Curved buttstocks

When did curved buttstocks start being made?Seems like they would have been a wicked thing to get hit with.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Yeah put it wrong in your arm, and you will think you got kicked by a mule in high heels.

 

[roundball]

When did curved buttstocks start being made?Seems like they would have been a wicked thing to get hit with.

I don't know, but to me, a nicely curved buttplate is the most distinctive eye catching design feature of a rifle...all mine have curved brass buttplates and I've shot them a lot since the early 90's...seem to come up naturally for me, haven't caused any problems, etc.

 

[Stophel]

I think he's talking about the comb/butt being curved. The French were doing curved butts fairly early on (early 18th century). The problem with people getting smacked in the cheek with curved stocks is that those stocks are NOT built right! A gun with a curved comb can be VERY comfortable to shoot IF it is built right. Many people see a curved comb on an old gun and remember when they shot something like one of those horrible Traditions "Pennsylvania" rifles. Trust me, they DON'T compare. :winking:

 

[AZ-Robert]

I think he's talking about the comb/butt being curved.

I read it just the other way! I took it from the angle of using that nice chunk of curved metal with its pointy ends as a nice tool for administering ye old 'butt stroke.'

 

I could'nt agree with you more other than to add, a nicely curved buttstock is as attractive as a nicely curved woman!! :thumbsup:

 

I think he's talking about the comb/butt being curved.

I read it just the other way! I took it from the angle of using that nice chunk of curved metal with its pointy ends as a nice tool for administering ye old 'butt stroke.'

Thats what I meant.Those pointed ends seam like they could do some major damage.But why did they make them like that?Seams like there had to be a reason.

 

[CrackStock]

When did curved buttstocks start being made?Seems like they would have been a wicked thing to get hit with?

I would like to see an answer here as well, but we seem to have drifted from that original point.

I get the impression that the deep crescents in butt plates came about in the early 1820s at the earliest, but I cannot find a definitive answer on this point. There is a lot of discussion as to when the Southern mountain gun and some features actually evolved.

CS

 

[Swampman]

I've seen them on rifles dated as early as 1818. I believe they are perfect for offhand shooting, and that's why they became common..

 

[Slake]

I've seen them in some very old photos, I've never had one that was really radical until recently when I got a Kentucky rifle with a pretty prononced brass curved butt to it and I must admit that rifle shoulders as slick as a mitten

 

[RedFeather]

Saw a quote from an old timer claiming most folks don't use the curved butt properly. Said it's supposed to be braced against the upper arm, not socked into the shoulder. Atributed incorrect mounting to thousands of country boys undergoing rifleman training during WWI with the Springfield and Enfield rifles having service butts. They simply unlearned how to use a curved butt. Whenever I pick up a Great Plains rifle and try to shoulder it, I see what he meant. That particular toe is way too long for me.

I own a European shotgun that had a fairly curved butt with a sharp toe and narrow comb, a bit like a BP stock. It beat the pure hell out of my cheek over a box of trap loads. Took it to a good smith who said it was also canted left, which meant that the recoil was pivoting it on that toe and into my face. He bent the stock and applied a Pachmyr Old English pad. Now the top barrel, which should kick some, is super soft. I know, not a BP rifle, but simulated the same thing. Boy, that toe left a mark and I can now tell from my cheekbone when it's going to rain!

 

[robinghewitt]

When did curved buttstocks start being made?Seems like they would have been a wicked thing to get hit with.

My theory is that someone drew a picture of an American long hunter and exagerrated the curve on the butt stock. Somehow immigrants arriving in the States had seen that picture and that is what they wanted to buy, so that is what they were sold. Market forces :grin:

 

[Stophel]

I can't shoot most curved buttplates, simply because my arms are just too large to fit in them. Folks was a whole lot skinnier 150 years ago...

 

[Grandpa C]

I know that with my Lyman GPR I have to watch my toes when I rest it on my foot in the winter :cursing: I put a hole in my rubber muckers when it sliped because of my gloves.Thank GOD for felt liners :rotf: temp was 10 degrees and 2 ft snow

 

[davy]

Dont know if its the truth, or just fantasy .. but I once heard someone say that it facilitated shooting the rifle from a more concealed position ... say from behind a tree, by holding the weapon farther out on the arm , you could hide the bulk of the body behind the tree .. thus staying hid from enemies, as well as game. :hmm:

Davy

 

[RedFeather]

If you miss the deer, you can spear it with the butt plate. At least if it's a GPR, :grin:

 

[ktw]

If you miss the deer, you can spear it with the butt plate. At least if it's a GPR, :grin:

I bought a GPR as my first muzzleloader. First thing I did, after taking it out of the box and putting it together, was to remove the butt plate and toe plate and take a file to those sharp edges.

I already had a knife for field dressing deer. I didn't need another pair of them attached to the butt of my rifle.

-ktw