Does anyone recognise this?

After 2 years of cancer, surgeries and chemo, I'm finally healthy again and able to detect again. Even bought a Nox 800 to celebrate! Anyway, I got to hunt a property where the house was built in 1840. I found this brass piece that got my curiosity going. The patina makes me think it has some reasonable age.


I labeled a pic so it's easier to describe although it's pure guess work on my part as to "top, bottom etc". The "tab" on top could be a pivot point or a mounting point with a screw, nail or pin. I lean toward mounting point because the "decorative ridges and grooves" (as I call them) only go around the bottom half of the tubular part, as if the upper half of the tube was inlaid into something or not readily seen. I drew a cross section of the "tang". The upper side is flat while the lower side is rounded. It looks like a screw hole in the tang where it broke. The piece is kinda hefty... weighs almost an ounce. Being brass (I scratched it with the shovel) and having those ridges and grooves along with it's weight makes me think it had a function but was supposed to still be good looking. The tube has a hole through it that's about 1/4" diameter and the tube flares slightly at the tang end. It's hard to see on the pics but the tube walls are thicker at the tang end than the other.


I know one of you will come up with an ID. I've seen some unbelievable IDs made here. My mind keeps telling me it's black powder gun related like a ram rod holder …. but then, I'm not sure how much I trust my mind! And it would be a small caliber...like .25. I'm curious what we'll come up with. Thanks for the help in advance.