Need Help Identifying Rifle/Maker

[griffiga]

That is a beautiful rifle. Why can't I stumble into these deals?

I ran on to a couple good deals from this pawn shop, most of the time he hadn’t a clue to the older stuff he took in. Later on he hired a guy that knew better and that stopped. I picked up an original Springfield 1842 musket in great shape for $600, and an original trapdoor .45/70 carbine in 80% condition for $750, just to mention a couple

 

[Flinty Scot]

Gorgeous rifle; extraordinary find for $150.

Plmeek's question about a void in the star inlay has me wondering if they could possibly have been cast in place, like a nosecap. I see a couple other apparent irregularities in that inlay which I assume would have been cleaned/sharpened up before inlaying.
I have yet to copy and blow up the photo, but it appears tightly fit.

 

[griffiga]

Gorgeous rifle; extraordinary find for $150.

Plmeek's question about a void in the star inlay has me wondering if they could possibly have been cast in place, like a nosecap. I see a couple other apparent irregularities in that inlay which I assume would have been cleaned/sharpened up before inlaying.
I have yet to copy and blow up the photo, but it appears tightly fit.

I tend to agree with you and Plmeek. The Pewter (I'm assuming it's so because the nosecap was made of pewter and they look to be the same material) was most likely poured into the carved out indentions in the stock then sanded down with the final finishing. Looking up close I can see several unconformities that lead me to that conclusion as well. This wasn't standard procedure for GRRW, but like Plmeek said, this was an "off the clock" rifle completed at the will of the gunsmith after hours on his own time with materials give to him in leu of money as they sometimes struggled to make payroll.

 

[Tanglefoot]

You're a lucky pilgrim, griffiga! I have the ugly stepsister to that rifle, made by GRRW back in the early 70's. Plain straight-grain maple stock, percussion lock, but the same kind of cheek piece and pewter nosecap as yours. Mine's a .50 and her Douglas barrel shoots plumb center. My ol' hunting buddy used to call her my "Mud Gun" `cause he said she was as plain as a mud fence. You got your glamor girl Indian Trade Rifle for roughly what I paid for mine in the 70's too. Good on you. I hope she shoots as well as my Lucy rifle.

 

[griffiga]

Tanglefoot, beauty is only in the eye of the beholder. With guns, nothing is more beautiful than a clover leaf pattern on the target. An old CVA kit I threw together over a weekend looked like it was shot at and missed, but s__t at and hit, but I ended up winning a rifle with it and somehow it suddenly transformed into the prettiest thing I’d ever seen.

 

[griffiga]

That's what I thought.

If you want to learn more about GRRW and their guns, check out my website, GRRW.org

Also, check out Doc White's website, Green River Rifle Works

Phil, do you happen to know the diameter of the ramrod? I need to place an order to Track of the Wolf. 3/8, or 7/16?

 

[plmeek]

I would expect it to be 7/16, but you better measure the inside diameter of the ramrod pipes to make sure. I have a .50 caliber Leman Trade Rifle with a 7/16 ramrod and a .54 caliber Leman Trade Rifle with a 3/8 ramrod, so I don't think they had fixed rules.

If you don't have a set of calipers to measure with, try a set of drill bits and see what the largest size will slid into one of the pipes.

 

[user 48679]

Congratulations !

$150.00 ?

I hate you.

 

[griffiga]

I would expect it to be 7/16, but you better measure the inside diameter of the ramrod pipes to make sure. I have a .50 caliber Leman Trade Rifle with a 7/16 ramrod and a .54 caliber Leman Trade Rifle with a 3/8 ramrod, so I don't think they had fixed rules.

If you don't have a set of calipers to measure with, try a set of drill bits and see what the largest size will slid into one of the pipes.

The drill bit idea worked. 7/16th. Thanks again Phil.