mystery pistol

[don hepler]

Gun show find. Pistol was partially finished, barrel and lock in the white, brass unpolished, but wood looked good. 45 cal. Dixie on barrel, Ashmore Warrented lock. Was this a kit, that Dixie sold?

 

[Wes/Tex]

Not sure if it was a kit or not but appears well done. Why don't I find guns like that at gun shows?

 

[cynthialee]

Dixie kit gun from the 1970's?

Whoever the fella that put it together was he did a fairly good job.

 

[yakimaman]

Great display and I have to ditto WesTex, I never see stuff like this at a gun show.

 

[Rifleman1776]

That is a beauty. I wouldn't expect to see "Dixie" on something like that. The Ashmore lock name is not familiar to me.
Great find. :thumbsup:

 

[Bob J]

That was definitely a good find...and great job on finishing it! You are a good photographer as well. :thumbsup:

 

[torn moc]

Beautiful pistol ! Dixie did sell Ashmore locks a long time ago....and I also recall that Ashmore locks were used on original pistols as well....

 

[don hepler]

Thanks for the comments, display was from childhood memories. I'd go to pen up chickens at dark,(that's the only time you could get'em to go in), and I would often encounter a possium ,fox, or skunk. I'd gather the eggs, and run as fast as I could, back to the house, and a pistol would have been rather handy.

 

[M. De Land]

Very tasteful "set" for displaying an elegant pistol!
I like them both, a lot! Nicely done! Mike D.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

The Ashmore was one of Dixie's more popular repro locks. Some of Dixie's kits were not like A Traditions or CVA kit that most now think of. A kit was more like a parts list of their individual parts. You pretty much got a chunk of wood and a sack of metal parts.

Over the years Dixie had a great many different pistol barrels. Some were old left overs, some made new overseas for Dixie and others by commercial barrel companies for sale under Dixie's name.

There is also the possibility that it was sold as a finished gun. Dixie also bought sold and traded finished contemporary made guns from various makers. Some very well known. They had a separate catalog in which such finished guns were listed along with original antique rifles, pistols and smooth bores. Dixie once advertised that the regular catalog was $4.00, send $5.00 if you like the catalog. For the extra buck, you got a listing of the one of a kind and antique guns and prices as well as some special deals they offered.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, Dixie did not sell a kit to make that pistol.

I don't doubt the builder bought his parts from Dixie. At one time they were about the only source for muzzleloading gun parts but they didn't sell any kits with that quality of hardware or that nice of a piece of curly maple.

I bought the curly maple block of wood to build this pistol from them several years ago.

 

[don hepler]

I thought it looked to good to be a kit. The lock has English threads, so I assume it was made in USA. It's hard to see in the photo, but the most detailed work is just above the ramrod. It is cut and carved, like something you'd see by a very accomplished builder. The "weeping heart" is brazed on one side to the barrel pin, and slides into the opening on the heart, on the opposite side. Another mark of an experienced builder. The pistol has never been fired, but it sparks well, and when this wind dies down, I'll see what she'll do.

Thanks to all for information, and comments.

 

[don hepler]

Better picture, for seeing detail.

 

[Alden]

Quite a nice piece is that one!

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

That looks pretty darn good. I like the props in the photo too. :thumbsup:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

"The lock has English threads, so I assume it was made in USA" not necessarily a safe assumption. I have a Sharps made in Italy to very specific plans, including that the parts are suppose to interchange with the original Sharps rifles. Dixie had parts new made for antique guns down to the threads fitting. Maybe somebody has an an old Dixie Cat. to check the write up on the Ashmore's. Mine go back to 1979, but are stored away pending remodeling the house. Eventually, I will have a home office lined with shelves for my books.

Just noticed that the screws in the Dixie J&S Hawken lock, (made overseas IIRC), are all 5 x 40 ASAE threads.

 

[don hepler]

That is interesting, I don't really know that much about Dixie Gun Works, other than, they've been around for a long time. And I have a J&S Hawken lock with William Morgan stamping on it. I'd like to find a new tumbler for it. Dixie had a new hammer and mainspring for the J&S lock. It's nice to find people, who are knowledgeable, and willing to share the information.

 

[larryp]

What a beautiful handgun. That's one worthy of passing on to future generations. :bow:

 

[Woodyrock]

My first Dixie kit in the late sixties had a great many options, especially locks. It was pretty easy to put a kit together with all old parts. After the first pistol kit I had from them that had some god awful Japanese stock, I cut my own stocks.I built between 25 and 30 of their blunderbuss kits, and not two had the same parts.
Woody

 

[don hepler]

I sorta got a feeling that the person who built this pistol, had the wood, and ordered the parts from Dixie to build it. I would imagine that a lot of people, did the same. In those days, a Dixie catalog was all most people would ever see.

Thinking back(to the 70's & 80's), I can't recall ever seeing a flintlock rifle or pistol.