A boys new gun

[longcruise]

Here is a small .45 cal rifle I just finished for one of my grand sons. I have too many grand kids to spend a lot of dough on building their guns so I tend to be frugal (cheap). :haha:

Total expenditure on this gun was:

Stock: $10.00
Lock: $30.00
Barrel: $20.00 (used)
Barrel
Cut
and
threaded: $15.00
Breach Plug: $08.00
TG: $ 4.99
Und rib: $00.00 (donated used)
Thimbles: $00.00 (made from brass tube)
Butt Plate: $00.00 (made from scrap brass)
trig & plate: $00.00 (made from shop scraps)
Sights: $00.00 (found in bench debris)
Finish
supplies: $00.00 (on hand)

total: $87.99

Lot's of peculiar mistakes and results here. See how many you can find (sorta like Waldo). :haha:

 

[David W.]

Looks like a decent job.

Mistakes? It's hard to tell from the pictures (to my eyes). Front sight too far back? Trigger guard too far forward? :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

Only mistake is not starting on the next one for the next grandkid. Well done, conceptually and financially! :hatsoff:

What's the LOP on that?

 

[Bill Hall]

Marmot, that looks like the perfect young person'e rifle. Cheap, simple, light, and very utilitarian. I had to laugh when I first saw the pic, cuz it looks almost identical to a rifle I built for my small framed oldest daughter. The only parts I bought for that one was the lock and breechplug. I am now almost finshed with another rifle for my equally small framed middle daughter, and again, it looks very similar. This current build is made from used, modified T/C parts.

It looks like you think the same as I do when getting a young person started out. Just get them something simple that fits them properly, yet is well built and shoots well, and let them decide how far they want to go on their own after that. Plus, if you have alot of young ones asking when THEIR gun is going to be built, you can't spend the rest of your life building $1000 rifles that takes months to build, unless you plan on living to the ripe old of 200. :rotf:

I love simple rifles, and I think yours is beautiful. I have a feeling there is going to be alot of memories made with that gun. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Bill

 

[Bill Hall]

P.S. Is there a pin holding the barrel, that I can't see? If not, what magic did you use to hold the barrel to the stock? Bill

 

[hoochiepapa]

I think that is a beautiful rifle!

 

[chance]

Looks awsome to me!!!

 

[hounddog]

Marmotslayer. from on grandpa to another.my friend it is not the amount of money spent on each gun. I have done something similar for my grandchrilden, nephews and favorate cousins. When those grandchildren will and do remember is this.GRANDPA MADE THIS FOR ME.It is a good thing to be able to do and I appulade you for it yours Grandpa Hounddog

 

[ohio ramrod]

Grandson will be happy, Grandpa will be proud! :thumbsup:

 

[TARL01]

I absolutely agree! The one I did for my nephew looks quite alot like this one (only not as good). It is certainly my hope that he will always remember that his uncle made it.
Woody

 

[longcruise]

First off, thanks to all for the kind words!

Brown Bear, the LOP is 12 inches. He is eight and when he shoulders it it's just a hair too long for him, but in a couple years it will be getting too short fast. :haha:

Snowdragon, I did not realize till you pointed it out that the barrel key does not show. It's very small and headless. This was my first attempt at a barrel key and first time using my home made "pin" drilling device. Drilled two holes and connected the dots. Now, another thing about that key; you may notice that it is kinda high on the side of the forearm? Reason is cause the used barrel just happened to have a dovetail in the bottom where an underlug had been installed. So, I soldered a bridge across it and used it for the underlug. :grin: Here's a pic of the key. Looks the same from both sides.

[/img]

Flintlock62, yes, the tg is a bit far forward. I intended it to be so for winter shooting with gloves, but it ended up a bit further than planned. The front sight is a bit far back for the scale of the rifle. The barrel was originally 42" long so it did not seem so far back. It had a very good target crown and I did not want to shorten from that end and did not want to fill the dovetain either.

You have a good eye. :thumbsup:

This is the second gun for grand kids. First was quite similar but in a .36. That boy is now 17 and plays center for his high school. :shocked2: He won another rifle shooting the .36 so one thing leads to another.

The boy who gets this one has been shooting his big brother's little .36 and doing pretty well with it. I need to make at least one more that will be transitional for the grand kids (seven of em) as they pass through the 10 to 14 age. While they take ownership of these, they understand that they will be shared with the younger ones as they come up.

 

[TARL01]

You are a man after my own heart. I hope I can build as well as you for all my Grandkids. (Only one so far, but lots of Nephews and Nieces.)
Woody

 

[longcruise]

Thanks for your kind words. I must confess though to being a much better photographer than builder! :haha:

 

[TGJaeger]

That is fine rifle sir!

He will remember you everytime he uses it..."My Grandpa' made this rifle!" About as close to immortality as we can get in this life.

Good Job!

 

[pab1]

Excellent work! :hatsoff:

 

[longcruise]

Thanks again for all the kind remarks. If you could get an up close look at it, you would see many flaws. etc. One of the reasons I put up pics of my guns is to show that we don't all have to create master pieces

 

[MSW]

Marmotslayer. from on grandpa to another.my friend it is not the amount of money spent on each gun. I have done something similar for my grandchrilden, nephews and favorate cousins. When those grandchildren will and do remember is this.GRANDPA MADE THIS FOR ME.It is a good thing to be able to do and I appulade you for it yours Grandpa Hounddog

ayup- you got it in one. many guns will pass through this man's hands, but this is the one he will keep above all others.

 

[hoochiepapa]

We all could point out every flaw in everthing we make. An artist is his own best critic.
YOu did good.

 

[longcruise]

Thanks Mike.

As an object lesson for rank beginners (I'm one step above rank beginner ), I used to agonize over every step of a build. I'd worry and fret so much nothing would get done. Mostly over that now and it has made my building efforts way more fun. Now I look at mistakes as a chance to learn new things and new solutions. I've totally ruined a few components but it's not that big a deal when you consider the lessons learned.

So, my suggestion to anyone just starting their first build is to go ahead and pitch into it. Not saying don't think or plan and do remember to measure twice and cut once. But measuring 50 times and cutting once will not do much better.

 

[vern faulkner]

Would you like to adopt an older child?? I'm available (by the way, I NEED a .45cal). Just wondering. I'm already potty trained and to top it off, I get a pension check and a social security check each month. I'll PM my stock measurements if this offer is acceptable. :grin:

Vern