"Dog-lock" Infantry Musket

Dateca.1660-1670

MediumWood, iron and steel

DimensionsOL: 59" Barrel: 45" x .80 caliber

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1992-57

DescriptionDoglock musket with plain, painted full stock. Barrel has a moulding where the octagonal breech transitions into round, with a prominent front site set back slightly from the muzzle. Breech end has a real sight. Plain, flat doglock with a horizontally acting sear and lobed finial to the end of the lockplate behind the dog. Triggerguard, buttplate and single rammer pipe are all of sheet iron. There is no sideplate or triggerplate.
Label TextTechnological advances improved upon the English lock, resulting a mechanism called a “doglock,” named for the substantial safety catch behind the cock. Although the performance of these early doglocks was better than their predecessors, there was still a tendency for accidental firings to happen, due to mechanical weaknesses – and they could “go off half-cocked” if the dog wasn’t engaged. This musket carries the initials of Francis Luttrell of Dunster Castle, Somerset, struck into the stock and barrel. Luttrell, then a militia officer, kept dozens of similar muskets in the castle’s Armoury, where they remained until the mid-20th century.
MarkingsStock and breech are marked "FL," for Francis Luttrell. The latter is also marked with a "G" below what appears to be a pair of shears.
ProvenanceFrom the Luttrell armoury, Dunster Castle, Somerset.
Ex collection; Lawrence V. Bowly

Exhibition(s)