Interesting rifle.
There were at least four "Benson" gunsmiths in Preston Co., probably father/son/nephew etc covering the period of between about 1800 and 1909.
Cranberry would fall in Raleigh Co (??). I do have some listings of W.Va gunsmiths but nothing at all with the initials carved in the barrel.
Although a little obscured, to me the lock looks to be a G Golcher (George W Golcher? sometimes spelled Goulcher) - one of the "clan", most noted for his lock making and some rifle building.
If so that would date (at least the lock), at the earliest in the 1850's - George continued working well into the late 1890's.
1850's would also be in keeping with the smaller caliber and the severe crescent of the butt plate.
Someone can chime in here because I don't know for a fact but seems like the beaver tail cheek piece would also be a "later" feature.
Despite being a full-stock, which may tend to be indicative of an earlier date, the lock was most certainly "never" a flint (no visible evidence of being a conversion), and while it could have been a total replacement there is no evidence on the side plate side that a second lock bolt was ever installed, which could have supported a conversion at some point.
So not impossible that it was ever flint, just no "glaring" evidence that it was ever converted.
All in a all just looks to be a "nice" percussion model built sometime in the 1850's or later by a builder that did not leave a prolific legacy.
Of course, the barrel may have simply come from a barrel maker in Cranberry and the rifle could have been built just about anywhere.
P.S. didn't check my US history - since West Virginia didn't become a state until 1863, that may certainly date the rifle a little further to post 1863 (did W.Va go by West Virginia before the end of the Civil War???? - Canuck here, help me out
:grin: )
