Mowrey Rifles

[F.G. Ford]

Can anybody shed some information on ths type of action?
Does it date to the mid 1800"s?
I have two, I like the sleek lines, of the action, similar to the underhammer, and yet smaller still.
Are there any other Mowrey lovers out there?
My 40 cal. is extremely accurate,but heavy, with a 15/16 barrel, my .45 cal. with 3/4 barrel is light and quick, I should be finished it in a few days.
I would appreciate any information that you may have.
Best Regards,
Old Ford

 

[Alberta Black]

Old Ford

I have a Mowrey shotgun that I bought form a guy in Ontario on Gunutz. Mine is made from a kit (Ithink) as it has no markings on it whatsoever.

I plan to take it out chasing ruffed grouse this fall once I get it back from the gunsmith. He is repairing the hammer screw that broke in transit.

The gun appears t be well made and I think that parts are avaioable from Deer Creek.

I would be interested to know how your guns perform.

Richard

 

[faw3]

First made back in the 1830s , rebirth was here in Texas some many years back, they made a bunchof different kinds, when they shut down Deer Creek made them till last year. Ive got a 50 cal that is the rifle Ive shot the most worn out the frame where tumbler came thru after 20,000 rounds in 24 years, love that gun and have a new frame being built. All of them have been great shooters ,holds a tight grp, ect. Fred :hatsoff:

 

[F.G. Ford]

To Alberta Black:
My .40 Cal. is a fine shooting rifle, with a heavy brass buttplate. The hold and feel of it does well at the bench.
The .45 cal is a few days away from the range.
The curly maple that comes on these rifles is outstanding.
On the .45 the rear sight is forward enough for these old eyes to focus.
The .40 cal. has an arpeture sight that really brings out the potential of the rifle.
Thank you for the reply....I think you should get rid of that old shotgun, and get something else....
Oh yeah!Let me know when you are parting with it.
Best Regards
Old Ford.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Nice to hear from you, F.W.
Thank you for your information.
Can any thing be done to reduce the wear that you encountered on your rifle.
I do not have any signs of this on my .40 cal, except the main spring is not as strong as it could be.It is a little "cushy" when cocking, but still fires the cap. I should try and find another.

Old Ford ( Fred Ford )

 

[silverfox]

Old Ford: If it takes 20 years or so and 24,000 rounds to wear the tumbler hole I don't see this as a problem to worry about. For me that would be a lifetime of shooting just one gun. The cure would be to resleeve the hole with bronze or steel if and when it gets to large. Then your good for your grandkids lifetime. Just keep the shaft well lubricated and you should have no problems.
Fox :hatsoff:

 

[Patricknwohio]

I have a Mowrey from Deer Creek in .40 Cal. it has a 13/16" barrel very accurate rifle. Would not mind one in .36 Cal.

 

[faw3]

Now that we took care of your new parts problem ,silverfox is right you got to love shooting these things to wear one's frame out. Whats real neat is the old adds in Muz Blast back in 1970s 80s you could buy about any combo ya can think of. Both the Tex and Deer Creek rifles have some of the best barrles ever made. Fred :hatsoff:

 

I saw one on gun broker awhile back.Didnt know what it was till I read about it.I really like the looks of that rifle.It was set up for target shooting.Would like to have a mowrey and a underhammer. :thumbsup:

 

[david50]

i own two mowry rifles one is a .32cal and one is a .50cal,both are fine shootin' rifles. the .32 is probably the most accurate .32cal i've ever shot,i get a five shot group all touching each other at 35 yards,not too shaby.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Thank you all for the information on the Mowrey rifles!

Best Regards
Old Ford

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Mowrey Rifles:

Here’s some info I’ve captured about these rifles. Please kindly bring any errors, omissions, or updates to my attention.

