Fox Fire books

I have not been on this forum very long and I am enjoying it very much and learning a lot of things. Maybe this is a subject addressed before but I would like to recommend to the folks that they take a look at the Fox Fire series of books that came out years ago and are a compilation of folk lore and facts covering a range of everyday mountian life in Appalacia. I believe that they were compiled by young people from several universities and centered on them interviewing people who still practiced or had knowledge of how things were done in the "old days". They include a great piece on rifle making. I recall that one of the gun makeres used old files for frizzens and there was a fascinating piece on how to "freshen" a barrel. Not to mention hide tanning, mountian medacine and just a host of other interesting topics that are a perfect fit for this forum. In fact, I am going to see if I can't find a resource for these books and buy them with my Christmas money.

 

[HardBall]

They include a great piece on rifle making.

Chet- Do you happen to remember which book had the section on rifle making?

I've been meaning to start a collection of these books- just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

Here is a website where you can obtain the foxfire series of http://www.baproducts.com/foxfire.htmbooks

 

[2172]

The Foxfire V book is the one that most deals with old time gunmaking. I got a copy, used, on Amazon about 2 months ago. While all of the series is good, this is the one in most demand, and the highest priced, of them in the used book section of[url] Amazon.com[/url]....I think that shows the interest in gun building...Hank

 

[RussB]

They include a great piece on rifle making.

Chet- Do you happen to remember which book had the section on rifle making?
I've been meaning to start a collection of these books- just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Foxfire 5
ISBN; 0-385-14304-9
Library of Congress Cat.Card No.78-055859
(Portions of this book first appeared in the Foxfire Magazine from 1975 through 1979.)

I recently saw several of these magazines (60 or so, on sale at eBay...opening bid was not easy!) The "Foxfire Magazine", and "The Buckskin Report", should be two magazines that all muzzleloaders keep their eyes open for.

Some of the best reading I have ever experienced has come from these two.

Sometimes you can pick up the "The Buckskin Report" for $4 to $5 a copy in series of 20 each from collectors, but I consider that excessive, as I want them more for their content rather than their collector's value.
Same thing with Foxfire..............If you folks have not been reading these, you are certainly missing out on a lot of things that was once considered the norm in our everday living....from shoeing a horse to straightening a rifle barrel...it's all there.

Russ

 

[RussB]

Hank, I'm sorry...I didn't see your post. I was firing up a second pot of coffee after reading the first post.
Oh, well....I guess we now know a little about "Foxfire".

Russ

 

[waksupi]

They are interesting reading. I've tried out many of the projects over the years. I found in some subjects, either the students didn't get all the information correct, or thier sources had forgotten certain steps. Kind of like using a Thomas Mails book for knowledge on Indians. Don't bet on either for the last or correct word. Still, a noble undertaking, that I hope someone is still doing in the far reaches of acedemia.

 

[HistoryBuff]

I just received a copy of Foxfire 5. Very interesting reading; not just about BP rifles, but the culture in general as well.

HistoryBuff