Guns International #: 102284114
Seller's Inventory #: 228533

Category - Antique Rifles - Percussion - Single Shot Rifles - English

Category
Antique Rifles - Percussion
Single Shot Rifles - English

Antique British THOMAS TURNER .451 Cal. TARGET/PRECISION Rifle Birmingham VERY SCARCE Percussion LONG RANGE RIFLE

Description:
Antique British THOMAS TURNER .451 Cal. TARGET/PRECISION Rifle Birmingham 

VERY SCARCE Percussion LONG RANGE RIFLE

Here we present an antique Thomas Turner Rifle manufactured circa 1859-1862 in Birmingham, England. Thomas Turner (1834-1890) was a 19th Century gunsmith between 1861 and 1879 who lived and worked in Birmingham, then the epicenter of the gun trade. He was a prolific manufacturer of Volunteer rifles in the 1859-1862 period, as well as being known for his "non-fouling" rifling patent, and producing some of the most desirable match rifles of the time. Part of this desirability may have stemmed from the fact that Turner appears to have often produced match grade rifles with little to no embellishment, making them accessible to the average "working man" or that his patented rifling is rumored to have fired 2,500 consecutive shots without cleaning or fouling. This example is very much a "working man's" rifle as it is simple in its style with the Turner patent marking on the barrel and the lock marked with the 8 Fisher St. Turner address.

His “small-bore” (.451) rifles were very popular into the mid-1860s, rivaled only by the Whitworth and the Kerr rifles. Turner in his own right was a good marksman and often competed at the Wimbledon and provincial rifle matches. In addition to running his own firm, he was a major shareholder in Birmingham Small Arms (BSA). His firm produced both military and civilian match and sporting rifles and is said to have produced many of the trials rifles for the British government.

Turner’s guns included standard Enfield-pattern military rifles in the standard .577 caliber, as well as match and sporting rifles in the “small bore”.451 caliber. These were derived from Joseph Whitworth’s innovations, which showed that a longer bullet of smaller caliber gave much better long-range performance than the short, fat Minié bullet of equivalent weight. However, since Whitworth had patented his distinctive hex-bore rifling, other makers were forced to come up with their own systems. In Turner’s case this was a distinctive 5-groove progressive depth rifling. He claimed would never foul and in fact there were many testimonials to its accuracy and efficiency. There is no question that Turner’s system was extremely accurate, and his rifles were regular visitors to the winner’s circle.

The Turner Rifle was without question used during the American Civil War as a sharpshooter’s rifle. There is no question that some Turners were used by the Confederacy, however those found so far with genuine CS markings are all of standard military configuration in .577 caliber, and some do have target sights. Thus far no small bore Turner Rifles with actual CS markings have turned up, although this doesn’t mean they weren’t used. Sharpshooter rifles were not always marked with all the standard markings. Period descriptions were often very vague. Had someone been handed this rifle in 1863, they might have described it as a “small bore Enfield.” Confederate records show many of these, but since Enfield never made anything other than the standard .577, they were almost certainly some sort of match/target rifle like the Turner, Kerr, and others, all of which were quite similar in appearance to each other and to the military .577 Enfields.

This piece has been modified. The barrel-mounted rear sight was removed and the stock shortened. A rear peep has been installed at the top of the wrist of the stock. The front sight is the fine bead on post hooded sight. A figured piece of wood was attached as a fore end cap and around the barrel pin. This rifle has some modest engraving around the ends of the screws and on the screw heads.

The overall condition is good. Gray patina. The action is excellent. The bore is in fair shape and would improve with some serious cleaning. Good rifling. The stock has been modified as stated above and is solid.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel is 33 inches.
Caliber: .451 Percussion
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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ancestryguns
$1600
#228533
 

SOLD

Antique: Yes