Opinions Wanted on Plan

[clayfeld]

Hi, Guys-
I posted not too long ago about an antique half-stock I bought with the idea of minimal repair/restoration to a shooting state. Well, that didn't work out, so I thought I'd build a similar rifle. The photo shows the antique plus the plan I pieced together with TOW catalog photocopies and my shipmodeling drafting gear. I would appreciate opinions and error identification.

The parts are to be:
Barrel: Green Mountain 13/16", .36 cal, 36" long.
Breech Plug: English Square-Hooked 13/16", 5/8-18
with Hawken beavertail tang welded on in place of English tang.
Lock: L&R Back Action lock.
Trigger: Davis DST-4, double-lever, double-set.
Trigger Guard: Dimick SPW
Buttplate: Leman
Capbox: Leman "Wilted Lilly".

The stock will probably be dark-stained cherry.

Thanks for any help!

Clay
San Jose
Happy New Year!

 

[bovey]

Muzzleloader Builders Supply, Ozone Ark, (479-292-8866) has a patch box that has enough meat on it that could be recut and shaped to duplicate your original patch box. It is 2-5/8" long by 1-11/16" wide, in brass, German silver, and steel. How much drop does the stock have?

 

[clayfeld]

Thanks for the tip, Bovey. The original rifle stock has 3" of drop, the new plan is designed for 4".

Clay

 

[Pork Chop]

What was the problem with the original that you could not make it a shooter?

 

[clayfeld]

Well, the final problem was when I finally got a small enough bore light to finally check inside- it's just .34 cal- and found very little rifling remaining, rust in the grooves, plus a ring of crater-like pits in the bore metal forming a ring around the bore, with an attached metal (lead? steel?) on one side that was not removable with solvents, wire brush or steel wool. That plus the fact that the breech/barrel joint "oozed" something when I brazed in the nipple seat replacement and the fully disassembled stock is full of internal flaws. Still looks good and pops a cap nicely, but I think I would be more comfortable with it on the wall.

Clay

 

[rmark]

I do like the half stock style of your antique.

 

[Bob Ekes]

Great looking original. Nice fish-bellied stock. I'm thinking of building something similar myself. The rifle reminds me of Pecatonica River's Ohio rifle. Not the Vincent and not the ohio rifle that they show in their new catalog but the one pictured in their old catalog. They have a very nice precarved stock that looks quite similar to yours.

 

[clayfeld]

Thanks, Bob-
I noticed the similarity to the TOW Ohio stock also. I'd even thought of buying that parts set, but adding the small English square bolster to make a hooked tang setup...and then, I saw Don Stith's great value ad on the longrifle forum for his Gemmer Hawken parts set, with a 36" .50 cal barrel and I just ordered it! Go figure. It's just that I've been shooting my original half-stock and my two old CVA's and have been bummed about not being able to focus on the sights and the target at 50 and 100 yards...and what a good platform the Gemmer would be for an antique repro tubular telescopic sight. Lots of them shown in Roberts great book "The Muzzle-Loading Caplock Rifle".

Changing All the Time in San Jose,
Clay