Good thing we have guys like this to figure all this stuff out for us.

This was just an absolutely splendid video to watch, I am a huge black powder and firearm enthusiast. I wish I could listen to Mr. Nelson speak for hours and hours.. surely there must be some way we can preserve the knowledge of gentleman like Mr. Nelson so that it can be enjoyed and cherished for decades to come. Thank you for uploading this video you guys, I really enjoyed it.

What an extraordinary story! Thank you, sir, for taking the time to make this journey and share it with us.

Enjoyed your video. The average person has no interest in history or the past. However, all of us now walk in the footsteps and upon the graves of many men and women who are long forgotten.

@larryreese6146

Жыл бұрын

Heard a fellow make a pretty intelligent remark. He said, "History repeats itself. It has to. Nobody is listening."

Well done. Well done. I am happy that there are people out there that appreciate history and it's physical artifacts and the story they can tell. As an amateur historian I give you and all like you a hearty thank you. oh and your reproduction flintlock is a marvel to look at.

Outstanding story, outstanding presentation! Thank you very much!

I was fascinated by your research and findings and it was a nice touch to see what the original artifact may have looked like when it was carried over 200 years ago.

A wonderful story Ray! Thanks for sharing.

So sad that he feels the need to remind folks of how important history really is. Great presentation!

I enjoyed this video. Thank you. Happy New Year.

The Fur Trade era was my area of specialty when I was training as an archaeologist at the U of MN. Minnesota figured prominently in the history of the fur trade in North America. For those interested in this time period, the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska is a fascinating place to visit.

Excellent historical information very interesting and detailed.

Great educational lesson

Thankfully we have this video! It’s a capsule of information that tells an interesting , entertaining story .

Amazing, bravo!

Thank you! That was very entertaining and informative, not to mention a great video! 😃👍👍

This video is a work of art in itself

This was a fantastic watch! I admire all you have learned and how well you have put it all together. Our history is so valuable and is not appreciated with the respect it should have!. I truly wish that more people who have this knowledge and relics were able to gather all their info and record it for all to see and through a source that would help it be available to all those who appreciate and would like to understand the history that many are willing to let be forgotten, so they could pass it on. Like your are. Thank you

This was a really fascinating well done program.

Thank you for the work you put into this much appreciated 👍

I went to the Boundary Waters, in 2004 kept hoping to see something like this, Excellent!

Thanks, that was very interesting

This is really cool! I love the possible scenarios that you painted. It could have been from a burial, which could have been a combat-related death. Very cool! I love the copy you made….looks authentic…not too glossy or flashy like some reproductions out there. Nice detective work and good job on the rifle!

Great presentation

Thank you for the research you put in to this, I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.

Fascinating. Thanks for a great presentation. All the way through I was tying the story with flashes of The Revenant.. and here we have an actual artifact from that place and time.

Fascinating , I enjoyed your presentation. I learned quite a bit , Thank You

Thank you Sir For your time and knowledge presenting this very interesting session,I love learning about the history of firearms .

Thanks for the video I found it interesting and informative. You have definitely put lots of time searching for history of that rifle. Keep up the good work 👍

Fascinating

Back in the fifties we used to go to the museum in Mankato. We were very young my brother and me 5..6 years old. We were fascinated.. they would let my mother play the old pump organ for us. I have an original old sharps 1862. Untouched by time.

I stumbled across this video, but it was fantastic!

Very good video of the Frontier forefathers and the weapons we had at that time awesome

Good video thanks.

He dug very deep. What else could he say. We can only speculate as to what it was. I think he did a great job

The time taken to make a gun of this nature is enormous which makes me wonder how many gunsmiths thier were in order to meet the demand n the cost to..just a different time n place..

I love this video very good video and the detective work that she did was amazing research thank you for sharing

Vacationed just north this area since I was very young. Special place and thick with history if you bother to look. Source of the Mississippi.

...The "Ermatinger Old Stone House" is a historic structure in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.....just 50 miles or so north of Fort Michilimackinac ...

The boundary lines between the Ojibwa and the Sioux were always fuzzy, even into the 1800s there was a section of Wisconsin on the western border that was a type of No Mans Land, neither tribe occupied the land but both used it for hunting. The parcel extended from the river to near Knapp, WI and went south to near Pepin and Plum City. Not exactly sure how far north it extended but it was used by both tribes as the elk and deer were plentiful.

very kool

Plot twist: Owners name and history is in patch box.

Four minutes in and Im sold. Blokes got one Warwick Farm, knows about Guns of this type, ran the Dam for 30 years, I trust him 1000%. Why is this man not President of the USA?

Out standing!! Bruce M. Frazer

The amount of gun builders back in the 1700s are mind boggling. I started to research building my own flintlock for hunting and just in my home area of Eastern Pennsylvania they were numerous.

Neat!

