Brass tacks and other bling

[TreeMan]

I’d see to see some pics of some Yalls smoothies or rifles decorated in tacks and/or faux wrist repairs and so on. Leather or brass. Kinda wondering what a Native American owned trade gun may have looked like with their personal touches added.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Here’s a smooth rifle that I built a couple of years ago. A faux wrist repair

 

[FishDFly]

It seems somewhere, maybe The Log Cabi Shop there is a book of about 100 or so pages which covered the Native American owned trade guns.

Can't remember the title, maybe some one here will know.

 

[Notchy Bob]

View attachment 43105
Here’s a smooth rifle that I built a couple of years ago. A faux wrist repair

I like that gun. It has beautiful lines, and needs no embellishment.

The wrist "repair" looks a lot like a brass or copper sheet... Is it rawhide?

Notchy Bob

 

[tallpine]

Nice rifle, how about a closer look at that wrist "repair"

 

[Flintandsteel]

Thanks guys, it is brass wrapped and nailed.
i no longer own the gun, and only have a couple of photos of it. I’ll check to see if I can find any more, but I don’t think so. You can expand the photo for a little better look.

 

[Cowboy]

 

[Cowboy]

Here’s a NW Trade Gun in .62 that I tacked up.

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Cowboy]

Wrist repair on a .54 SMR. Wrist was cracked during shipment. Needless to say I wasn’t a happy camper when it arrived.

Anyway, it turned out good and happy to say it’s definitely the strongest part of the stock now.

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Rodd Boyer]

My Lyman GPR .54 FLINTLOCK

 

[Notchy Bob]

Here is an original from the Ambrose Antiques website:

There is some evidence that at least a few guns were tacked before being sold. Henry Boller mentioned guns on the rack at the trading post where he worked, with tacks gleaming. Tack work on these old guns has always interested me, and in fact I wrote an article about it, published in Muzzle Blasts in the January 1981 issue. However, I think tacks need to be used judiciously. Tack work, like tattoos, can be easily overdone and hard to "un-do." Something simple, like the cross design shown above, can sometimes have a lot more appeal than more elaborate patterns. If there is even a remote chance that you might want to sell your gun in the future, you might think twice before tacking it. The design that is "big medicine" for you might look like defacing the gun to somebody else.

There have also been articles in Whispering Wind and the Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly about brass tacks. I can look up the references if anybody is interested. For photographs of original tacked guns, R. L. Wilson's The Peacemakers is an excellent reference. You can find used copies online at very reasonable prices. Ryan Gale's For Trade and Treaty shows a few tacked guns, but not that many. I don't think they were as common as we like to think.

Notchy Bob

 

[Gun Tramp]

For photographs of original tacked guns, R. L. Wilson's The Peacemakers is an excellent reference.

One of the greatest drool books of all time, an absolute must.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Ok, I found a couple of closer views of the faux wrist repair.

 

[jonathan butcher]

Once agian thank you Notchy Bob for the always welcome info! It never occured to me that tacked rifles would've been available at retail! They may not have been common but it appears that even then the tacked rifle was perceived as a 'blingy' commercial upgrade.

There is some evidence that at least a few guns were tacked before being sold. Henry Boller mentioned guns on the rack at the trading post where he worked, with tacks gleaming.

Notchy Bob

 

[jonathan butcher]

Here's one I recently sold, the previous owner(s) did the tack work. Another ever popular Lyman GPR.

 

[jonathan butcher]

It looks great, what thickness brass sheet did you use ?

Ok, I found a couple of closer views of the faux wrist repair.View attachment 43182View attachment 43183

 

[Jaeger]

Here's one I recently sold, the previous owner(s) did the tack work. Another ever popular Lyman GPR.

The guy really aTTACKed that one....

 

[Notchy Bob]

Ok, I found a couple of closer views of the faux wrist repair.View attachment 43182View attachment 43183

Flintandsteel, that gun is a beauty, and it holds up very well under close scrutiny. I particularly appreciate the shading in the finish. Very strong work!

The accoutrements are perfect!

Notchy Bob

 

[RB POWELL]

View attachment 43105
Here’s a smooth rifle that I built a couple of years ago. A faux wrist repair

I don't get the fascination with faux wrist repairs. Frankly, I find them distracting from the natural grace, or line the rifle builder intended. AND, it is fake.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Notchy Bob's advice is good... If you are convinced that the gun's a keeper for life, have fun with tacks and faux wrist repairs. Otherwise, think twice. I personally don't like the looks of tacks and wouldn't buy a gun with them. As for the fake wrist repairs, I would see that as a weakness in the stock, personally, unless I KNEW that it was just for decoration. Of course when you're buying a gun from a stranger, without removing the faux repair, you'll have to just trust the guy if he tells you it's decoration only. Again I'd walk away from such a purchase. Just my $0.02. To each their own!