Another Recreation

[The Crisco Kid]

This is my idea of what an early caplock may have looked like that was built for a man heading West to the mountains. I wanted it to look like a rugged, simple rifle put together out of assorted parts on hand and built by a moderately skilled small town gunsmith like myself. The barrel is a well used 32 inch .50 Douglas xx given to me by a friend. It has some light pitting but shot with very good accuracy when I test fired it. The idea was that if it didn't shoot I would have it re-bored to .54. The front sight is temporary and will be replaced.
The stock is a Hawken pre-carved from Pecatonica. Nice wood for $165. The furniture is Leman style trigger guard and Lancaster style buttplate. I built it with the idea of selling it but I'm starting to get attached to it. It might end up being another keeper. The finish is not nearly as shiny as it looks. Something to do with the light when I took the photos.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very fine rifle.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Nice!

 

[user 49399]

 

[ohio ramrod]

Looks like a keeper.

 

[granth]

This is my idea of what an early caplock may have looked like that was built for a man heading West to the mountains. I wanted it to look like a rugged, simple rifle put together out of assorted parts on hand and built by a moderately skilled small town gunsmith like myself. The barrel is a well used 32 inch .50 Douglas xx given to me by a friend. It has some light pitting but shot with very good accuracy when I test fired it. The idea was that if it didn't shoot I would have it re-bored to .54. The front sight is temporary and will be replaced.
The stock is a Hawken pre-carved from Pecatonica. Nice wood for $165. The furniture is Leman style trigger guard and Lancaster style buttplate. I built it with the idea of selling it but I'm starting to get attached to it. It might end up being another keeper. The finish is not nearly as shiny as it looks. Something to do with the light when I took the photos.

View attachment 147492View attachment 147491

What stain and finish did you use?

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Wow that's beautiful! Nice work there.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Outstanding work! That is a very nice rifle. I can see why you want to keep it!

It should be a very comfortable shooter, too, with that Hawken stock and Lancaster triggerguard. The Leman stocks have too much drop too narrow a butt for my frame, and that choice of stock and buttplate should be a real improvement.

Notchy Bob

 

[oldwood]

Has a good old time look to it.........keeper.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Thanks for the compliments all of you. It is a pretty comfortable rifle to shoulder. You read my mind Notchy Bob, the Leman stock had too much drop so I used a Hawken. I went with the Lancaster buttplate since it is wider than the later styles and easier on the recoil.
Granth, the finish is Aqua Fortis blushed with a heat gun followed by a coat of Danglers Golden Brown stain. After that a good soaking with thinned down linseed oil and Japan drier which I let set for 2 weeks in the hot weather. I finished up with 4 coats of Minwax Antique Oil Finish wiped on and wiped off and cured for a month. A couple of days ago while the barrel was browning with Dangler browning solution I gave the stock a light rubbing with the linseed oil along with a mixture of pumice and bone black applied with a piece of hard felt. I worked some of that same mixture into the pin holes as well. It came out looking pretty much like what I had in mind. Now I need to figure what to build next!

 

[Fly Navy]

I would have a hard time selling that one too.

 

[Mulemauler]

Looks like a solid working gun!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thanks for the compliments all of you. It is a pretty comfortable rifle to shoulder. You read my mind Notchy Bob, the Leman stock had too much drop so I used a Hawken. I went with the Lancaster buttplate since it is wider than the later styles and easier on the recoil.
Granth, the finish is Aqua Fortis blushed with a heat gun followed by a coat of Danglers Golden Brown stain. After that a good soaking with thinned down linseed oil and Japan drier which I let set for 2 weeks in the hot weather. I finished up with 4 coats of Minwax Antique Oil Finish wiped on and wiped off and cured for a month. A couple of days ago while the barrel was browning with Dangler browning solution I gave the stock a light rubbing with the linseed oil along with a mixture of pumice and bone black applied with a piece of hard felt. I worked some of that same mixture into the pin holes as well. It came out looking pretty much like what I had in mind. Now I need to figure what to build next!

That finish process is beyond anything I could even think up to do. Masterful and beautiful.

 

[BP Addict]

Nice Job!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

Walt

 

[Tennessee]

I like the simplicity of that rifle, I would proud to carry it. Great job!

 

[user 48702]

Outstanding job on the rifle, but I really love the Shou Sugi Ban finished slab wall as a backdrop. That would make a spectacular backdrop for just about anything.

 

[Notchy Bob]

@The Crisco Kid did a great job on that rifle. I was rambling around the auction sites today, and found an original rifle by Fordney that is similar in many respects to the rifle in post #1:

Yep, there are some differences, such as the cheekpiece and the round-tailed lock on the original, which also has an octagon-to-round barrel. The original also had some tack-work, suggesting native ownership at some point. However, just comparing the two rifles, I see a lot of similarities. I think the OP was on the right track when he came up with the concept.

Here is a link to the website, with a more complete description: Fullstock Percussion Rifle

I could scarcely believe it, but this rifle sold two months ago for $700. It appears to have been refinished, which probably affected its value, but still, that doesn't seem like much.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

ADDENDUM: The barrel on this rifle is marked “I. Fordney.” Melchoir Fordney was a master builder in the “Golden Age.” Maybe this was a son? In any event, I think it is possible that the Fordney-marked barrel on this rifle was recycled from an older gun. This would actually make the rifle even more in keeping with The Crisco Kid’s concept of a small-time gunsmith building a rifle from available parts. In any event, his rifle and this original are both handy, practical guns that would have been much appreciated on the frontier.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Thanks for the comments Bob and even more thanks for posting the pictures of the Fordney rifle. It is an almost uncanny resemblance down to the single ramrod pipe, single trigger, and the trigger guard. It reinforces my idea that whatever we do in this muzzleloading game it has been done before. Had I gone with the Leman style stock it would have been even closer to the rifle you pictured. I didn't post a picture of the left side of my rifle in the OP but here it is. Thanks again to all for the compliments and thoughts.

Melchoir Fordney was living in a very God-fearing community with a women to whom he wasn't married and was killed for his sins by a religious nut. Or so I read in the book talked about in another thread that has so many photos. It's The Kentucky Rifle by Lindsay.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

That is a gorgeous rifle.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Thanks for the comments Bob and even more thanks for posting the pictures of the Fordney rifle. It is an almost uncanny resemblance down to the single ramrod pipe, single trigger, and the trigger guard. It reinforces my idea that whatever we do in this muzzleloading game it has been done before. Had I gone with the Leman style stock it would have been even closer to the rifle you pictured. I didn't post a picture of the left side of my rifle in the OP but here it is. Thanks again to all for the compliments and thoughts.

Melchoir Fordney was living in a very God-fearing community with a women to whom he wasn't married and was killed for his sins by a religious nut. Or so I read in the book talked about in another thread that has so many photos. It's The Kentuky Rifle by Lindsay.

View attachment 148620

I made an assumption, and we all know what that means! I assumed from the style of the stock on your rifle that it had a beavertail cheekpiece. I should have known better!

The similarity of the two rifles is remarkable.

Notchy Bob