civil War, and Colt only sold guns to the Union, I surmise that this gun was likely carried by a Union soldier during the Civil War. I asked my neighbor if any of his ancestors served for the North during the Civil War, and he will try to research his family history to answer that question.
He asked me if I would like to clean and lube his father's antique guns. For me, there was only one possible answer. YES! The gun appears to be complete, all numbers matching, and functions. Of course, I did not shoot it.
I carefully removed a little bit of rust, without removing the patina, over the course of a few hours with some Eezox and brass punches, shaped with a dremmel into scrapers. The bore has some pitting, but not a lot. One can still see the stagecoach scene on the cylinder.
The wedge, with its matching serial number (I understand that is is common that the original wedge gets lost) does not get held snugly in place by the set screw. Does anybody know how I can get the wedge to stay firmly in place?
This is the first antique percussion Colt, which I have been privileged to inspect and handle. Thus, I know little about these interesting and well built pistols. It would be great if you can add whatever knowledge you have about this old gun, including the financial value. I could not find any that had sold on Gunbroker.
My neighbor cares little for guns, and none of his children or grandchildren care about guns. However, he likes vintage guitars, and is a skilled guitar player (classic rock and roll, mostly). Since this pistol was built at the start of the Civil War, and Colt only sold guns to the Union, I surmise that this gun was likely carried by a Union soldier during the Civil War. I asked my neighbor if any of his ancestors served for the North during the Civil War, and he will try to research his family history to answer that question.