The rifle that I have before me to get shooting again is not a cartridge rifle but rather a ML target rifle made by John Howie of St. Johnsville New York. It was made about the early 1860s. It appears to me that the maker may have been heavily influenced by Morgan James of Utica NY who was located less than 25 miles away. This rifle is in very good condition inside and out. It sports a George Harris full length scope and has a great false muzzle. The barrel is very heavy with a bore of .445, and a groove dia. of .465. The twist rate is 1 turn in 30" of travel. I believe that this would tell us that the rifle was made to shoot picket bullets or as they were sometimes called sugar loaf bullets. The problem is that no bullet mold was found with the rifle. If there is anyone out there who could tell me where I could buy about 100 picket type bullets of the proper dia. it would be a great help. The rifle is truly in outstanding condition. I have used a bore scope to check the interior of the barrel and it looks outstanding.

Find a copy of New York State Firearms Trade Volume 2 by H. J. Swiney, it has a short article on John Howe of St Johnsville NY 1859-74. Found no Howie in the book but in the past names sometimes changed over time.
Cheers,
Laurie

I'll see if I can fin a copy of H.J. Swiney's book. The spelling of Howie maybe my mistake or the owners, it is more than likely Howe. Thanks for the information. Sendaro.