Steve Davis Iron Mounted Rifle

[Steve Boyleston]

On Contemporary Makers Blog today is about the finest Iron Mounted Rifle you could get- I have been a Fan of Steve Davis's work for a long time. The Rifle featured is awsome. It has every design elemnet you could want on a fine rifle. There are many out there getting a lot of attention for being the best Iron mount makers, but Steve davis gets my vote, check it out and don't forget your knee pads for when you hit the floor, don't want to bruise the knees, the Great Pinyone

 

[J.D.]

I am only peripherally aware of Steve Davis, and this is the first of his work I have seen. I gotta say that the workmanship on this rifle is as good as it gets. I saw another Woodberry style rifle this past weekend that, while decent, was down right crude, compared Mr.Davis work.

IMHO, the only thing that would make it better is a vestigial stepped wrist. Gotta love those stepped wrists.

I know how to forge buttpieces, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get that crisp, sharp angle at the bottom of the BP return on one piece BPs. Mine keep the radius. Maybe I need to use wider material. :idunno:

God bless

 

[Steve Boyleston]

Hey JD- I also think that alot of the Woodbury work is crude- but I have been told thats the beauty of it, when I started building in 1970 everybody said you need to practice. That they were crude. I tried to refine all that i did. I just recently saw my first rifle and it looks like a period rifle. I think those Woodbury boys must ahve seen it somewhere. I put Steve Davis's rifles on another plain, there was another rifle maker from Tenn. that was unreal while he lived named Bobby Thompson, also a played Banjo on Heh- Haw! he built rifles with the best and was one of the nicest people I ever met and I have kept all the letters he wrote to me with rifle making ideas and techniques. The Great Pinyone

 

[Ivoryhunter4]

What is the Contemporary Makers Blog and where would it be found, thanks.

 

[Steve Boyleston]

Ivory Hunter- son do you live in a cave? Just kidding man, easy to find great guns and all. Go to "American Historic Services.com" its Mel Hankla's site. When you pull it up hit the "Links" on the second page there is a White section that says -Contemporary Makers-pull it up and have fun- everyday there is new items and look down through the old ones on the side. There is good section on original rifles- horns and new makers GREAT- pull it up- The Great Pinyone

 

[tnlonghunter]

Steve's work is amazing. He was actually the previous owner of the farm my parents have in Tennessee, and he's just down the road from them now. I've gotten to see his work, both in-progress and completed, several times. Absolutely fantastic. I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford one of his rifles, but I believe they're worth every penny, nonetheless.

 

[Ivoryhunter4]

Great Pinyone, thank you, that entire historical site looks great I had not seen it before, don't get good web service in the cave, thanks again, Ivoryhunter.

 

[tg]

I truely love a well made iron mounted rifle if it is a gun fashioned in the manner of the originals from the time/place when iron furniture was in the material of choice either due to style or avaiability I cannot see the gun being worth the price of the parts if it is an earlyized gun using material which cannot be considered proper for the type/time of gun, many of the beautiful high cost fantasy guns often sold on TOW 's site for several thousand bucks just do not do it for me, I guess the historical aspect of the hoby just has a higer than normal hold on the overall perspective of things for me, not saying many of these guns are not works of art just not a type of art that attracts me.Just one view on the subject, I would rather have a very simple trade gun done as closely as could be within reason to the originals, than a ten grand fantasy gun using parts and achitecture that does not "fit" so to speak.

 

[J.D.]

I truely love a well made iron mounted rifle if it is a gun fashioned in the manner of the originals from the time/place when iron furniture was in the material of choice either due to style or avaiability I cannot see the gun being worth the price of the parts if it is an earlyized gun using material which cannot be considered proper for the type/time of gun, many of the beautiful high cost fantasy guns often sold on TOW 's site for several thousand bucks just do not do it for me, I guess the historical aspect of the hoby just has a higer than normal hold on the overall perspective of things for me, not saying many of these guns are not works of art just not a type of art that attracts me.Just one view on the subject, I would rather have a very simple trade gun done as closely as could be within reason to the originals, than a ten grand fantasy gun using parts and achitecture that does not "fit" so to speak.

I have seen some original SWVA and VA iron mounted longrifles that are similar to those made by the House bros, so I know that they base many of their pieces on originals. However, they have blended earlier styles with some later work to make their own Woodberry school. I have to agree that I don't like most fantasy pieces, but those iron mounted VA pieces have a charm of their own.

God bless

 

[J.D.]

Oh great One, I have seen more than one LR that is...crude. IMHO, the few House LRs I have seen have been anything but crude. The same with Chuck Edward's pieces.

IMHO, simple might be a better description.

I missed winning a Chuck Edwards Schimmel, in a raffle, this past week end. It was simply made, but definitely not crude.

My wife walked in as I was looking at the photos of the Davis piece on the contemporary blogspot. Her comment was, "nice work, but the finish on the metal doesn't match the finish on the wood". IMHO, that is the big thing I don't like about fantasy pieces or aging. Very few people know how to make it believable. Most mess it up so bad that it looks like manure.

IMHO, it takes a good eye and knowledge of the various styles and architecture, in addition to knowing what the wear patterns on originals looked like to pull of a good fantasy piece or aging. Few have the knowledge to pull it off. Fewer have the ability.

God bless

 

[Steve Boyleston]

Hey JD- don't get me wrong- I didn't say all the Woodbury Rifles were crude, but I have seen some that the work was substandard, the is a rifle on GUNamerica that H.House built or it claims that and it is very crude, looks like someone blindfolded carved it. Check it out $3,995. Chuck Edwards does great work, for some reason I thought he was in PA. There are people making aged Rifles that are so good they are scary. I was at KRA ealry 90,s and Jud Brennan showed up with 5 rifles in different styles, all aged and the KRA President thought they were the real deal- Jud Brennan- Eric Kettenburg are 2 that can fool even the best trained eye. There are others getting better at it. For the most part these Master Gunsmith use this talent for period restoration. I have seen Scott Sibley horns so good you couldn't tell without his sign on them. 1 last thing many people build aged rifles for clients and then the new owner adds his touch to it sometimes altering what was originally done- take care The Great Pinyone

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Wow, beautiful - I betcha that costs close to a thousand bucks, whaddya say? I LOVE Iron mounted rifles, in part because I have such a doggone problem with brass. I don't know where this comes from, I just never liked it. I've had to put up with it a little, but pray to the patina gods to work their magic asap. Even my first BP firearm, like nearly everyone's is a TC "Hawken", but I had to buy the custom Hawken because there's not a speck of brass on the whole rifle. I gotta say, the wood is pretty nice and the bluing is topnotch (specifically the barrel). It's my BP fun-gun, but I hardly ever take it out. I should hillbilly it once in awhile and bust some cans and such, best therapy there is!

 

[Steve Boyleston]

Hey Marc- Hill Billying it is fun- I do it up in North Georgia in the Mountains every chance I get. Being from South Carolina it comes easy. My guess on the Steve Davis rifle would be $3,500. may be low, I know if was mine that would be looking fee. If you could only have 1 rifle that one would fill the slot. Even the first rifles I saw of his in the early 80,s were just a fine. I would venture to say in hand is 20 times better than the pictures. TGP

 

[rf50cal]

http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/

 

[tnlonghunter]

Last time I asked Steve what he gets for his rifles, he said he usually gets between $6,000 - 7,000. Pretty much everything but the lock (mostly Chambers), barrel (usually Getz), and triggers is hand-made from stock. I've questioned whether they're worth that kind of money, but after handling a few and learning what it takes to produce a fine longrifle, I think it probably would be worth it. Of course, one is always biased in favor of his friends.