Cadet Smoothbore?

[Joe Heatwole 8174v]

Hello. I hope someone can help me. I bought this at the antique arms show Saturday. It appears to be a cadet. The dimensions are the same as an 1851 cadet. The nose cap will fit the 1851 I have. Stand the 1851 and this gun together and except for the lock you can't tell the difference. The lock appears to be an 1842 dated 1847. There are no markings on the barrel except a XXII on the under side of the barrel. The lock plate, trigger guard, butt plate and inside the barrel channel have the same marking. There is a 22 and a 49 stamped in the bottom of the stock. Can anyone shed some light on what this might be? Sorry about the size of the pictures. I have not posted pictures before and couldn't reduce the size.

Thank you

[BADSHOT]

If I understand you correctly, the gun is identical to your 1851 cadet except for the lock? I think the lock is from a 1847 Musketoon as they are almost identical., hope this helps answer your concern.

**** One other thought- they did make a 1841 Cadet, that I am not Familiar with, but I believe that model only had lock dates of 1844 & 1845?

[BADSHOT]

Here is a 1847 Cavalry Musketoon next to a 1851 Cadet-12079

[John Bly]

I examined this item at the show and there are several differences. The band springs are wider and flatter than Springfield springs. The side plate is odd in that it is set at an odd angle and seems shaped differently. The bolster is slightly larger than the Springfield Cadet. The front band is different, the smaller front part is shorter and the full size part is longer than the Springfield. The hammer is shaped different than a Cadet or 1841 rifle or 1847 Musketoon. The barrel, stock and lock are all marked with that XXII. It is definitely old, not a new reproduction. Perhaps it was made up by a private Armory for a military school.

[Joe Heatwole 8174v]

I removed the lock from my 1851 and both locks will fit either gun with just some minor fitting. This appears to be an 1847 musketoon lock. The front band fits nicely on the 1851 but is loose on the other gun. The front band off the 1851 fits tightly on this gun. I still am not sure what it is. I will be at the earlybird skirmish and bring it with me. Maybe someone there can tell me what it is.

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

I would like to see more pictures. Please take some of the empty lock mortise. Are there proofs on the barrel? Some other things I note: The lock date isn't correct. The barrel does not fit correctly to the lock plate. the bolsters back flange is too thick. The L shaped plate should not be cocked. Things are cocked and moved to make the odd looking hammer strike correctly. I believe it has been restocked, or it is one of a few I have heard of made outside the U.S. many many moons ago. It is a puzzle.

[Joe Heatwole 8174v]

I would like to see more pictures. Please take some of the empty lock mortise. Are there proofs on the barrel? Some other things I note: The lock date isn't correct. The barrel does not fit correctly to the lock plate. the bolsters back flange is too thick. The L shaped plate should not be cocked. Things are cocked and moved to make the odd looking hammer strike correctly. I believe it has been restocked, or it is one of a few I have heard of made outside the U.S. many many moons ago. It is a puzzle.

I have contacted John Holland about this gun. He is not sure what it is either. At this point, I'm going to rebarrel it with an approved barrel, replace lock plate with a repro 1851 cadet lock plate for now and do whatever stock work needs done to make it legal to shoot N-SSA smoothbore matches. Thank everyone for their help.