Antique Shotgun Identification

[mmaengineer]

Im looking for someone who may be able to identify this gun. I was given it by my grandfather who said it was found by friends in a cave down in Virginia. It has a 40" barrel. The words "W. CHANCE & SON" are engraved on the side plate. Also on the barrel is "LONDON (FINE?) TWIST" View photos of it here

 

[DucksOnThePond]

under these forums there is a category Skunkworks and a forum Harley Nolden's Institute for Firearm Research. post your thread under that one and you may get quicker answer. looks and sounds as if gun is pretty old. nice looking gun. would be interested to know about it so hope you can find out and post back. they didn't find any bones next to the old gun did they?

 

[Dave McC]

It's a percussion fowler ca 1820 to 1860. Not for shooting with that twist barrel. Hang it on the wall and admire it.

Also, it's probably still loaded.

 

[johnbt]

"W. Chance & Son of Birmingham, England, a firm that made thousands of Northwest guns for the western Indian trade, also produced quantities of belt pistols with silver inlays (Hanson 1960b:159-160)."

- www.nps.gov/voya/history/thingsleftbehind/Chap 5 Artifact Study.htm

This is all I've found so far. What part of Virginia was it found in?

John