John Meunier migrated from Germany and settled in Milwaukee about 1857. By 1867 he had set up a shop and a home for himself and his two brothers, Herman and Joseph. John used factory made castings for his cast iron trigger guard and butt plates. They were similar to those used by August Hurfurth and George Spangler. Thus, it is possible that he was selling castings to other gunsmiths. He made a successful transition to breech loading cartridge rifles by customizing heavy Ballard Schuetzen rifles. John was noted as a "crack shot" of his day. He died in 1919 and his business was continued under his son-in-law, John Traudt. A. O. Niedner, a close friend of John's, once owned one of the most ornate percussion rifles made by John. That rifle was the winner of the Centennial Exposition in 1876. The John Meunier percussion rifles tend to be in the .39 to .46 caliber and weighted from 13 1/2 to 18 lbs.

This particular rifle weighs 13 3/4 pounds, has a 31 1/2 inch long barrel which is 1.170 across the flats at the breech and 1.085 at the muzzle. Bore is approximately .388 and groove .400.