Inherited two 19th c Norwegian rifles

[James Burleigh]

I have two 19th c Norwegian rifles I inherited from my dad's side of the family. They've been sitting in closets for years, when they weren't up over the fireplace. One has been described as a replica Remington rolling block. That one also seems to have a bayonet mount. The other is a cap and ball with a breech loading tube and underside hammer.

Any antique gun aficionados out there who can help a fellah understand WTF he's got here?

Thanks!

JB

 

[azitlies]

I've no idea ...

but they're nice looking

 

[SacramentoMike]

I don't know much about these guns, but I've watched plenty of Antiques Roadshow. First thing you want to do is get some steel wool, or better yet a wire brush for your power drill. Gets that old crappy rust off in no time! Then some sandpaper for the wood parts. Start with about 80 grit, then 220. Once you get down to bare wood, brown paint is the ticket. When you're done, spray the whole thing with Varathane, or just dip it in plastic.

Oh wait, first take them out in your back yard and fire off a few shots. You know, like a test. Just go down to the gun store and buy a box of whatever you can make fit in the barrel. Don't be afraid to use lots of force. They're made to fit tight. Have fun.

Or. . . maybe don't.

I don't think they're too old (as in antique), since they fire cartridges, and being military, no doubt, probably not all that rare, but they're still pretty cool. A good gunsmith could probably give you some info, but you might try taking them to one of those gun shows that travel to local fairgrounds and auditoriums. Those places would be full of guys with a lot of knowledge and interest in these old guns, and enough of them that you could compare comments. Good chance you could find a buyer or work out a trade there, too, especially if you were interested in getting a modern gun to play with.

And you've always got the wall to hang them back up on.

 

[redtail]

What ever you do DON'T change them in any way!!! Including trying to clean them up!

Shop the pics first until you have an idea what they're worth. If they're replicas then they might not be worth much. If they're real and are wartime, then that changes everything to a collector.

anything pre 1900 is collectable

 

[RacinRay]

I didn't know they had guns in San Francisco! Next they'll have Wal-mart.

 

[James Burleigh]

What ever you do DON'T change them in any way!!! Including trying to clean them up!

Shop the pics first until you have an idea what they're worth. If they're replicas then they might not be worth much. If they're real and are wartime, then that changes everything to a collector.

anything pre 1900 is collectable

Thanks, RT. In spite of Sac Mike's good intentions and detailed instructions regarding cleaning these up, I know better than to f**k with 'em, that is, to "fix" them.

BTW, my dad (the Annapolis civil engineer) could not resist firing off one of these babies in the fifties. I have a home movie of him loading one of these babies up and firing in over the ocean in San Pedro. Such a guy thing to do.... I do believe there was a string involved.

 

[redtail]

Such a guy thing to do.... I do believe there was a string involved.

As much as I like old guns, I like the string idea too!

By the way, nice bit of history there. Good luck finding the right way to go.

 

[Neil San Diego]

That rolling block looks like the real deal. Are you sure it's a replica? Any markings on the action other than already shown in your pictures? Here's some info I have on it in my library:

Joseph Rider redesigned the Remington-Geiger action in 1866 and created the Remington rolling block. Between 1870 and 1900, this gun was the official military arm of a large number of countries, and was also used by the U.S. Navy. It's a very stong action, and it's simplicity made it ideal for military use. The bolt action repeater ended its militay career, but Remington made a sporting rifle version of it up to 1933. It was chambered in several cartridges, including 50 U.S., 45 Danish, 43 Spanish, and 7X57.

My hunting buddy has an original Remington rolling block in 7X57, which I was told was the most common.

As far as the underhammer caplock rifle...wow!!! I've seen and handled a few underhammers, but I've never seen or heard of anything like this, although I'm still looking. Again, any markings on the action other that what you have already shown? How about caliber?

And I aggree with Redtail, don't "fix" them!!

Cool stuff Maynard!

 

[wfooshee]

As for fixing, once an expert has looked at them, they may tell you that a professional restoration would be worthwhile. Value X as is, Value Y if restored and shooting. If Y is way more than X + fixing, then find a guy to fix 'em.

Here endeth Captain Obvious's math lesson.

I'm pretty sure SacMike was expressing some mild sarcasm with his fix-up "advice."

The breech loader needs a stock, but some of the stampings are in the wood, so I don't know if you can replace the stock.

I'm glad I don't inherit cool stuff. Too many headaches and decisions. Besides, what I inherit splits 5 ways, so it dilutes rapidly.

 

[HYCLE]

Maybe this is one of them.

Gevar M67

 

[Bustanut joker]

I'd email Beemerdons or Old Michael.. Those old fukers no doubt used one of them while in service to the country.

