Wear plates on long rifles

[Gamechaser]

Anyone have any pictures of long rifles with wear plates on the bottom

 

[The Appalachian]

Do you mean a toe plate?

This is a little more than usually done by most people.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

He probably means a plate on the forearm where the rifle was carried across the saddle. Many of the Plains rifles had a wearplate to keep the forearm from wearing through to the ramrod channel.
The photo above shows some nice inletting and a toe plate that won't ever wear out!

 

[bubba.50]

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

 

[Phil Coffins]

Or to cover where the ram rod broke threw on drilling.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Here's a picture of a famous half stock rifle with a wear plate.

https://frontierpartisans.com/12475/mariano-medinas-rifle/

 

[Gamechaser]

Yes that's what I meant a wear plate on the four arm

 

[tenngun]

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

I saw one that covered a runout of drilling a ramrod hole. Old master gunsmiths messed up too

 

[Gamechaser]

Actually drilled a nice ramrod channel!, problem is the stock was precut by the previous owner, way to thin.

 

[oldwood]

I have to build a longrifle from a ramrod , " bottom drill out stock. " It s a fantastic piece of curly sugar maple , that belonged to the famous Pa. bear hunter , Jim Rosengrants , from Lycoming Co. . Jim is credited for shooting the first bear w/ a m/l longrifle in modern times. His story made the magazine , Pa.Game News. I have to build this rifle , he couldn't finish , due to his passing away. RIP..Jim. He was a grand fellow , and I hunted with him many times from my camp , in Centre Co. , Pa. I'll put the brass wear plate under the forearm to hide the drill through , and also put his name on it , too.........oldwood

 

[Gamechaser]

My run out is about 5 in from the end of the trigger guard all the way to the trigger guard

 

[The Appalachian]

The photo above shows some nice inletting and a toe plate that won't ever wear out!

It's about an 1/8" thick.

It's a "channel iron" shaped piece I fabbed up.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I have to build a longrifle from a ramrod , " bottom drill out stock. " It s a fantastic piece of curly sugar maple , that belonged to the famous Pa. bear hunter , Jim Rosengrants , from Lycoming Co. . Jim is credited for shooting the first bear w/ a m/l longrifle in modern times. His story made the magazine , Pa.Game News. I have to build this rifle , he couldn't finish , due to his passing away. RIP..Jim. He was a grand fellow , and I hunted with him many times from my camp , in Centre Co. , Pa. I'll put the brass wear plate under the forearm to hide the drill through , and also put his name on it , too.........oldwood

I hunted for years and my brother still hunts in McKean Cnty, Bradford ,Pa!

 

[Redlemur60]

Do you mean a toe plate?

This is a little more than usually done by most people.View attachment 149958

Do you mean a toe plate?

This is a little more than usually done by most people.View attachment 149958

I like the fat look

 

[The Appalachian]

I like the fat look

It only looks "fatter". I don't like the looks of the plain thin strip of metal that is the common toe plate. So I try to fancy it up just a little.

 

[Redlemur60]

Cool thanks for sharing
Im still in my mulling over phase my kibler smr needs something .
Maybe a thick piece of antler?

 

[beardedhorse]

Steve Lodding's copy of Mariano Medina's Hawken is so good that I did a double take having recently handled, measured the original. The stamp on the percussion lock is different than the original - only detail that stood out to me. Brass and steel and iron wear plates can be attached with fine nails or small screws. They are fairly thin and may need to be curved to follow contour of fore arm on stock. Medina's Hawken was "freshed out" from 54 to 58 caliber, is slightly swamped and has a very fast twist = about 1 in 37".

 

[Redlemur60]

No

It only looks "fatter". I don't like the looks of the plain thin strip of metal that is the common toe plate. So I try to fancy it up just a little.

View attachment 150080

Now im impressed thats a lot of "extra inlay work and nicely done

 

[Herb]

While some wear plates were installed to cover up stock damage, some rifles had them as decoration. Jacob Wigle of Westmoreland Co, PA did three that way. I restored one for a museum here. My copy is the middle one.

 

[Herb]

My Second and third copies of the Wigle rifle. The walnut one was for a relative named Wigle who wanted it that way. He killed a deer with it.

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