There are many muzzle loader, but nothing like this.

its a flintlock Jägerbüchse

made by Malherbe Brother's in Liege maybe between 1800 and 1813

sometimes someone cut this numbers into the stock

the rifle have a bayonet stud on the right side but the "bayonet was a "Hirschfänger" rifle sword.

the "Hirschfänger" deer sword was the insignia and pride of the deer legitimate hunter.
it may have looked similar like this ones

the octagonal barrel have seven grooves

a 16,0mm ball falls into the muzzle

a 16,5mm ball seems not to fill the grooves completly so its maybe a +/- 17,0mm groove diameter

a standing and a folding leaf

SO WHAT MAKES THIS RIFLE SO SPECIAL

its on the barrel

in gold you find " AUS DEM FREIHEITSKRIEGE 1813 u. 1814 GOTTFRIED DIETTGEN FREIWILLIGER RHEIN. JÄGER" - from the Freedom War 1813 and 1814, Gottfried Diettgen Voluntary Rhineland Jäger"

what was a "Freiwilliger" or voluntary Jäger?
maybe we have to start with the Jäger units founded by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia in 1744. these units were formed by Forester/Hunter - this was ONE profession in this time - who came into the military for serving to get a appointment into the state forest's after period of service.
these Jäger were different from the common line infantery in many ways. they dont had a parade drill but hunting hound's with them, give signals with hunting horn's and every man had his own private rifle he was geting a compensation for use it.
in the american independence war german Jäger units were probably the best the british had.

in the napoleonic war of 1813/1814 there were many units of of so called "Freiwillige Jäger" formed from all over germany. these young man paid for theirs own rifle and uniform and fight like the regular Jäger units with the short flintlock jäger rifle.

from the point of view of the regular army many of this units were a little bit chaotic like the Lützower Jäger

other like this Mecklenburger Jäger may have been well dressed if we believe the artist Richard Knötel

a young man leaving his family for going to the Jäger

its interesting to compare the 1800 made flintlock muzzle loader with the M 1860 prussian Dreyse fusilier rifle. you see that the rifle model of 1860 have allmost the same design vocabulary like the old flintlock muzzle loader. this rifle is much longer but only because of the bolt action. barrel length of the dreyse is 75 cmm and of the flintlock 72 cm.
so the Dreyse rifle is one of the missing links between the muzzle loader and the modern bolt action rifle. the other missing link is the french chassepot needle fire bolt action rifle.
the real bolt action as we know it starts with mauser model of 1871.

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