1851/1841 Cadet musket repairs, search for original owner/builder

[John Westenberger]

Hello,

I recently picked up a Cadet musket on Gunbroker from a shop out west. All they would tell me was "They picked it up from a gunsmith back east", and no more. The work that has been done to it screams it was, or was intended to be, a skirmishers gun. Hoping to find who this may have belonged to. Here's what has been done to it:

Splice in side of butt
Spliced at middle barrel band
Potential barrel stretch (not relined?), does have a bayonet lug
Polished to the moon and back
1853 lock, 1844 barrel
Missing forward trigger guard screw, as well as the swivel
It included a cut down original rammer, as well as a bayonet that does not match the buttplate number.

Hoping to find out who did the work so I can figure out if the barrel was stretched, by who and how, because there was a large burr between the nose band and middle band that I have taken mostly out with a flex hone, but it could be weld, so in that case I'd need to reline it. The woodwork was done expertly. It's all done by the book and blended almost perfectly. Really, really well done. There is no exterior indications of it being welded, but better safe than sorry.

[John Bly]

With the 1844 dated barrel it would be an 1841 cadet. The 1853 dated lock is wrong if that is the case. The 1841 can be identified by the smaller breech which is only 1.050" wide versus the 1851 breech which is 1.100" wide. The trigger bow on the 1841 is much larger than the 1851 and the trigger bar is longer in front of the trigger bow by about 1/4". The buttplate and bands are the same. The 1841 lock is different in that it is the same as the Mississippi lock with a different hammer. The 1841 hammer is slightly smaller than the 1851 hammer with a straight back to the thumb spur. The 1851 lock is the same as the 1847 series of musketoons and while they resemble the Mississippi lock they are different and parts will not interchange. The lock inlet on your cadet will have been modified to accomodate the cadet mainspring. If the bayonet lug on your barrel is soldered on instead of brazed that would be a clue that it is a stretched barrel. The only one stretching barrels that I know of is Bobby Hoyt.

I sold a restored 1841 cadet several years ago but it had the correct lock and was not polished but had a period correct patina.

[John Westenberger]

With the 1844 dated barrel it would be an 1841 cadet. The 1853 dated lock is wrong if that is the case. The 1841 can be identified by the smaller breech which is only 1.050" wide versus the 1851 breech which is 1.100" wide. The trigger bow on the 1841 is much larger than the 1851 and the trigger bar is longer in front of the trigger bow by about 1/4". The buttplate and bands are the same. The 1841 lock is different in that it is the same as the Mississippi lock with a different hammer. The 1841 hammer is slightly smaller than the 1851 hammer with a straight back to the thumb spur. The 1851 lock is the same as the 1847 series of musketoons and while they resemble the Mississippi lock they are different and parts will not interchange. The lock inlet on your cadet will have been modified to accomodate the cadet mainspring. If the bayonet lug on your barrel is soldered on instead of brazed that would be a clue that it is a stretched barrel. The only one stretching barrels that I know of is Bobby Hoyt.

I sold a restored 1841 cadet several years ago but it had the correct lock and was not polished but had a period correct patina.

John,

I know Hoyt is the only one stretching barrels, but as John Holland put it, "Bobby Hoyt is one of the best general welders I have seen and even he won't lengthen a barrel like that, unless he also installs one of his one piece liners"

My thought process is that it wouldn't have a burr if it was lined, and I don't see any evidence of that at the muzzle. This leads me to believe it's either a weld of unknown quality from an unknown source, or it is just a burr and I am being overly apprehensive. But I went at it with a flex hone for at least an hour, and it's not completely gone. That give you an idea of how big that burr was.

I'll have to take a look at the bayonet lug. That's a very good point about braze vs solder. I will say it did include a bayonet that fits like a glove. I'll have to do some digging online to find the difference between the 41 and 51 cadet bayonets to identify which it is.