John,From the photos of your punt gun[A Breech loading Stanchion Gun] one can see that it dose not feature the sliding breech design patented by Tolley.
The breeching is similar in design to that invented by;
Captain G.Gould,Mr Henry Holland and Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey.[Perhaps Britains most famous wildfowler and punt gunner]. Ultimately this design was patented and made by Messrs, Holland of Bond Street.A detailed drawing of this gun is found on page 484 of Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey,s book,"Letters to Young Shooters",Third series,published in 1896.
The Black powder proof mark seen in the photo is of Birmingham origin.The mark is indistinct and could well be a Ketland proof mark. If this was the case,it could indicate the possible conversion of a barrel from A muzzle loading gun to breech loading.
On the side of the action away from the cocking lever there appears to be some worn engraving.Could this be a makers name or patent number?
One interesting feature of the gun is the use of a buttress thread on the breech plug. This type of thread is not seen in the drawings of the patent gun refered to earlier.
Should you ever wish to build a punt, design details are to be found in Sir Ralphs book.
Last edited by Roy Hebbes; 03/11/11 12:03 AM.
