A French Model 1842 percussion musket made at Tulle in 1844, .69 caliber, with a 40.5-inch round barrel that was rifled; the grooves are faint now but can still be found. Years of use have turned the steel a dark brown-grey, yet the arsenal stamps are still crisp and easy to read. On the tang is the word OHIO, a state ownership stamp: the federal government bought these French muskets before the Civil War and handed out something like 25,000 of them to the states.

The wood grades very good overall with the knocks you would expect from a gun that saw service, the lock works and holds at full cock, and a socket bayonet comes with it. Guns like this one filled the gaps in American arsenals early in the war. A South Carolina collector of Civil War longarms will see the appeal; it is sold as an antique for the cabinet, not as a muzzleloader for the October primitive-weapons days in the Upstate.

Key features

• .69 caliber percussion musket, Tulle Arsenal 1844
• 40.5-inch round rifled barrel, faint rifling
• Tang marked OHIO
• Socket bayonet included
• Action functional, holds full cock

Ships to a licensed South Carolina dealer for pickup after the federal check.