The encyclopedia · Reference
Identification guides
Working notes on telling an original from a reproduction, and one variant from another, across flintlock, percussion, and early cartridge arms. Butch handles these parts daily; what he confirms carries his name on it.
The publication standard
Nothing published yet
The reference material is drafted and sourced, and none of it is published yet. When it is, every guide says plainly whether Butch Schoeller has checked it against parts in hand or it rests on the cited sources alone. Most of what currently ranks for these searches is guesswork written by people who have never handled the part; a guide that does not say which it is would just add to it.
Every entry carries its sources so you can check them yourself. How verification works