Percussion Miquelet Lock Fowler by Antonio Garcia (AS28)

Percussion Miquelet Lock Fowler by Antonio Garcia. Dated 1830. Antonio was the son of Francisco Garcia, Madrid gunmaker circa 178801793. The overall length is approximately 52½”. The 37½ocatgon to round .70 caliber barrel has a fair smooth bore. The barrel has decorative gold inlay at the front sight. Wedding band area, and approximately 7½” of the breech area. The barrel tang is engraved and has some gold inlay. The lock has decorative engraving and gold inlay. Its is marked “Garcia” and “1830” in gold. The hammer is engraved and has an animal head/fantasy creature. The trigger guard has floral engraving with traces of gold inlay. Interestingly, the bottom of the frizzen spring is chiseled and gold inlaid, the metal has an overall smooth brown patina with light pitting around the bolster. The stock is fair with missing wood toward the muzzle and along the barrel and a couple of repairable cracks. The butt has a brown felt/velvet covering tacked over it. The action functions correctly. This is a good example of a very high quality Spanish percussion fowler at an affordable price. Some good wood repairs could easily make this gun worth several hundred dollars more.