Jay Vining

Thank you Piers, some fine looking guns you have there too. My bore is about 17mm at the muzzle tapering to about 12mm for the rest of the barrels length. I'm happy to know it's an Sakai gun because my wife's mother is from Osaka. So it's not only something I would like to shoot, it's also a cultural as well as an art piece. Jay

Thanks Piers, From reading that page you have provided, I see that it is rare for the front of the barrel to have a wider diameter that the rest of the bore. I assume for easier loading. My example has that characteristic too. I have provided the assembled photo of my gun. From what you have seen, is it possible to tell if it could have been a military gun or for a private individual such as a sporting gun? Thanks, Jay

Thanks again Piers, It's a little like peeling back the layers of an onion. I want to add that the holes for the mekugi pins seemed to line up pretty good. I made some tapered pins from brass rod to put it all together. I didn't have luck removing the bison, just didn't want to damage anything. I'll add pictures as I move along. Jay

I've added some new pictures, there seem to be some characters on the bottom of the pan cover and noting that the pin is solid. Also a detailed shot of the poppy at the barrel muzzle. This is all very interesting and great background for my new Teppo. Thanks, Jay

Thank you, Piers for the quick response. There is nothing left of the bamboo pins when removing the barrel but everything seemed to line up. I will know for sure when it all gets put together. Hopefully I will have collected some updated pictures too. Thanks again, the info on the Mei is much appreciated.

Hello, I'm brand new to the forum and I am interested about learning more about my newest addition to my collection. Most of my collection are antique European fire arms. This is my first matchlock. It seems to be complete and functional however the bore is pretty bad at the moment. The barrel is 106 cm long with a bore of about 11.9mm with a poppy muzzle. The stock is in decent shape with some cracks but stable. I got it all apart to clean up and to check to see if it is signed under the barrel. I'm also trying to get the bison out gently and address the rust under the stock. A translation of the Mei would be much appreciated. So far I have the following pictures. Thank you, Jay