Is this legit?

[Team4LongGun]

Old timer friend has this ML. It is stamped “James Bown”

He would like to know if it’s authentic or a replica, and its approximate value.

 

[RockAndSage]

Old timer friend has this ML. It is stamped “James Bown”

He would like to know if it’s authentic or a replica, and its approximate value. View attachment 1007387View attachment 1007386

That lock looks like a Tryon-style lock, which is very uncommon - their spring is kinda "backwards" facing compared to other standard flint and percussion locks. The gun also does have a lot of patina, and things look pretty old. Just be aware that especially in the 1980s, there were some exceptional forgers out there leveraging the muzzleloader craze that emerged with Jeremiah Johnson, The Mountain Men, etc. But it's definitely interesting enough that it should be appraised by a legitimate expert, and considered a possible original until proven otherwise. Would love to see more detailed photos.

 

[RockAndSage]

Photos of screws, underside of barrel...those can be helpful in sussing out an original vs reproduction. That barrel band/front sight looking thing could be indicative of something as well, as I've never seen something quite like that before on any of the modern repros I've been around.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Photos of screws, underside of barrel...those can be helpful in sussing out an original vs reproduction. That barrel band/front sight looking thing could be indicative of something as well, as I've never seen something quite like that before on any of the modern repros I've been around.

He did tell me the front sight “shroud” was made by his uncle, along with the aluminum ram rod.
I’ll take more photos when I go back.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Everything about that screams “made in the last fifty years.”

The screws above the breach. The rear sight. The color of the brass. Etc.

 

[RockAndSage]

Everything about that screams “made in the last fifty years.”

The screws above the breach. The rear sight. The color of the brass. Etc.

What concerned me the most was what looks like aged lacquer on the stock in the close-up photo, rather than it being an oiled finish. Oiled would be more historically common. If it is a repro and wasn't artificially aged, somebody shot the absolute hell out of that in all sorts of conditions for a long time.

What gives me pause though, is that I've never seen a Tryon in that configuration, and I had a real thing for them when I was a kid competing with muzzleloaders. No kit guns or factory repros with that kind of a nosecap, or especially that severely hooked of a butt-plate - I've only seen that severe of a hook on the buttplate on originals. Plus, the nosecap looks pewter, while the rest of the furniture is brass - that's not something repros do. They're usually uniform in material, usually steel, or german silver, or brass.

It almost looks like a mishmash of styles and parts - possibly done by an enthusiast building their own rifle out of things they could find. Especially with mention of that front shroud having been done by the uncle, I'm starting to wonder if this isn't a homebrew gun of his from mid-20th century sometime.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I’d look in old Dixie Gun Works catalogues to find the parts kit(s) used.

I could, of course, be wrong about it. It might also just be an older rifle with some newer replacement parts. But the screw heads on top of the breach don’t look right to me from the angle shown in the picture. And that rear sight looks more like the one on my brother’s .45-caliber Pedersoli than any original one I have seen.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/70/344/james-bown-sons-pittsburg-marked-percussion-rifle

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Bowling Green Drummer- Bowling Green, KY

View our large selection of Civil War and Other Era Militia Items for Sale.

www.bowlinggreendrummer.com

 

[RockAndSage]

Bowling Green Drummer- Bowling Green, KY

View our large selection of Civil War and Other Era Militia Items for Sale.

www.bowlinggreendrummer.com

Now that's super interesting - brass furniture but some sort of a pewter-colored nose cap. The forestocks of both are also strangely short in the same way. This just gets more and more interesting...

 

[RockAndSage]

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/70/344/james-bown-sons-pittsburg-marked-percussion-rifle

The Bown marking on this one's barrel is in the same place as the one in the original post - a lot of differences, obviously, but that's notable.