Old Punt Gun

[Old Syko]

The writing on top of the barrel appears to possibly be Ottoman Turkish script. But I don't know nuthin.

 

[Smith& W]

I cleaned the rust out of the flash pan and there was a powder hole. ( I`m still not firing it ). Any guesses as to approximate date it might have been made? These Matchlocks dated back 200+ years ,though I don`t believe this one is.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The writing on top of the barrel appears to possibly be Ottoman Turkish script. But I don't know nuthin.

Nah, I don't recognize any of the letters and each letter is distinct instead of written like cursive. It's not Turkish or Arabic. If I had to to guess, it's being viewed upside down and the line should be at the top of the letters. It looks like Nepali or similar.

 

[indiucky]

Just a guess but I would say early 20th century for the tourist trade.......Lot's of wealthy Americans were going on "world tours" at that time and this would be a nice souvenir to bring home from your world cruise...

 

[indy1919a4]

Oh do not listen to Indyiucky. Old mr sourpuss, he is probably right, but I would start pretending this is real and live the dream for a while.. Heck this is to much fun to have in one lifetime..

I would see if there is a charge in the gun.. run a ramrod (long thin stick) down the barrel and see where it stops then measure it against the side of the gun see how far it goes. If it goes past the primer hole you are golden it is empty.

Then I would start taking that barrel off.. It has to be removable.. this way you will see what's inside.. you can see the inner wood and under the barrel to see how it was built..

Also using one of those fancy bore lights that you can drop down the barrel would be cool.. This way you can see the parts the builder did not intend, this way you can learn how solid this critter is..

And lets see some photos of the other barrel bands.. Whoo-ee! this is better than a Hog-Killing.

 

[Old Syko]

Nah, I don't recognize any of the letters and each letter is distinct instead of written like cursive. It's not Turkish or Arabic. If I had to to guess, it's being viewed upside down and the line should be at the top of the letters. It looks like Nepali or similar.

In retrospect I agree it isn't Turkish but I see nothing Nepalese that compares either. Take a look at Laotian script and see what you think. The link has some examples. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Phrase_sanskrit.png

 

[indy1919a4]

All kidding aside.. here are some nice little utubes about indian reproductions... they are fun views.. but as always Caveat Emptor

Now this looks like a fun place to go.. 1st 2 mins are a bit of a Cooks Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZLNBui9mmc

Some in the field reports --- up close & personal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqJeRDBw1H0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYomRGX08YI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htTcIWtiKPU

a side by side

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUGVjeunK_Y

One mans opinion.. but he puts it on the line...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FsiemAJGKs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTFkgQ5u1Ys


Has nothing to do with India,, but it is *****ing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdSzOztikGc

 

[rob63]

It seems pretty much certain, to me at least, that the gun is an Indian Toradar and the language is Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the liturgical language of Hindu, the major religion of India.

I cleaned the rust out of the flash pan and there was a powder hole. ( I`m still not firing it ). Any guesses as to approximate date it might have been made? These Matchlocks dated back 200+ years ,though I don`t believe this one is.

I have no idea on the age, that is really hard to guess. However, I will go against the idea that it was made for the tourist trade. I think it was a working wall gun. One reason I think this is the sheer size of it. It makes absolutely no sense to me to make a gun that large for the tourist trade. Transporting it has to be a pain, what tourist would buy such a thing? Another reason is how plain it is. Guns made for the tourist trade were normally highly decorated. I just don't believe that a gun that size and that plain would have been made for tourists.

The counter-argument is that it was intentionally made this way to fool wealthy tourists that were looking for original examples of such things. Someone wealthy enough may not be worried about the size since it would just get packed away in the bowels of the ship for the return journey. If you thought you could fool someone wealthy enough into believing it is a true museum piece, then maybe it is worth it to make such a thing.

The way the barrel is secured doesn't bother me either. The force of recoil is transmitted straight back into the wood at the breech, the barrel bands only need to hold the barrel to the stock. The British used the Brown Bess for hundreds of years and it only had very small pins, roughly 1/16" diameter, holding the barrel to the stock. It had no bands at all and it was .75 caliber.

I don't know if you have ever heard of the Nepalese Cache that was discovered a few years back? Things can get stored for a long, long time.
https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/international-military-antiques-5-million-selling-old-weapons.html

Wall guns were used on the top of fortresses to break up enemy attacks, the size wasn't a hindrance in that situation.

I think your friend has a very interesting gun. Here are some photos of some wall guns in an Italian fortress, they are quite large like your example:

​

 

[Smith& W]

Had to do one more to show size of this thing. I'm 6ft. 1". host image

 

[Dead Duck]

Well, suicide is out of the question.

 

[Colt1860]

Not what I would consider for concealed carry.

 

[Dead Duck]

Home defense would be difficult to pull off too.



And there goes my truck gun idea.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Well, suicide is out of the question.

Use it to poke a live electric line? Gotta think outside the box.

Some twine and a few eye bolts, you could probably even use it as intended. Which reminds me of the fellow who rigged up a sort of guillotine with a circular saw to end his own life. Where there's a will there's a way.

 

[Ricnzak]

Had to do one more to show size of this thing. I'm 6ft. 1". host image

That is beyond AWESOME. I'd love to have that over my mantle.

 

[Dead Duck]

That is beyond AWESOME. I'd love to have that over my mantle.

I thought of that but I would first need a bigger house.

 

[Itchytriggerfinger]

I'm not a wealthy man but I have some cash tucked away. How much to shoot it? I'll sign a waiver. Only half kidding.

 

[Coronethouse]

Hi, is this gun still available for sale?

 

[Thor]

Ummm, welcome to INGO?

This is not the sales forum.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Well, suicide is out of the question.