I finally picked myself up a cape-gun (last night
). I’ve been wanting one for a long time, but they have been out of my budget. I ended up swapping a semi auto 12 gauge and some cash for this old girl that I hope to bring back to life for the autumn hunts when deer, and birds are in season at the same time.
Left barrel is 12 gauge. Right is 38-55 which will companion nicely with a 38-55 lever gun that I inherited from my wife’s dad.
She has some checkering on the stock and hammers, but nothing fancy. No in-lay. No engraving.
She needs just a little work, but nothing major. The blue is a bit worn. She’s missing a rear site, a latch spring, and needs some sanding to remove lightly carved artwork on the butt-stock (deer on one side and bird on the other). The rifling is decent and the lock is tight. No pitting.
Seems odd to me that the forward trigger fires the left barrel (smoothbore), and the rear trigger fires the right (rifled). I guess the maker figured that you’ll jump small game and birds ore often than big game.
She is marked “H. Pieper patented April 23, 1881 Belgium” there is a number behind the trigger guard that I can only imagine is a serial number But 170,xxx seems awfully high for a serialized 19th century cape gun.
It was in Vermont for two generations. I bought it from a fellow who picked it up at a yard sale. The former owner said that it had belonged to his father and that “The last thing he shot with it was a black bear.”
Makes me wonder what else this old girl has done.
