Recent Find 1816 musket

[JackADriscoll]

Good evening friends. I picked this one up for like 175 and she's pretty rough in the stock, metal, and pretty much everything. I cannot get the ram rod out and I'm afraid it's going to require a feat to get it out. Would you leave it as found with regular maintenance or would you get a new stock?

 

[Grayrock Volunteer]

It's a relic. Leave it as a relic.

All 1816s were made with manually reproduced parts, so very little, if anything, is interchangeable. It's not worth looking for an original stock to butcher it to fit these parts. IMO there isn't a reason to put it in a new stock either. They aren't cheap themselves and will require a significant amount of work and skill to make it passable. Even then I don't think many folks would believe that doing so would improve its displayability.
Barn finds like this are getting hard to find as complete muskets since the sum of the parts is usually worth more than the gun. They've been busted up for parts for decades, so it is nice to see a survivor. I know a couple of guys who collect stuff just like this for that reason.

 

[JackADriscoll]

It's a relic. Leave it as a relic.

All 1816s were made with manually reproduced parts, so very little, if anything, is interchangeable. It's not worth looking for an original stock to butcher it to fit these parts. IMO there isn't a reason to put it in a new stock either. They aren't cheap themselves and will require a significant amount of work and skill to make it passable. Even then I don't think many folks would believe that doing so would improve its displayability.
Barn finds like this are getting hard to find as complete muskets since the sum of the parts is usually worth more than the gun. They've been busted up for parts for decades, so it is nice to see a survivor. I know a couple of guys who collect stuff just like this for that reason.

I'm convinced and it's the only representation I have of the type

 

[Conquerordie]

It's a relic but I'd still take care of it. Give it a bunch of coats of Kramer's. It will even out the look and preserve it.

 

[johan_steele]

Kramer's has been mentioned and I really cannot stress how much difference a half dozen applications of that will make. The impact will become evident after the first application.

I would take before and after pics and post them here as well as sending them to Kramer's, they appreciate it.