Critterhunter
New member
You can find the full story on this find along with a nearby barber half in the Sovereign as well as the main detecting forums. My knowledge of older guns is weak, but I seem to remember hearing that older guns are a certain kind of (rolled?) metal that can flower out like this if too much powder is involved. I know some shotguns early on had this problem if you tried a more modern load in them. It's for sure not due to somebody hammering on it as a tent stake. The trigger end of the thing is pretty blunt and wouldn't look to go into the ground very easy. The trigger/guarge sort of looks blown apart too, which is what you'd expect from the back pressure. That's the part that your face would be in a world of hurt with if a gun explodes on you like it appears this one did.
I have no clue if this is a musket other than the fact that the barrel hole looks bigger than a 10 gauge shotgun and the barrel is rather thick and heavy (more so than it looks to be in the pictures, much fatter). I wouldn't expect it based on what I know about flint lock or muzzleloaders to be anywhere near this size in caliber. Maybe I'll find a name after I juice it with a DC current in salt water to clean off the rust. I'll post more pictures then as well.
Somebody made a good point in the Sovereign forum in that he might very well have got mud in the end of the gun causing the explosion.
I have no clue if this is a musket other than the fact that the barrel hole looks bigger than a 10 gauge shotgun and the barrel is rather thick and heavy (more so than it looks to be in the pictures, much fatter). I wouldn't expect it based on what I know about flint lock or muzzleloaders to be anywhere near this size in caliber. Maybe I'll find a name after I juice it with a DC current in salt water to clean off the rust. I'll post more pictures then as well.
Somebody made a good point in the Sovereign forum in that he might very well have got mud in the end of the gun causing the explosion.