As the fur trade moved westward to the less densely wooded areas and as game was depleted the rifle became more practical and would begin to rise in demand where in the earlier times the cheaper more versatile smooth bore would have been the more preferred. I think this relic is a unique example of this transitional period. Well done! As a side note, I have no way of confirming this but over 50 years ago while serving in the Army I was told this by a friend of mine. He said that he was full blooded Ojibwa of the western most band of their nation and was born and raised on the reservation. One day the conversation of a few of us drifted to the importance of the rifle during the American Revolution. He said that part of his band’s oral heritage was, shall we say, the convincing of the Dakota that they would be happier on the western side of the Mississippi. He said beside his people being the far superior warriors they had access to rifles. This being several years before the Revolution. Me being from Michigan and familiar with the history of the upper Midwest I had my doubts, now, not so much.

@PaulaXism

2 жыл бұрын

I came across something related in an Aquachigger video last summer. He went to the actual location where George Washington triggered the war with the French. You might find that interesting. He has also done some hunting for the locations of forts from the Revolutionary War. All in all fascinating and educational. The history most people just don't stumble across by accident.

@jackdelvo2702

2 жыл бұрын

@@PaulaXism I want to thank you for directing me to aquachigger’s channel. I can foresee many pleasant hours of viewing. While information does not cure curiosity it does go a long way to lowering the fever.

@browngreen933

Жыл бұрын

The Ojibwe being in contact with the French had earlier access to firearms than the Dakotah, but they were probably smoothbore, not rifles.

I wish I could find someone like you to go over a rifle I inherited from my dad, my grandpa bought a old hospital in sleepy eye Minnesota for his funeral home. He found a rifle that looked very similar to this one but under the floor boards in the attic, it's in great condition. My dad did research on it in high school and came to the conclusion it's from around 1750s. Harpers ferry?

Loved the video. Ever have it carbon 14 dated?

I am always interested in anything historical. I wonder if genetic analysis of the wood would bear any fruit. I have heard of it being done on old boats found around the world.

We were taring down a house on our farm that dated beck to before the civil war and before that a log cabin belonging to the family that founded our county stood in the under the floor there was a place built in big enough for 2 rifles one was a 78 caliber side by side flintlock it was in bad shape but was all there we cleaned it up best we could it had all French writing and solid gold in lay on hammers and barrel and trigger we found a date and it was 1689 ! Other was a 50 caliber flint lock

With Pressure Trace I hope you will revisit the 25.4 grains of Varmint in the MK262 series. Just for curiosity.

Royal tiger imports would be selling that rifle as fair to excellent condition. 5000 dollars.

i built custom muzzle loaders for 20yr. i think this is gun that was built to meet a customer likings. or a parts gun made up of spare parts from other guns. a very common practice on the frontier. i have seen a lot of this type of thing out here in the west.

@PaulaXism

2 жыл бұрын

I also think very specific order specifications. The Indians would have had preferences.. no doubt price would also be a factor so keep it simple. Minimal engraving etc. Another thing I notice historians seem to overlook is the physical stature of the native peoples.. Asiatic by heritage so slightly smaller compared to European standards would suit them I would guess.. I learned a lot from this film about the history of the region. I thought at one point we were going to arrive at "This gun belonged to such a person and he broke it on such a date".. sadly not.. My deduction from available information which was presented... Most likely part of the mentioned shipment of 16 German "special order" rifles and buried with it's owner sometime between 1780-1820 having given years of reliable service.

The rifle stock you are referring to I believe is a Indian trade gun from London England I had one about 20 years ago I didn’t realize really what it was I sold it for $600

Is it not also possible, that the gun could have been broken while being used as a club in battle, after ammunition ran out, or they simply didn’t have time to reload? The broken part could have flown some distance from where the skirmish took place, with the one who threw the blow, being left with only the other end left, later discarded as useless.

Today I have learned a lot about the prehistory and the beginning of the start of the British/Indian war against the colonists which was not very well documented. British were also were buying any colonist scalps after 1775 and organized and promoted joint raiding parties in the summer when furs were not able to be trapped just like the French did and maybe more.

This gun looks like it was made in or near Christian's Spring, Pa., based on the stock contour. Also I've seen a few European guns, including a blunderbuss, with this basic stock profile.

You mention a trader by the name of Edward Chen. We would generally assume that surname to be associated with a person of East Asian ancestry - if so, that would be a fascinating story also.

without knowing what kind of wood it is, it would be very hard to place manufacture location. It is entirely possible this gun was stocked later in the colonies from parts coming off another broken much earlier rifle. This would account for the stylistic mix. The lock appears to have been converted from flint to percussion at some point in its life. Hard to say for sure. Cool old piece and nice video.

TL:DR - In the 1850's a Scandinavian brought a 100 year old gun to Minnesota. It was a one-off, like many other one offs. It might have been used by someone famous- but probably not. it's a PIECE OF HISTORY because it's old and we can only guess at it's history, if any. It's in no way significant because it's an undocumented one-off but don't let that influence you- PIECE OF HISTORY because HISTORY is REALLY IMPORTANT.

