This scoped rifle is definitely of the Civil War period.  As we all know, the first units of United States Sharpshooters from Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, etc. were armed with these civilian target rifles.  This gun is very easy to date.  The barrel is marked N. Lewis, Maker, Troy, NY.  This references the family of Nelson Lewis, who were gunsmiths at 84 Congress Street, Troy, New York from 1810 until 1861.  Nelson died in 1852 but his son carried on the business, apparently in his father's name, until 1861.  The gun is beautifully made with half octagon, half round barrel, patent breech, in about .43 caliber.  It has six groove rifling with a fast twist and the bore is quite nice.  The barrel actually retains most of the original brown finish.  It is iron mounted with a really solid, functional set trigger and crisp lock mechanism.  The wood is beautifully grained black walnut and has a crack in the wrist, which is stable.  If you study this gun closely, you realize it was actually made with this scope in mind and the scope is simply fabulous.  The scope tube is undented, with beautiful, clear, high magnification optics.  Even the cross hairs are still intact.   In short, the scope is functional.  Beyond that, there is a German silver plaque on top of the scope which is engraved William Malcolm, Syracuse, NY.  Now without question, William Malcolm was the single finest maker of optical scopes of the period.  His scopes are highly prized, even today.  The secret to dating this gun, is this scope.  William Malcolm worked in Utica, New York until 1859, when he moved to Syracuse, New York.  So, we have a gun that could not have been made later than 1861 and a scope that could not have been made earlier than 1859.  I would therefore deduce that this gun was made between 1859 and 1861.  That is just in time for the American Civil War.  Further, you will notice that this is not a bench rest target rifle.  It is made for field use or off-hand shooting.  It only weighs 12 1/2 pounds with the scope.  It was certainly made with mobility in mind.   SOLD!!