1861 Bridesberg Resurrection

[Capnball]

Very cool stuff @Capnball ! I can't wait until I hit the cosmic lottery and find/get gifted a cool old rifle like that! Its amazing that it was sitting there, and was discovered by someone who had the skills to get that dog hunting again. Looks great!

I was an automobile mechanic then a construction carpenter for most of my adult life. The skills I learned in both trades came to bare heavily during the build. I also spent a few years in the army so my attention to detail was actually very helpful but far and away the most help I got was from other gun owners/builders so in a way this is paying it forward a bit. Thanks for looking at it!

 

[hawkeye2]

R. A. (Bobby) Hoyt
Freischutz Shop
2379 Mt. Hope Rd.
Fairfield, PA 17320-9756

No phone, no e-mail, no website. If you call do it early in the morning and just keep trying till he answers or you can just package the barrel with a letter telling him what you want. He knows CW barrels and can lengthen or shorten them if needed while he's lining them. He claims the 1 in 60" twist which is faster than the original is his most accurate mini barrel. He has done 6 barrels for me over the years including lengthening 2 Springfield barrels.

 

[Capnball]

That's great Hawkeye, I'll look you up next time I'm in your neck of the woods. Maybe we can bust some caps!

 

[hawkeye2]

Great, we can do it on the N-SSA home range, Ft. Shenandoah.

 

[Capnball]

I'd like that very much. I have a reproduction Tower boarding pistol (rock lock) I'm going to freshen up over the winter. Maybe it'll be ready in the spring and I'll see if Hoyt can bring the Bridesberg up to snuff with a barrel liner.

 

[Heelerau]

You have done a great job of recovering a rifled musket that would have been in danger of finishing up being junked, well done !

 

[Capnball]

You have done a great job of recovering a rifled musket that would have been in danger of finishing up being junked, well done !

Thanks for the kind words Heelerau, that's exactly what I was hoping to achieve. I wasn't trying to build a museum piece, I really wanted to shoot it and preserve it's place in history. I have no intention of ever selling it. I hope to maintain it's present condition for the rest of my life and leave it to my son. I have an older relic on the wall in my office I may return to a more presentable condition. The gun is 99% all there so it wouldn't involve anything like this restoration. I think it would be more of a preservation, with a good cleaning and the repairs of some damage from years of sitting in a shed.
Stay tuned!

 

[Baxter]

Capnball, excellent work and thank you for showing it to us. Your efforts and skills are admired!

 

[Capnball]

Thank you Baxter. I did wrestle with even posting the build originally. I did have one guy tell me I destroyed the real history of the gun by essentially erasing the part of the guns life while it was "sporterized". I argued that the gun was basically rendered worthless by that conversion and proof of that, was that it ended up in the back of somebody's shed to slowly rot away. Further I argued that the "sympathetic restoration" I performed on the weapon was just as much a part of the weapons history as the act of sporterizing it. Since then the vast majority of the people who have seen the weapon in this article and first hand and a few who have fired it, have given it very high marks. For that I'm grateful.
Neil

 

[Baxter]

Thank you Baxter. I did wrestle with even posting the build originally. I did have one guy tell me I destroyed the real history of the gun by essentially erasing the part of the guns life while it was "sporterized". I argued that the gun was basically rendered worthless by that conversion and proof of that, was that it ended up in the back of somebody's shed to slowly rot away. Further I argued that the "sympathetic restoration" I performed on the weapon was just as much a part of the weapons history as the act of sporterizing it. Since then the vast majority of the people who have seen the weapon in this article and first hand and a few who have fired it, have given it very high marks. For that I'm grateful.
Neil

I absolutely agree with your remarks, Neil. That is a fine photograph! The rifle looks magnificent. You are, by the photo, much younger than I had assumed you to be - and that is good, you have many years ahead of you to just get better than you already are - and you are very good at this now. I envy young people who have such talent.
Congratulations and please keep us posted on your work(s).

 

[Capnball]

LOL, Thank you, you're too kind. Actually that's my youngest son. He's almost 30. He fired the second shot out of the gun. I fired the first after powder proofing the gun with over powder wads and increasing powder loads from 20 grains to 60 grains of FFg. Only then did I fire a ball from it. When I was sure it was safe, I let my son fire it. I'm 61 and I spent my life working as a mechanic, a carpenter and s soldier. In my head in still 30 but in my mirror I'm older. My son is a geologist but he's great with his hands to. Had he not become an academic, I'm sure he'd be as good at this stuff as I am.

