Tschertner in Rakovitz

[twomoons]

Our local gun show was this weekend and I was the only fellow with Muzzleloaders, real muzzleloaders on the table so when a fellow from a neighboring town wanted to trade off a muzzleloader I got the gun shown here.

This is a nominal 12 bore s/s shotgun in percussion made in Rakovitz prior to 1875. The gun is highly figured walnut and the evgraving is chisled some in relief. The Maker J Tschertner has not been identified yet. I cleaned the gun and honed out the bores and put on some new nipples and it is ready to hunt with.

The best part is... after i got the gun the fellow came back with a tin box 8x10x4". With a lock on the front. I thought it was a coin box, but no It's a complete shooters kit that was brought over with the gun. Included in the box were tools to reload pinfire 16 Ga. shells and caps and primers from I would guess the 1880's. The neatest item in the box was the horn and ivory powder measure, that may have been supplied with the gun.

Yes Bounce I had too, I worked on it all night last night and all day today. The stock is fixed and the bores are in good shape one more polish and they will be as nice as your little 20. I still need to make a rame rod as the original is too valuable to take a chance on breaking.

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[twomoons]

Here is the powder measure.

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[Jack]

Nice!
Twomoons, looking at the picture, that looks like 'in Rakonitz' on the side plate. Which, is meaningless to me, but, Wikipedia says: "is a town in the western part of the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic located between the cities of Prague and Plzeň."
Rakonitz is the German spelling for Rakovnik (Czech).
Don't know if that helps at all.

[Bill]

Very nice.

[bounce]

I think it found home, as in Bohemian it means Rako [crazy] nitz [kid]



Realy i am guessing,lol.

[twomoons]

The work and the name Rakonitz indicates that the gun maker was a german speaker as that's the German usage. The town is about 15 miles from Prague. The workmanship on the gun is pure germanic with the horn grip and the chisled engraving. The sok wood really is that nice all the way through and the repaired toe of the stock does not show at all now. The gun is cylinder in both tubes but is FIRES ok and with a slip on pad it is going to be long enough to use. 75 grains of FFg and 1 Oz. of shot.

Here is a picture of the loading box or shooters kit that came with the gun. The left compartment with the wire handle is a slide out powder container, and the right compartments are... lidded shot, and no lids the wads with room for the measure and other acessories in the center. As I sort it out I think the box deserves a full restoration, new hinges and a key and re finished.

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[Jack]

That box is probably rarer than the gun! I'd restore it, too.

[deputydon]

I might have to stop over.....

[bounce]

Gee that box would have ben great back when we were holding shoots for the Boy Scouts.