DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,585
- 6,754
Sweet, TD. That has to be a ton of fun, made all the more interesting by your own work. What calibre? Give us a few details about the work.
Your best looking rifles?
- Thread starter FOTIS
- Start date
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
It's a .45 cal. the barrel is a Douglas XX air guage the stock is curlly maple from the Md. eastern shore. The stock was a semi shaped full length blank from Death Winds which is no longer in business. The pewter nose cap was cast directly onto the fore arm and has no screws holding it in place. All of the iron furniture was hand cut and fitted. The lock is from Dixie Gun works. It was all cast and had to hand fit and finall shape all the parts.
The under rib on the barrel is held on by screws with the ram rod pipes sweated over the screws to hide them. The barrel and all of the furniture was browned in the old school slow rust method. I made several trips to Williamsburg Va. to study and learn from the Master Smithonian gun smiths who build period muzzle loaders in the old method by hand. I also had a gun smith friend coach me along the way but left me do all the work myself.
It is a replica of an 1840s southern mountain cap lock rifle and mistaken for an original 1840s rifle.
My signature is hand engraved on the top flat of the barrel by a master engraver. It took four months to build working on it in my spare time. Everything was done by hand and no power tools were used in the construction. Hand drills,files,chiseles,glass,steel wool and sand paper were used to shape sand and polish the stock.
It was a labor of love, I put my heart and sole into it.
I used this for target shooting and it would place three shots in a clover leaf that would touch each other.
I also hunted squirrel, deer and mountain Grouse with it. Head shots with this rifle were normally taken and if you did your part with a steady hold it would never fail me. :grin:
The under rib on the barrel is held on by screws with the ram rod pipes sweated over the screws to hide them. The barrel and all of the furniture was browned in the old school slow rust method. I made several trips to Williamsburg Va. to study and learn from the Master Smithonian gun smiths who build period muzzle loaders in the old method by hand. I also had a gun smith friend coach me along the way but left me do all the work myself.
It is a replica of an 1840s southern mountain cap lock rifle and mistaken for an original 1840s rifle.
My signature is hand engraved on the top flat of the barrel by a master engraver. It took four months to build working on it in my spare time. Everything was done by hand and no power tools were used in the construction. Hand drills,files,chiseles,glass,steel wool and sand paper were used to shape sand and polish the stock.
It was a labor of love, I put my heart and sole into it.
I used this for target shooting and it would place three shots in a clover leaf that would touch each other.
I also hunted squirrel, deer and mountain Grouse with it. Head shots with this rifle were normally taken and if you did your part with a steady hold it would never fail me. :grin:
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,585
- 6,754
That rifle would be truly fun to play with. Congratulations on what is obviously a labour of love that reveals your will to turn out a great replica.
- Thread starter
- #64
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,502
- 3,688
truck driver":10kda7l2 said:
Nice I like it!
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
Thanks Dr Mike and Fotis I was alot younger then and didn't think of taking pictures along the way when building it in the 1980s. Today I wish I had to add to the history of the build.
Shooting it was like steping back in time when a person only had one gun and used it for everthing.
It was alot of fun and still is when I get the time to do it.
Shooting it was like steping back in time when a person only had one gun and used it for everthing.
It was alot of fun and still is when I get the time to do it.
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
Here's a few more pics from different angles.
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
more pics
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
more pics
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
more
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
more
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,585
- 6,754
The maple makes it truly a handsome rifle. One has to be impressed with that work. Thanks for sharing, TD.
Rigbymauser
Handloader
- Nov 3, 2012
- 496
- 0
My compliments Truck driver :grin: .
Beautiful rifle. I met one down in Alabama who have done his own squirrel rifle in .32cal. Looong slim barrel. ..just like yours.
there was a 45 min long You Tube video with a gunsmith doing a frontsuffing rifle. He did EVERYTHING from the making of the barrel, to action, lock....you name it. The link to the YOU TUBE seems now to be missing.
Thanks for sharing TD let us know how it shoots..
J.
Beautiful rifle. I met one down in Alabama who have done his own squirrel rifle in .32cal. Looong slim barrel. ..just like yours.
there was a 45 min long You Tube video with a gunsmith doing a frontsuffing rifle. He did EVERYTHING from the making of the barrel, to action, lock....you name it. The link to the YOU TUBE seems now to be missing.
Thanks for sharing TD let us know how it shoots..
J.
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,393
- 1,060
Rigby
It was built back in the 1980s when I was younger and had alot of desire to have something special and a one of a kind. I did alot of research before I decided on what I wanted. Everyone was building Hawkins from kits made by Thomson Center and I wanted something that I had built comepletely and not from a kit.
I built several kits for other people before I built my one special rifle. It will shoot cloverleaf 3 shot groups at 50yds which I regulated the sights for which is under 1 inch out side to out side.
Thanks for all the compliments from everyone.
It was built back in the 1980s when I was younger and had alot of desire to have something special and a one of a kind. I did alot of research before I decided on what I wanted. Everyone was building Hawkins from kits made by Thomson Center and I wanted something that I had built comepletely and not from a kit.
I built several kits for other people before I built my one special rifle. It will shoot cloverleaf 3 shot groups at 50yds which I regulated the sights for which is under 1 inch out side to out side.
Thanks for all the compliments from everyone.
nvbroncrider
Handloader
- Aug 20, 2011
- 3,085
- 4
Mine has to be my 6.5 Swede in a M70. But my 280AI has a lot of sentimental value to it and it looks pretty good as well!
- Thread starter
- #77
- Oct 30, 2004
- 24,502
- 3,688
Nice ones there.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 7
Nice!
