Billinghurst .50 underhammer target rifle

[W. Brown]

Is the false muzzle flycut for a round patch or does it have slots cut in the end to accommodate paper strip patches? If it does not have the latter, or is flat, it is probably a picket rifle. It is my understanding very few (maybe none) William Billinghurst rifles were made as slug rifles proper, but I have seen more than a few that were recut/tooled for use with the longer paper patched bullets at a later time. Old Friendship (NMLRA) shooters recut a good many slug rifles with slower twists /deeper grooves to use with patched round balls, destroying the historical accuracy of many fine old guns.