doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Open Sights on E.Bond

Miller,

You may be correct. I can not imagine trying to regulate 2 barrels out to 1,000 yards or beyond. That is if each of those segements on the rib represent 100 yards.

Pete

That's impossible, Miller, 'cause all open or optic sights on DR are allways regulated for one of the barrels, usually left one, only. The second barrel could only cross the first barrel at some distance 100-200 yards for example.

I don't know how the marks on the barrel could be used as yardage for the point of impact as they all appear to be equally spaced. The projectile would drop much faster as the range increased and the velocity decreased, the marks would have to be farther apart to compensate. I believe it must have something to do with a range finder of some sort. Maybe shoots mortars or harpoons. There would have to be a level of some kind to be used as a range finder.
Rich

the escutcheon decorated with the burning basket on top of a raised post with a ladder looks like an old military Signal Corps type of insignia.

The sliding raised sight used as some form of a rangefinder system also seems to make sense.

JMHO

If Naval, could be used to fire a line over to another ship.

I think it is some kind of a blind (like a tree stand) at the top of the pole. A blind would make more sense with the boar. The "flames" are leaves, similar to what is in front of the boar.

Or a crows nest like on a ship. Although its a poor example of either one. Could be used like a spirit level. The vertical line on the sight could could be used to keep the barrels level. like a plumb line. This thing could keep one up all knight trying to figure it out. Interesting. Rich

The engraving on the shield is very poor. Notice how the lines for the border are overrun, mismatched, etc.



I flipped it around. It appears to me to be a hunter's high stand with branches around the top to hide the hunter. Perhaps even the gun sticking out of the left side of the stand. Certainly does not seem to be the same hand that engraved the top rib. From what little I was able to find on the net, E. Bond was active around 1780 or so. Which means this was originally a flintlock? Does anyone know if the firm continued until the mid 1800's?

Pete

Piper don't you think it might be hard to regulate the left barrel to any distance with a sight that's not centered over it. Ever saw a side mounted scope on a 94 Winchester ?

The engraving of the hog looks peculiar to me. I think it obvious the engraving of the hog and the shield was not done by the maker.

The gun is a 'plane Jane' with some fancy rib engraving.

I still don't see a stand....I see a fire in a basket and on the 'tool box' on the butt stock I see a strange looking hOg.

I think you are looking at a long range 'boar rifle', one built to be shot from the stand depicted. The stand probably had a locus some distance from the woods or perhaps in a quite large meadow surrounded by forest. I agree that the sight may be a type of range finder, in that the projectiles striking point from the stand was probably known for each graduation through testing. It would be most interesting to learn who commissioned the rifle. It looks like E. Bond had regulated, or at least built the sight blades to be filed to 400 yards. I expect there was some serious trial and error shooting taking place before it was used for long range boar shooting from the stand, but that the owner did just that. This of course is speculation on my part, but looking at the rifle its hard to come to any other conclusion.

The fences are as nicely done as any I've seen for function, lovely simple execution. Looking at how the action is chiseled, I think it unlikely that it was ever a flintlock.

Long range rifle game shooting has always been an area of interest & I think the person who commissioned this rifle had the property, the means and the interest to seriously pursue it. Just my thots.