 

[Baxter]

LOL, Thank you, you're too kind. Actually that's my youngest son. He's almost 30. He fired the second shot out of the gun. I fired the first after powder proofing the gun with over powder wads and increasing powder loads from 20 grains to 60 grains of FFg. Only then did I fire a ball from it. When I was sure it was safe, I let my son fire it. I'm 61 and I spent my life working as a mechanic, a carpenter and s soldier. In my head in still 30 but in my mirror I'm older. My son is a geologist but he's great with his hands to. Had he not become an academic, I'm sure he'd be as good at this stuff as I am.

Well..he's a good-looking lad, certainly favors the lad in front of him.
As soon as I posted, I thought "He looks very young for having so much life-experience!"
My youngest son is also a geologist, out in ID.
Geologists should be flintlock fans, I think.
Best regards to father and to son.

 

[Capnball]

I think you're right about him being a flintlock fan. Maybe I'll find a good candidate for a restoration for him at some point. Actually my older son favors me more and my younger son favors my wife but they swapped dispositions. The girl is my older sons wife.

 

[hawkeye2]

Thank you Baxter. I did wrestle with even posting the build originally. I did have one guy tell me I destroyed the real history of the gun by essentially erasing the part of the guns life while it was "sporterized". I argued that the gun was basically rendered worthless by that conversion and proof of that, was that it ended up in the back of somebody's shed to slowly rot away. Further I argued that the "sympathetic restoration" I performed on the weapon was just as much a part of the weapons history as the act of sporterizing it. Since then the vast majority of the people who have seen the weapon in this article and first hand and a few who have fired it, have given it very high marks. For that I'm grateful.
Neil

I support what you have done and your reasons for doing it. As a cutdown it had almost no value and there is no interest in them whatsoever except for those who only want an "old gun" to hang on the wall. Their only history is as a cheap working tool and as soon as something better became affordable they were discarded. I have a mint "Bannerman" shotgun with one of the rarer lockplates and clear inspectors marks on the stock and all the barrel markings. Because of it's exceptional condition I will leave it as is but if it were average I wouldn't think twice about returning it to shooting condition as a 2 band Springfield and indeed I'm doing just that to one. As far as shooting them my wife and I both shoot original Springfields as their quality and reliability far exceeds anything you can buy from Italy and with all that use they are still worth more than we paid for them.

There are those out there who believe we should never shoot an original firearm and with the exception of very rare and valuable guns or those with very delicate mechanisms I am in total disagreement with them. Guns were made to be used and with care and good cleaning they won't be damaged nor will their value both historical and monetary be diminished. I take pride in having quite a number of plain guns as well as some rarer ones too repaired and returned to safe shooting condition so that I and future generations can enjoy them even when the cost of the repairs may have equaled or exceeded the current finished gun's value. As far as those repairs hurting the value or destroying the history I regard them as no different than rebuilding the engine or repairing rust on a '65 Mustang. Everything that is used is subject to wear and will need repairs to keep it functional.

 

[Baxter]

I think you're right about him being a flintlock fan. Maybe I'll find a good candidate for a restoration for him at some point. Actually my older son favors me more and my younger son favors my wife but they swapped dispositions. The girl is my older sons wife.

I do see the similarity. Lovely family which appears happy. Thank you.
I hate family photos which have me in them, I am not at all photogenic!
The kepi, beard, jacket and the rifle would make a superb larger photo or portrait. It is a true "keeper".

 

[Capnball]

Thank you, we are happy to a fault. My son Tommy doesn't take a bad photo but neither does his mother

 

[Heelerau]

I think as this rifle was in such a poor state, no historical provenance in a sense, so doing this sort of refurbishment is fine. I do understand why you felt cautious about posting this project as some could be critical.
I wake a lot of old muzzle loaders up after their oft times long sleep and some collectors would be horrified at that too. I like the statement you have made about the old girl going down the generations in your family.
I have one of those too that I hope will do the same thing and go down the generations.

 

[Capnball]

Make it so Heeleru, make it so!

 

[TNBandit]

Very cool. I found a rust removal method that is very useful if you have time to let it work. I found this from some automotive sites and have tried it with amazing results. A 9:1 water to molasses mix. Parts submerged in this mix will come out with all rust completely removed. The mix ferments and the fermentation uses all the O2 dissolved in the water and then attacks the FeO2 and brakes it down. The result is iron powder on the part, some slime and smell....not for in the house. It does not touch the original iron or steel. After you rinse it, the metal needs to be coated with an oil or you will get flash rust due to pure uncoated metal in the air. This is not a tall tale.

I use this method myself. Works great.

 

[Ballshooter]

Very nice work love the look of the Bridesberg historic piece if only it could talk. Thanks for sharing.