 

[HYCLE]

I'd email Beemerdons or Old Michael.. Those old fukers no doubt used one of them while in service to the country.

I think they were experts in the area of potato peelers and dish washing equipment.

 

[beemerdons]

I'd email Beemerdons or Old Michael.. Those old fukers no doubt used one of them while in service to the country.

I think they were experts in the area of potato peelers and dish washing equipment.

Hi Barry and Mike, That is my rifle with my ammo pouch and coffee cup hanging off of it.

Hans, those rifles are real beauties; very nice that you have them in your Family History!

 

[James Burleigh]

Thank you all for your comments. I had pulled those rifles out of the very back of the closet under the stairs yesterday 'cause I needed to get through the floor trap door that leads to the crawl space under the house. And I figured I was finally gonna take some pics of the guns and get y'all's advice. Now they are stuffed way back in there again with all kindsa crap between them and the closet door. So, Neil SD I'm afraid I can't right now see if there are other markings.

Maybe this is one of them.

Gevar M67

Great link. Now I have to figure out if my Norge ancestors picked up a couple of Swedish rifles, or if Norway had the same gig. Hey, Mike, check that out for me, will ya...?

 

[HYCLE]

Thank you all for your comments. I had pulled those rifles out of the very back of the closet under the stairs yesterday 'cause I needed to get through the floor trap door that leads to the crawl space under the house. And I figured I was finally gonna take some pics of the guns and get y'all's advice. Now they are stuffed way back in there again with all kindsa crap between them and the closet door. So, Neil SD I'm afraid I can't right now see if there are other markings.

Maybe this is one of them.

Gevar M67

Great link. Now I have to figure out if my Norge ancestors picked up a couple of Swedish rifles, or if Norway had the same gig. Hey, Mike, check that out for me, will ya...?

No Problem.

Norway

On the very same day as Sweden, Norway adopted a similar rifle and ammunition.

Differences:

The Norwegian rifle was slightly longer (1358 mm), but it had the same length of the barrel as the Swedish rifle.

Different threads.

Different sights, graduated from 125 to 914 m.

Button retainer plate.

Butt plate in brass.

Only Sword bayonets (the 1860 Norwegian Sword bayonet with yataghan blade, originally for the Norwegian 1860 rifle).

Husqvarna manufactured 6 000 of the Norwegian rifles. As far as I know Kongsberg in Norway made all the rest (until 1876 they had manufactured 24 000 rifles).

 

[HYCLE]

Husqvarna manufactured 6 000 of the Norwegian rifles. As far as I know Kongsberg in Norway made all the rest (until 1876 they had manufactured 24 000 rifles

This may in fact be the rifle you have, indicated by the "Crowned K" mark above the "1874" stamp.

Looks like 24,000 were produced.

Google is my friend.

 

[James Burleigh]

There is another amusing family story about these rifles. When my father, Erik, was about 10 years old, he was taken back to Oslo, Norway, for the Christmas holidays. This would have been in the mid-1930s, before the war started (Norway was occupied by the Germans during the war).

At that time my father's grandfather (also Erik) was still alive, a very tall man with white hair, including a prominent handlebar mustache. He would have been about 80 at the time. Here's a photo from an oil portrait of him when he was a young man (born 1855; d. 1940).

One day my father was left with his grandfather Erik while the other adults went out for the afternoon. My father recalled of that day that Grampa Erik, who perhaps had a trace of what we now call dementia but what was then thought of as senility, produced an old rifle and some powder and ball. My dad, all amazement and anticipation, followed his grandfather out onto the second-floor balcony of the big old family house on Oslo Fjord. From there they proceeded to fire off round after round out into the fjord amid loud bangs and clouds of black powder smoke. Dad was having the best Christmas ever!

Eventually the other adults returned and quickly put an end to this Wild West show. But to my father's astonishment, it was he, the 10-year-old boy, who was soundly chastised for allowing Grampa to get into the rifles and fire them off the balcony. :lol:

BTW, the portrait above was originally a full-length portrait, with Erik standing in riding jodhpurs and holding a riding crop in his gloved hand. But the painting was just to unwieldy for the typical suburban home, so my dad cut it down to what you see above.

 

[James Burleigh]

Husqvarna manufactured 6 000 of the Norwegian rifles. As far as I know Kongsberg in Norway made all the rest (until 1876 they had manufactured 24 000 rifles

This may in fact be the rifle you have, indicated by the "Crowned K" mark above the "1874" stamp.

Looks like 24,000 were produced.

Google is my friend.

This is great, Mike. Thanks! I'll have to look into this "Google" thing....

 

[Patriot]

https://shop.cohenantiques.com/

the cohens family have a antique guns & swords store in the new orleans french quarter which is amazing

a definite must stop