Stock looks like a Kentucky long rifle

@jasonbarnes3188

2 жыл бұрын

No the butt is to wide it was definitely not a Kentucky/Pennsylvania long rifle. It has a musket stock like a Brown Bess musket. They were smooth bore much more like a modern shotgun than a rifle.

Interesting analysis but, and this is big, there was no hard and fast rules as these were made pretty much none at a time and had huge variations in shape, dimensions. Only generalalities can be reached.

Discounting Scandinavian models due to the 1850ish paradigm may be too soon based off if indeed a rifle, immigrants may have still used one and lost it mid-century 1800's. How many of us in MN today have at least one working 80 year old rifle? Truly appreciate the funerary aspect, it adds up, however, speculate that thin stock would snap when breaking off the barrel. Just thoughts here as I want more closure on the origin, lol

Have you x-rayed it to see if anything is in the patch box? Maybe a round ball that might tell you what caliber it is.

15 minutes in, I'm still calling a Lancaster from Lancaster PA Edit: 43 minutes in and I'm amazed, this guy probably figured out who ordered the rifle from where and who it was sold to, then how it got to the place it was found! I wouldn't doubt this guy finds the name of the Indian, then finds his currency living descendants lol, I'm impressed to say the least. I figured in the start, he was just being long winded but man I'm glad I watched it all.

One more point. It's either a rifle, or a smoothbore. No such thing as a rifles smooothbore, that's an oxymoron. By definition, if there is rifling in the bore, it's a rifle.

From My understanding firearms in the 1700's were produced by individuals, each with their own artistic idea, and not so much an evolutionary process. Guns were made one by one for the most part and each was unique to a certain degree. My guess, not having finished the video yet, that this was a custom gun which was not uncommon in those days.

Been about 13 minutes before 6 for a very, long, time Ray...

@oni_goroshi

6 ай бұрын

The clock isn't broken, time just goes very, very, very, very, very slowly when Ray talks.

put an acog on it

It almost looks like a squirrel gun.

If original owner capsized a boat or fell through ice I wonder what else is there.

Looks like it was in a fire and based off personal experience, family heirlooms damaged, go in lakes and rivers, not the garbage can.

Why would anyone want to through that piece away?

How can we be sure that Ray is an expert on black powder rifles unless he tells us how he blew his hand off?

@MrRufusjax

Жыл бұрын

Measure your powder carefully.

Possiable German Jagar Trade Rifle ???

@billbartley3007

2 жыл бұрын

Possibly German, my sense is it is probably French.

Might as well throw it away

Didn’t know Muslims had rifles

The screeching, horrid music that sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. The bad lighting so that we can't see what he's trying to show us. The gratuitous shot changes every 3 seconds. The unscripted, unedited hour long presentation that could have been condensed into 30 minutes. The beyond extreme closeups of Ray's nose hairs... Bravo, PBS! Brah-vo!

"This is a French piece that dates to 1740... and I've DRAWN ON IT.." Why would he draw on an actual artifact with marker? Even washable marker.. Ya lost me there.

@patrickbachman2184

Жыл бұрын

There is a caption that states,the butt plate is a replica,not original.

@oni_goroshi

6 ай бұрын

You really thought that buttplate was original, didn't you? Wow.

ITS A FRANKENSTEIN RIFLE .

Wow Ray takes a good long time to get to any kind of point. Not great.

So you spoke 59 minutes with out saying anything. What kind of gun is it? Geez. And you made a copy that isn't really a copy. Unbelievable

@williamkurzenberger4607

2 жыл бұрын

I know what you mean. I think that he was trying to educate "the totally uninitiated." In that context, I won't be critical. However, if one tries to do a forensic copy of something, then make a copy based on the physical evidence that's present! Otherwise, viewers can merely state, "Nice gun."

@privateassman8839

Жыл бұрын

These documentaries are meant to be informative to the average person, not the gun enthusiast. Also, given the condition of the firearm, I find it hard to believe anyone could identify its make and model. He explains the lack of information at 3:19. The "copy" he made wasn't meant to be an exact copy of the evidence. He made a "historically influenced reproduction" so that the museum would have a showpiece, and didn't throw away the original.

@steveroush8650

Жыл бұрын

He has given you more information in that time than you ever gotten in reading books 📕! 😡

@MNTRIG

Жыл бұрын

Lmao you spent all that time typing this comment but didn't say anything. Clearly, didn't watch it, or you failed to comprehend what was being taught. Your questions and complaint of a historically accurate reproduction were covered very thoroughly. Unbelievable.

@russellgiles4644

Жыл бұрын

I wunder hy he lost his hand

So the oldest gun in Minnesota is German. haha

Your too long winded.

@smibsid7646

2 жыл бұрын

You're