rifle plans

[the skrat]

does anybody know where i could purchase detailed blueprints for a john noll john armstrong or fredrick sell rifle. i have the kindig book on golden age rifles and love the rifles by these makers.

thank you curly maple.

 

[Slowpoke]

I don't know where you can get a blueprint, I only have a pattern. I love Armstrong rifles !

 

[Herb]

I know of no plans for rifles by these three builders. However, you can make your own. I do it whenever I need to. The .40 Thomas Oldham Bedford (see Profile for Herb, click on "Show all user's posts") is based on photos of three of his rifles. In PHOTOS, Issac Haines .40, the same Bedford, Christian Hawken and Henry Albright were all built from photos such as you reference. So was the .40 Henry Bruner and "Two Custom Caplock Rifles". You take a given known dimension, such as barrel length, or lock length, measure it on the photo and mathematically calculate other measurements from it. But here you are in luck. Peter Alexander's book "The Gunsmith of Grenville County" shows one John Noll (Kindig's No. 239) and one John Armstrong rifle with 19 critical dimensions for each. The book "Maryland Longrifles" by Hartzler and Whisker pictures 23 Armstrong rifles in considerable detail. They are nearly identical in shape, but quite different in inlays. Track of the Wolf and Pecatonica River have John Armstrong stocks. Other suppliers may have all three. I have sent full size stock patterns, made from enlargements, to Jack Garner at Tennessee Valley Manufacturing and he cut me three custom stocks, the Jacob Wigle, Henry Bruner, and I think the Samuel Fairies. They were exactly what I needed, even cut to length for the correct butt plate. "Gunsmiths of York County" by Whisker pictures 4 or 5 Frederick Sell rifles. When you make a decision, enlarge the photo of the lock side on a copier to life size. Then pick the nearest correct lock, trigger, trigger guard, butt plate and side plate from Track's full size photos. You may have to bend or reshape parts. You will probably have to saw out your own patch box, but Tennessee Valley Manufacturing and Muzzleloader Builder's Supply have perhaps two dozen, including Frederick Sell and blanks for making your own. Pecatonica River has a John Armstrong. You may choose features of several rifles by one maker and meld them into one. Do you really want a 44 to 54 inch barrel? or .44 to .58 caliber? If you need help on this, send me a private message. I'd be happy to help you. By the way, the left handed John Fleeger ("Two Custom Caplocks") is in the U.P.