15 DAYS AGO A LOCAL FOUND THIS ANCIENT MUZZLELOADER STUFFED IN A HOLLOW TREE ALONG THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER NEAR GLENDIVE, MONTANA. IT IS APPROX. 160 YEARS OLD. IN FANTASTIC CONDITION, PROBABLY DUE TO BEING COVERED WITH BEAR OR BUFFALO GREASE AND STUFFED IN A HOLLOW LOG! WOW! WHAT A FIND! SURE WOULD BE FUN TO KNOW ABOUT THE OWNER AND THE STORY OF THE GUN AND HOW IT CAME TO BE STASHED THERE AND NEVER RETRIEVED.

Holy macaroni - that's an unbelievable find!

I haven't met any of you...so I can't make a reference to this being anyone's brother, cousin, uncle, etc....YET.

Dude looks like he's seen a few highway miles though - kinda like Alice Cooper with welding goggles?

Holy Smokes! I'll bet that it was from one of the "Mountain Men"

If that musket could talk........

Bet it's taken down a Griz and Wolf or two in it's day. I've floated the Yellowstone lots fly fishing - would have been crazy to stopped by that Cottonwood for some shade and made that discovery. Makes you wonder what might be under you own feet while out on the ponds. I guess a section of Blue River Trail or Mormom Trail goes through a section of my land. I'll bet there are some amazing artifacts buried that had to be sacrificed from the ox and wagon on the way out west.

Who else would be looking inside trees?

Perfect CB1!

Nice rifle. All they need now is a coon skin hat

Doesn't everybody have one of those?

Here's ours:








It is an 1864 Springfield that was owned by my wife's great grandfather, who used it in the Civil War.

that's super cool.

I second that...Catmandoo - judging from his uniform, he was a SGT for the Confederacy?

What an interesting find... Even more interesting is the location, had it been in an area where a Civil War battle was fought, it might not be so crazy, but along the Yellow Stone! Wow!!! I love muzzleloaders. Something fun about shooting them, especially the flintlocks! I think a brown bess is probably one of the funnest guns I have ever shot. Isn't accurate at all, but sure flings a lot of lead!

Way cool story.Glad you posted that.

I just finished reading a book about the Mountain Men and early trappers. Due to the uncertainty of conditions, they often cached their pelts and other important gear for later retrieval. Since it was covered with "preservatives", I expect it was cached and couldn't be retrieved. Since it was a valuable item, there was probably a good reason why it was left there.

A bullet the back of the head of the owner may be a good reason it was never retrieved... Perhaps a grizzly attack?

"It is a good rifle, and killt the bear that killt me."

Spelling and grammar weren't Hatchet Jack's strong suits.

Thanks for posting, Cecil. Very cool, as is the family heirloom from catmandoo. Both of those "stories" sure make you stop and think back to how different things were at that point in time.

Thats a Britsh 1853 musket

Which one?

The one thats a british 1853 musket,of coarse.

I'm betting on the one found in Yellowstone.

This for the panty hose remark?

No, he was actually a French Canadian who moved to Mt. Kisco, NY. I suspect that the reason it looks like a Confederate uniform is because of the original photo. I believe it to be a calotype which has become relatively faded. When I scanned it, I tried to enhance the contrast, and this is the result. My father-in-law still has journals and letters written by him.

Yep, I've got 2 69cal rifled muskets that look just like that,shape of the stock,hammer,sideplate,triggerguard,etc.Makes a nice hole in a deer at 50yds. One of them is stamped 1844 on the stock.

You didn't specify which one was British. That's all I asked. I'm ignorant when it comes to guns although I own a few.

Cecil, I've been wondering the same thing. Is Cat's gun the Brit or the one found in the tree?

Top one is the British Enfield 1853, it was used by both north and south during the civil war.

The plate on mine is marked "1864 U.S. Springfield." On the opposite side are the words "Excelsior Camp 01" stamped into the wood. This was for New York's 70th Regiment Infantry, 1st Excelsior, where my wife's great grandfather served.

Both are definitely cool

Absolutely!

I just heard on the news there may be an 1830's steam locomotive in an abandoned railroad tunnel under Brooklyn, New York. That would be cool too!

Careful guys, let's not go political on this.

How so Dave?

That stuff was already deleted, Cecil. You had nothing to do with it.

I see. I was scratching my head trying to figure out how an old musket could be political.

Could you PM me what it was? I'm curious what transpired.

Done.

Got it.

Why is it my posts always go political even if I don't post anything political?

Cecil, I think you must give off some kind of anti-establishment aura.

Cecil: See what you're teaching me!!!!

That's O.K. Theo. I'm finding out where the quicksand is.

Dang and I didn't even think my post was remotely political... Oh well!

Hey guys, don't keep getting Cecil in trouble. I foresee this fun and interesting thread being frozen or eliminated if you keep pushing the limits.

Well, it might all be for naught. I posted this on a gun forum I belong to and they pretty much poo-pood(can I say that?) the story and the rifle, saying that it is a Nepalese copy of an Enfield which was never used here...last year a load of the old Nepalese rifles were brought to the states by IMA.

Now that sounds like a more realistic story... Sad some people will lie just to get a little fame.

I had it sent to me by a customer via email. It wouldn't be the first time a hoax email made its rounds.

You found my gun I lost !! I wish