Left Hand Flinter Artifact?

[mario]

It was common practise for a woman to work along with her husband has a gun maker.If a husband died then the wife carried on the business with hired help such has a journeyman gun smith plus local men.

Yup. She had rights to the mark, but didn't necessarily do the work herself.

OK so I am guessing that since only one example was offered up, and nobody even referenced a written inventory of a lefthanded single lock flinter, they were very very rare indeed.?

Definitely rare. I know only of 2. Both French.

Left handed fusil fin recovered from LA. Louisiana Archeological & Anthropological Survey.
TM Hamilton, Colonial Frontier Guns, page 60-61

Left handed fusil de traite, ca. 1730s (probable Saint-Etienne manufacture). Found in South-central PA. Robert Speelman Collection
Kevin Gladysz, The French Trade Gun in North America, 1662-1759,Pg 93-94

Mario

[Roaddog]

Good info Mario. Thanks

[Loyalist Dave]

OK GREAT, thanks Mario.  That gives three examples, counting in Feltwad's flint conversion to caplock.  

I have seen a modern gunstock carved to better allow a right handed shooter ease of laying the head across the comb of the stock to use the left eye when shooting.  He was a Korean War Vet, right handed, right eyed, lost the right eye, but wanted to continue deer hunting so had his gunstock modified to allow him to do this.  I wondered if a person shooting a flinter in the 18th century who lost their right eye, would have to learn to do the same (perhaps not with the stock change) to shoot with the left eye rather than have a left handed flinter made.  

Just pondering, and thanks for the information.

LD

[Feltwad]

OK GREAT, thanks Mario.  That gives three examples, counting in Feltwad's flint conversion to caplock.  

I have seen a modern gunstock carved to better allow a right handed shooter ease of laying the head across the comb of the stock to use the left eye when shooting.  

LD

What you mention is what we in the UK call a cross eyed stock  to make one needs a highly skilled gun maker the stock is the easy part but the furniture and mainly the lock  are the hard part because they have to be shaped to the contour of the stock.
Feltwad
A Flint Lock will not sercure a chicken house door

[Capt. Jas.]

There is at least one  example of an 18th century crossover stock I am aware of. It is German by Houell of Zella circa 1715.
It is out of the cabinet of arms of the Duke of Brunswick and in the Royal Armouries. The only piece of furniture involving any alteration is the rear part of the trigger guard. Everything else is as normal including the lock.

[Capt. Jas.]

OK GREAT, thanks Mario.  That gives three examples, counting in Feltwad's flint conversion to caplock.  


LD

Here is just a few more off the top of my head.

1. Sporting gun by Thomas Richards c. 1750 (Keith Neal's collection)
2. Fowling piece by John Lett c 1775  (Keith Neal's collection)
3. Fowling piece by Griffin c.1765 molds on hand at The Rifle Shoppe

I do not think you will find any off the shelf left guns for the average joe that made their way to America. Possible that one was ordered of London by a Planter as I have seen some very specific orders but to date I am not familiar with any left guns.

[trent/OH]

Accessiors
4lb of gun powder      10 shillings

Feltwad
A Flint Lock will not secure a chicken house door

Thi is more than a little bit of a tangent, but I did some math and.........

British coins of 1845 were .925 fine silver. A shilling coin  had 0.1682 Troy ounces of silver. Ten shillings would be 1.682 ounces of silver. Silver has been taking a beating (read manipulated) the last couple weeks, but had been around $40 an ounce.
At $40/ounce, ten shillings has $67.28 in silver value. Four pounds of Goex powder at Friendship last month cost $64 ($16 a pound). Thus, black powder today costs almost exactly what it cost in 1845!

[Feltwad]

Accessiors
4lb of gun powder      10 shillings

Feltwad
. Four pounds of Goex powder at Friendship last month cost $64 ($16 a pound). Thus, black powder today costs almost exactly what it cost in 1845!

                                 -----------------------
Hear in the UK the cheapest black powder averages at £10 a lb  which for 4lb would be £40
Feltwad
A Flint Lock will not sercure a chicken house door

[Riley/MN]

so 4 pounds = 40 pounds? I am confused.

What is the exchange on that- pounds to dollars, do you know?

[Feltwad]

Riley.

£40 sterling  = $61.84  US dollars

Feltwad
A Flint Lock will not secure a chicken house door

[Loyalist Dave]

Thanks again, and on another forum some of the folks have chimed in that they shoot "right" locked guns left handed, without problems.  Makes sense for the folks with SxS fowlers would be doing the same when firing the left side barrel and lock, although right handed.  So I can advise a couple of my left handed friends that perhaps they should consider trying a right-locked rifle, especially if the price is a good one.

LD