Original 17th Century Spanish Colonial Miquelet Lock Swivel Gun circa 1680 – 1700 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very hard to find early Wall or Swivel Gun used on a Ship’s Rail. It measures 55″ overall with a huge 39″ barrel with an INCH (25mm) Bore. The tang alone is 4″ in length and takes the tang screw from underneath near the trigger. It is very sturdily built, and together with the block weighs about 27 lbs. This gun was never designed for or had a trigger guard. The simple iron side plate houses two cross bolts to secure the bolt and a third to hold the side plate. It has a heavily all iron ram rod worked with some decoration.

The stock is almost to the barrel’s muzzle and curves down toward the rear ending in an iron butt plate. The barrel is octagonal for the first third of the barrel, with the rest going to the muzzle being round, a very common design, to give more strength to the chamber, while making the muzzle end lighter. The Miquelet lock is very large and very typical to late 17th century Spanish manufacture.

The Swivel Gun is mounted on a forged iron collar in the shape of a “Y”, which is permanently attached to the barrel. It is even mounted on a typical balk of timber, very much like a ship’s side rail of the day. Held in a New England Collection for many years, this has recently come to market. Looks like it was stored in a barn for many hears, so it is covered with pits.

Nevertheless, this is a working Ship’s or Fortress’s Wall or Swivel Gun dating back 320 plus years. Ready to display!

History of the Miquelet Lock:
Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators, largely in the English-speaking world, for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets
and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Balkans, North Africa, Ottoman Empire and throughout Spain’s colonies from the late 16th to the mid 19th centuries.

The term miquelet lock was not recorded until the 19th century, long after the appearance of the mechanism in the 16th century, and is of uncertain origin. One commonly held view is that it was coined by British troops in the Peninsular War to describe the style of musket used by the Miquelet (militia) that had been assigned to the Peninsular Army of the Duke of Wellington.

Specifications: 

Year of Manufacture: circa 1680 – 1700
Caliber: approx 25 mm – 1 inch
Ammunition Type: Powder and Ball or Shot
Overall Length: 55 inches
Barrel Length: 39 inches
Action: Miquelet Lock
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.