Mowrey rifles are a modernized copy of the Allen & Thurber design. Ever hear of ol’ timers breaking the wrist of their wooden stocked rifles when using it as a club? That concern is the very reason Ethan Allen ”˜allegedly’ designed the Allen & Thurber action, made in both iron and brass frames. I stated ”˜allegedly’ as Ethan Allen only had a sideline interest in firearms as a business, as he was a General and land speculator first. Regardless, he is credited with making the wrist of metal.

Some other historical tidbits - Sullivan Forehand was employed at Allen & Wheelock in 1860 when he married Ethan Allen's daughter, and their two sons would eventually join them in the firearms business. Henry C. Wadsworth, while an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, also married one of Ethan Allen's daughters. At the close of the war he joined the company, and it's name was changed to reflect this and hence became Ethan Allen & Company. After Allen's death in 1871, his sons-in-law continued the business under the Forehand & Wadsworth name. When Wadsworth retired in 1890 the company name was changed to the Forehand Arms Company and operated until 1898, when Forehand died. It's generally believed that his heirs operated it until 1902, when it was then taken over by Hopkins & Allen.

Bill Mowery of Texas, a long time member of the Texas MLRA, made the modern replica by copying an original owned by Joe Woods of the Firelock Shop. You know Joe best for his coning tools. Mr. Mowrey also made a number of very fine underhammer rifles with inter-changeable barrels in both hunting, off-hand target weight, and heavy bench rest styles. He seemed to always use the best possible maple or walnut for his rifles. When Bill retired, he sold the rights to Deer Creek Products of Indiana.

Now get this! Joe Woods had brought his original A&T to Bill Mowrey to get the action fixed, as Bill also did gunsmithing. It took some time, years if I remember correctly, and when Joe finally went and got his rifle back .. . it still wasn’t repaired! But by then, Mowrey replicas of the A&T design were shipping out the door of Mowrey’s shop. Joe still has that rifle ... unfixed to this day :shocked2: !

Photo credits: DJR

 

[faw3]

Ive had a few, tryed to get a hold of ya last time you got on about these(some months back) about one I had in 45 fast twist no #s at all sold it to GMWW maybe he'll want to follow up, just wanted to add if you ck out some 70s Muz Blast someone else made them in Ind back then in a long scoped big bore and anything you wanted type for awhile the name gets away from me right now, they didnt seem to stay around long, the only part I can find different on my DC made early made 50 is the sear. Nice looking old one you have, mine is one of the first 1000 DC made so parts are hard to get even from them have to make my own sometimes :rotf: But Lord do it shoot great! Fred :hatsoff:

 

[swquiro]

If memory serves, I think I read somewhere, maybe here, that kits were available. Anybody know anything about this or am I just having a senior moment? I think a .32 would be just the ticket in the squirrel woods. Thanks.

 

[faw3]

Deer Creek did till last year then they just got to old with rifleing barrels, running the store and makeing the wood for those and H+A underhammerand 3 other rifles so they just shut it all down.They got enough sales going on without adding building rifles too, a real loss. Fred :hatsoff:

 

[gmww]

Like FW said I bought his gun. It is pretty accurate and light. The only critisim I have about this gun is the angle of the rear stock seems to be a little too much for bench shooting. It's great off hand but I have really pile up the sand bags to keep the rear stock off the bench.

:hatsoff:

 

[faw3]

The "50" was worse GMWW I had to recut the wood going into the steel to lift back of gun some (like a 1") :rotf: Fred :hatsoff:

 

[crossxsticks]

hey, hadn't heard that story before about bill never getting the fellers gun fixed , very interesting. here is a picture of the one I have sitting in closet collecting dust it is a 45 cal. it has stamped mowery , Texas on the hammer side of barrel and 6781 on other side. I met Mr Mowery @ John Zink range near Tusa Oklahoma in early 60es at a shoot and then after seeing his rifles there bought this one way on later in 1998 from a friend by then I was to old/blind to see the sights LOL. wish it had been a fowler.
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