Finally got 'er done!

[Tumblernotch]

Despite delays due to family matters and of course that curse of all shooters, the need to go to a job every day, I finally got my new chunk gun finished and hopefully will take it out Saturday and sight it in and see what load will work the best.

It is a mule ear (homemade) half stock with a .50 x 1-1/4" X 42" Bob Hoyt barrel and Davis triggers. The rest was made here at my shop and the stock came from a walnut cut on my late Grandmother's place. She weighs in at a couple of ounces over 17 lbs. She's a big rawboned, homely gal, but I'm hopin' she'll do real well at the next dance.

My computer has been down for over a week and I'm just now back on line, so as soon as I can download some pictures, they'll be forthcoming.

 

[RC]

KR sayed..

as soon as I can download some pictures, they'll be forthcoming.

:wink:

 

[TennesseeJed]

Did somebody say chunk gun? :applause:

 

[Tumblernotch]

Did somebody say chunk gun? :applause:

Yep. Hope to have it shooting good in time for the York Shoot. I don't worry so much about it...I'm more concerned about my abilities. :hmm: BTW, it's not only for chunk shooting, it is a chunk! :haha:

 

[Tumblernotch]

Don't get too excited RC. It ain't that purty. :grin:

 

[bingo1952]

:hatsoff: Purty is as purty does. :thumbsup:

 

[Tumblernotch]

Well, RC, here it is in all its glory!

 

[RC]

DANG! :shocked2: ya dun good! :applause: I like it! good fer you!!

....

 

[blacksmithman64]

17 lbs! :shocked2: Bet thats a handful to shoot offhand! :haha: ( yeah, I know...benchrest...!)

 

[oldarmy]

That's an awesome rifle.
I can tell you, you would get some interest at my local range when you bring her out.
The lock is most unusual.
Nice JOB. The wood is great.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Thanks fellers! The wood was pretty tough to work for some reason, but turned out prettier than I expected. Since it's designed for shooting prone, there's much less drop in the stock, but it can be aimed reasonably well offhand and if you tuck your elbow in the heavy barrel holds steady. But I didn't shoot it that way today.

I shot it today on the bench to see how well I made the sights and what kind of powder charge was going to work the best. It shoots low, which I wanted and I wound up with a half dollar sized group at 60 yds. I'm looking for a quarter size or smaller, but since it was windy and I was shooting from a too short bench I ain't complainin'. I've got a little bit of sight work to do and need to change my sighter a little. And, once I get prone and shoot, everthing changes again. Right now, it seems to like 100 grs. of fffg under a .500 ball and a .018 patch. Being a tightwad, I started out with 65 grs. of powder and worked my way up to 80. A friend said, 'why not go to 100? that tightened my groups.' So I did and it did. The elevation didn't change any more than an inch, but it sure tightened things up. Once I get prone, I'll see where my POI really is. My comfort level will also improve over today as the toe of the buttplate was hammering my shoulder pretty
good.
Despite its weight, 100 grs. and a tight ball makes themselves felt when there's less drop in the stock.

I've got some more tweaking to do and some tools to make, not to mention some spare parts. One thing about a handmade lock, you can't buy parts off the shelf. I'm looking forward to more days at the range with it and hope to do well at some matches.
:thumbsup:

 

[freeonthree]

How about some details on the lock as to how you made it and some pictures of the back side of it.

It's got me drooling I'm going to have to clean my key board.

Tom

 

[Tumblernotch]

Thanks!

There are some other pictures and some discussion about this lock and others in the Percussion Forum. It's on Page 5. Look for "Sidelock Questions".

If there's not enough detail, I may have to take some more pictures and post them.

:thumbsup:

 

[flashpanner]

Wow! different! nice to see some unique models. I can almost smell the nice finish here. Great job!!

 

[Tumblernotch]

Thankee! The lock I copied this from was the first of its kind I'd ever seen, plus it was lefthanded and somewhat smaller. The original that it was copied from was seen in the museum at Gettysburg a few years ago. Next time I'm up that way, I may just have to go in and have a look. It's been years since I've been there and I don't remember that particular rifle.

You can definitely smell this finish. After staining, I slathered on some really old linseed oil and rubbed it in. I rubbed some more in yesterday. :grin:

 

[TennesseeJed]

Kill any spiders with it yet? :wink: X

 

[Tumblernotch]

Nope, not yet. I need to get out and hunker down behind it and do some serious shootin'. All I did Saturday was see where it was hitting and what load would work best. I got some tweaking to do, but it looks promising. I told myself whenever I get my first spider in competition with this thing, I'll make a little spider inlay to put on it.

I also discovered that the nipples I had bought for this thing are too soft and a little too big for those German caps. So I made a holder for them so that I could put them in my lathe and I turned them down a little and then casehardened them. Much better!

Hopefully I'll get out in the next few days and see what I can really do with this thing!
:thumbsup:

 

[Bob Riegl]

:bow: Now that's a CHUNK GUN ,Ya done good. Good luck with that beauty. :thumbsup:

 

[BillinOregon]

Kanawha: Are you going to take your new girl to the Alvin York shoot? You're so lucky to live in that part of the country.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Thanks Pasquenel! I'm not a very good woodworker so I'm just glad it turned out as good as it did. Lucky for me that the emphasis is on the shooting qualities rather on the cosmetic. Some of the best shooting chunkers I've seen are little more than lumber with the hardware attached. But they're put together right where they need to be and their owners know how to use them.

I'm aplannin' to, Bill. I am indeed fortunate to live in this region where muzzleloading is still pretty popular. I still have to drive over 5 hrs. to the York shoot, but that's still just a hop, skip and a jump compared to you fellers out west. I've got another I want to return to in PA this Summer that is about 7 hrs. away, but I time it to coincide with a visit to the in-laws! The rest are within about an hour from me. We don't have that many though.

Thanks to all for your kind comments. If I can get this thing sighted in good and maybe shoot some decent targets I'll post an update.
:thumbsup: