Built a pistol loading stand

[wiksmo]

Nice stands. And like the dual purpose with one being a display stand. Good job on that. BTW, that is a cool-looking .50 Cal Kentucky you have on display.

Noticed you have (I think) leather on the wood wherever the gun touches the stand. What did you use to attach those strips?

I'll try out my stand for the first time at a shoot next Saturday. I think it will work fine, and it was fun to go through such a build "experiment."

Here are my two loading stands. The first is made out of some 5/4 re-purposed poplar shelving, is heavy and a prototype. The second is made out of some cherry I had laying around the shop. They both come apart for travel and the one made out of cherry can double as a display stand. I copied the design off the stands that are used over at the Alifia Rendezvous held here in Florida. That's my Traditions .50 caliber Kentucky pistol in the stand which is my go to pistol for shooting.

 

[Dan Masson]

Those are all very nice looking stands!

 

[Kestrel]

Very nice indeed. I am about to build a loading stand for my wife's Kentucky. I like your quick change method. I'm going to use brass wingnuts and threaded studs so they will compliment the guns' brass features. Love the cherry!

 

[Eddie2002]

Thanks, the leather is glued onto the wood with some contact cement, nothing fancy as long as it holds. I was thinking about tacking it on the ends just for show but never got around to it.

Brass wingnuts and studs would look great, go for it. I was using the stuff found in my 5 gallon nut and bolt bucket for hardware and didn't have to spend anything on the build.

The pistol was a gun show find and was made by Traditions, not a kit. Got it for a hundred dollars and is a match with my old CVA Hawken .50 caliber that also has a rust brown finish on the barrel.

Also have a Traditions Frontier caplock with the brown barrel which pretty much completes the set. Need to get them out to the range once it cools off and stops raining here in Florida.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Well guys, I took some ideas here and there and slowly put together my loading stand for my flintlock Kentucky that I built from a kit. Decide on fairly simple, but wanted a contoured curve to match the handle and distribute the pressure during loading, decided to use leather here and there to protect the finish, and fooled around with my router a little to give it some character. This is all made from two maple 3 1/2” planks. The bottom board was my first attempt at rabbit joins, which isn’t really a gun-maker’s technique, but I’m just fiddling anyway.

Here are a few pics:

 

[FishDFly]

You did well.

 

[Zonie]

Looks good.
I really like the molding on the bottom board. It gives it that "finished look".

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Thanks! I’m new to using a router and thought this was a great project to learn on. It’s not perfect in any regard, but perfectly acceptable for the job it needs to do.

 

[Waarego]

This looks great. I can see how it make loading at the range so must easier.

 

[toot]

just my opinion, but rarely do you see any BP, pistol shooters using them any more. at least in my neck of the woods.

 

[FishDFly]

They are required at sanctioned pistol matches.

Even when not shooting sanctioned matches, they make sense when loading, cleaning or a place to put them when not shooting.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

just my opinion, but rarely do you see any BP, pistol shooters using them any more. at least in my neck of the woods.

Yea, I was able to load the Kentucky when I took it out to my range the first time, but I did wish that I had something to stabilize it with too. I was worried that I'd either scratch up the butt of the handle when pressing down against our shooting table, it would slip, or I would break it.

I admit that another big motivation for me was that I like to fiddle in the shop, and this looked like a fun project!

 

[Bob McBride]

I have one and sometimes use it at the range as a convenient place to set the pistol but I mostly load the old fashioned way. In messing around trying to figure out how one would’ve loaded a rifled pistol in the day, I found that taking a knee and putting the butt in the crook of your leg (the one with your foot flat on the ground) and holding the barrel with one hand just like you would hold a rifle while loading, acts exactly like a stand and is no harder to load than a rifle. But I do love having a stand around.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

I have one and sometimes use it at the range as a convenient place to set the pistol but I mostly load the old fashioned way. In messing around trying to figure out how one would’ve loaded a rifled pistol in the day, I found that taking a knee and putting the butt in the crook of your leg (the one with your foot flat on the ground) and holding the barrel with one hand just like you would hold a rifle while loading, acts exactly like a stand and is no harder to load than a rifle. But I do love having a stand around.

View attachment 41842

That's a gorgeous pistol, and I love those horns in the background too! Good tips on loading too... I would get kicked out of my range if I tried that (we're very strict), but it's a great idea for when I'm in the woods with this pistol. I plan on taking it hunting as my second shot.

I'll add that our range is so strict that I'm afraid that I'll get flack for loading the pistol in my stand too. We're not allowed to have any barrels pointing skyward, but of course, you can't load a muzzleloader any other way. Still, most of our members only know modern guns and haven't a clue about muzzleloaders. Thankfully our Range Officers tend to be aware, so I think I'll be ok.

 

[FishDFly]

What horns? I only see a nice pistol in a loading stand.,

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

What horns? I only see a nice pistol in a loading stand.,

I'm talking about Bob's post.. you don't see that pic?

 

[FishDFly]

I saw the horns, I don't have a fetish for horns though, pistols I do, especially with nice wood.

 

[Scott]

Any examples of a diy cylinder loading stands?

 

[FishDFly]

Not do it yourself, but look at Powder Inc. at theirs for ideas on making one. Also look at Tower of Power for ideas.

 

[rrebuck]

That's a gorgeous pistol, and I love those horns in the background too! Good tips on loading too... I would get kicked out of my range if I tried that (we're very strict), but it's a great idea for when I'm in the woods with this pistol. I plan on taking it hunting as my second shot.

I'll add that our range is so strict that I'm afraid that I'll get flack for loading the pistol in my stand too. We're not allowed to have any barrels pointing skyward, but of course, you can't load a muzzleloader any other way. Still, most of our members only know modern guns and haven't a clue about muzzleloaders. Thankfully our Range Officers tend to be aware, so I think I'll be ok.

When I used to shoot in BP matches at my local range (and the team from this club often won the WV state BP matches), I was mildly reprimanded to only carry my rifle pointing upward. I was carrying it down and was told they'd worry about richochet.