galamb
58 Cal.
Perhaps at this point you should "suck back and reload" as we used to say in the military.
German silver was not available until somewhat "after" the Golden Age (which some say ended around 1820'ish).
GS was widely used on rifles built in the late 1830's, 40's and into the 50's.
If you are "dead set" against brass, which was "cheaper" and historically correct back in the time frame you seem to be looking at, you should take some time to find a specific rifle or rifles that were originally iron mounted (they didn't steel mount them either - ok, minor point but most furniture now is steel and no more HC than mounting it in place of brass).
I know for a fact that the Sheetz boys (there was a whack of them brothers, cousins etc) in the Winchester/Shenandoah VA area, prior to and during the Golden Age that were making some iron mounted rifles that were fairly "fancy". They also went "all out" with brass, sterling silver wire inlay etc.
There is a (famous) JJ Sheetz rifle that was used in the battle of New Orleans that was a fast twist (1:36), 38 caliber. So there were small caliber rifles out there in the late 1700's/early 1800's, just perhaps NOT typically in the couple designs you have been looking at.
The point I'm getting at is IF (IF) you are looking for something HC don't limit your choices to the three or four offerings you see at Track/TVM.
If you are going to do most of the work yourself, places like Knob Mountain pretty much has a pre-carved stock available for just about every rifle you could possibly trip over.
If you don't care about HC then do whatever you like.
IF you think that you will want HC at "some point in the future", take your time, spend the few extra bucks now (even if that means waiting a bit to add money to the "rifle kitty") and do it right the first time or you may end up with a rifle that never leaves the house.
If you truly don't care, make whatever you like and forget about what any of us here advise, think or suggest...
German silver was not available until somewhat "after" the Golden Age (which some say ended around 1820'ish).
GS was widely used on rifles built in the late 1830's, 40's and into the 50's.
If you are "dead set" against brass, which was "cheaper" and historically correct back in the time frame you seem to be looking at, you should take some time to find a specific rifle or rifles that were originally iron mounted (they didn't steel mount them either - ok, minor point but most furniture now is steel and no more HC than mounting it in place of brass).
I know for a fact that the Sheetz boys (there was a whack of them brothers, cousins etc) in the Winchester/Shenandoah VA area, prior to and during the Golden Age that were making some iron mounted rifles that were fairly "fancy". They also went "all out" with brass, sterling silver wire inlay etc.
There is a (famous) JJ Sheetz rifle that was used in the battle of New Orleans that was a fast twist (1:36), 38 caliber. So there were small caliber rifles out there in the late 1700's/early 1800's, just perhaps NOT typically in the couple designs you have been looking at.
The point I'm getting at is IF (IF) you are looking for something HC don't limit your choices to the three or four offerings you see at Track/TVM.
If you are going to do most of the work yourself, places like Knob Mountain pretty much has a pre-carved stock available for just about every rifle you could possibly trip over.
If you don't care about HC then do whatever you like.
IF you think that you will want HC at "some point in the future", take your time, spend the few extra bucks now (even if that means waiting a bit to add money to the "rifle kitty") and do it right the first time or you may end up with a rifle that never leaves the house.
If you truly don't care, make whatever you like and forget about what any of us here advise, think or suggest...