My first boomstick

blue lander

blue lander

Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
1,386
Just won the auction for this guy. It's a moukala from Morocco. Probably 19th century. The mechanism is a "snaphaunce" which was a precursor to the flintlock. Apparently this design stayed popular in North Africa until relatively recently.
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The locals mostly use them these day for "Fantasia" which is this thing they do where charge on horseback and shoot their guns in the air. So most newer moukalas are just noisemakers, not designed to actually shoot a bullet at anything. Mine looks old enough that it might have been a usable weapon.
[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=27PEwSRgvD0[/video]

The lock doesn't appear to fit the stock so it must have been a repair/replacement.
 
Definitely way high on the COOL factor. Will be fun to check out when it arrives.
 
Oh yes, I'm looking forward to playing with this bad boy. I'm curious to see what's holding the lock in place. The screw holes don't seem to match with the stock. I wonder if somebody just slapped a spare lock into a spare stock as a wall hanger
 
I bet our resident wise one in all things muzzle stuffer will be able to help with some insight.

You mirror my thoughts (that's kind of scary huh?) in that from the photo I can't really tell either.

Definitely be fun to explore and figure out and maybe sort out.
 
Very cool! He He! Guess they can only get one shot off and they gotta stop and restuff. Must be all kinds of heck trying to reload a muzzle loader on the run? Cool find blue:thumbup: I figured camels would be more prevalent than horses over there? Hmmm?
 
Mr. Bookie. He still lives in the age of black powder and smoke poles. Never moved on to smokeless.

I think he's living in a time warp.
 
Well he's more advanced than I am, that's for sure. I spend most my days smashing two rocks togeather, trying to create fire.
 
Thank you, Bawanna for the Recommendation. Shades of the old French Foreign Legion TV show! Blue, it appears that you have a nice gun. I won't say wall hanger--yet. The lock appears to be one that was still available for purchase here in the US until the mid to late 1970s and they looked quite like a snaphaunce until you got up close. I actually hope it is because I have not seen any of those particular locks (and they were actually old back then) not function. I have dealt with guns from Morocco to Afghanistan and most of them have one thing in common: parts made from inadequate metals. The arms usually look quite nice and acceptable and most of them have had good gun making skills used on them, but the metallurgy sucks. In fact, I have one such built rifle leaning against this desk as I type. I had one of these guns like yours (we always called them camel guns) hanging in my shop for 20 some years until just recently. I do hope your bad boy is safe to shoot. They're a blast. My website: well, one of them: www.toadhallrifleshop.com.
 
I'm not gonna lie - I have been thinking about shooting this thing. I do wonder, would it be cheaper to have the barrel checked out or just simply replace the barrel? Or install a barrel liner?

The stock reminds me a lot of the M1903 I had in military school - worn smooth and shiny from decades of sweaty teenagers drilling with it. To me that means this guy was used quite a bit, so hopefully everything is in working order.
 
I'm not going to lie either, but don't bet one red cent that your gun is going to be old or original! Not trying to rain on your parade, but I've seen dozens of "old" rifles from Eastern countries that are bogus. Some actually shoot pretty well. Here is a link for you to read to give you a little bit of an idea of what I'm talking about. http://www.armscollectors.com/darra/afghanold.htm

Regardless, the gun is real or not, it is worth keeping. I would have the barrel examined, the breech and vent system examined very closely, too. I must do these very inspections for a fellow this coming Thursday night. As for my personal interest in this old gun, I really hope it can be shot. It'd have to be a blast--no pun intended.
 
Looks like a functional piece to me. Look for a flash hole inside the bore... shine a light into the lock and look down the bore. Try and see if you can see light. It looks functional to me... Its a fine example and a nice piece of history. I wouldn't fire it until you really inspect the bore and lock. I would only put a 1/4 charge in there to see if things hold up. You are probably better off not firing it even if it is capable of firing a projectile.
 
The seller says the it's late 19th century but we all know not to trust seller's descriptions. I don't think it's *too* modern because newer ones are usually more ornately decorated. I just don't understand how anybody could have fired it in it's current configuration. What's holding the lock into the stock?
 
Blue, when you get the gun, post a pic of the side opposite of the lock and a pic of the inside of the lock. From past experiences, you may need a beefier spring to make it reliable. Will not be on the forum much the next few days because of giving another barrel forging seminar and associated crafts, but am looking forward to your findings. I love those butts!
 
Thanks for your advice! I wouldn't expect it to arrive for another week or two anyway. Here's another auction picture, it shows a bit of the reverse of the lock.
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Blue, thanks for the pic. Just speculation on my part, but from certain details, I'm starting to believe this may have originally been a matchlock and converted to the North African "snaphaunce"--which may have never been totally completed. You will notice that the entire area from the tang rearward, in profile, is quite reminiscence of an English matchlock. The thumb groove on the wrist adds much credence to this "theory". This could indicate your rifle is older than thought= $$$. Known fact that matchlocks were used in North Africa into the 1800s and stories are out there of a matchlock or two were used against Italians during WWII.
 
The whole lock assembly looks like it's been replaced with something else. It was never intended to be that way originally which also supports your theory. Still extremely cool regardless but the fit of the lock set up could never have been that way originally.
 
Interesting theory! The stock seems to be sized for a larger lock, are matchlocks usually larger than flintlocks?

I'm only into this thing about $160 even after shipping so unless it shows up in pieces or is made out of plastic, I think it was a good buy :)
 
You did alright, I'm sure. Matchlocks were quite differently shaped for the most part, but the fancier the gun, the fancier the lock plate.
 
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