Chinese Matchlock Rifle from the Early 1700's
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This is a very rare Chinese Matchlock rifle from the early 1700's has an octagonal barrel with original parts and pistol style lock, wrapped with hammered copper. It is approximately .50 caliber. The copper wrapping is missing in some parts but the gun is in good condition for such a well-used weapon.
The matchlock is generally a very long rifle and it is considered to be the earliest ancestor of the modern hand held weapons. It uses a method similar to that of a cannon to propel a piece of metal (lead ball or pieces of glass, nails etc.) out of the muzzle. The term matchlock refers to the gun type itself, but also to the mechanism that distinguishes the gun from the lengthy-to-load hand cannon. The gun was equipped with a special locking mechanism that would hold a lit fuse. When the trigger of the gun was pulled, the mechanism would bring the fuse down into the guns flash pan where gun powder was held, igniting it with enough force to propel the metal in the gun's chamber towards the target.
Dimensions: Length 58 inches, Width 2 /1/4 inches