re: Older 1911

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Anyone have a 1700s or 1800s musket?

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Yes, I have 2, found in the basement of the family homestead in Pennsylvania. Family moved there in 1804, however I’m not sure how old the guns are. They’re in terrible condition and covered in rust so I can’t see any info that might be engraved on them. Still cool to have though. They’re real bare-bones guns. No fancy metalwork, no gilding.

Planning to buy a new flintlock rifle to hunt deer on that farm, like my ancestors may have done. Although, for all I know, all the deer in that area may have been hunted out before 1804, and they may have used those guns for some other purpose (defense? War?). My great grandfather made it on to the front page of the local newspaper when he was a kid because he saw a deer on the farm. It was the first deer seen in that county in more than 100 years. Of course, when people read about it, their reaction was “I gotta go kill that thing!”, which just cracks me up. Luckily for us today, this country has come a long way in understanding wildlife management.