Wear plates on long rifles

[smoothshooter]

I wonder how many were installed to 'prevent' wear and how many were installed to 'cover' wear?

Some were installed to hide a bad place in the stock where the ramrod hole drill ran off course and came out at the bottom of the stock.

 

[Herb]

Top is a Leman Trade rifle I built in a class in the Green River Rifle Works in 1978. The instructor, Greg Roberts, drilled the ramrod hole, which came out the bottom of the stock. So I fitted a wear plate. Next is a .54 Lancaster I built, I think the wear plate covered damage. Third is my second copy of the Wigle rifle. I sold the first copy to Jacob Wigle's GGG grandson in Ohio. (Plate 56 in The Longrifles of Western Pennsylvania is of an unsigned rifle, which I know Wigle made. It has a similar wear plate).). Bottom is a copy of Thomas Oldham's rifle. See Behold, the Longrifle Again, pages 152 and 154. These are the rifles I copied features of into one rifle