When you have a beautiful muzzleloader....

[Nazgul58]

Ditto on the hammers...get grief from the wife and daughters when we go to yard sales/flea markets..

Don

 

[Nazgul58]

Bought a 30 year old collectible rifle about 10 years ago. When the deal was done, I cut the factory tie holding the hamer down and cycled it. The sellers about died!!

Shot it on the way home.

Don

 

[Capnball]

I have a Charlieville smoothbore. It was carried by me during the filming of a made for TV movie about Tecumseh. In one "battle scene", I used the musket to block blows from an Indian warclub. The stock took some dents and dings but it now has history. Those dents tell a story.
Dents and dings are a part of life. I have scars that tell stories and so do my firearms.

Lol, somehow I don't think my appendicitis scar is as interesting as your tomahawk dent!

 

[Kansas Jake]

Hammers? 40 years ago my wife and I had an auction business for a few years. There was an old guy who came to most of the auctions. He collected hammers. I had forgotten about that until the hammer collecting reference came up. I wonder how many hammers he had when he died. You could always get him to bid on one and sometimes big money if it was unusual.

 

[Tumbledown]

Bought a 30 year old collectible rifle about 10 years ago. When the deal was done, I cut the factory tie holding the hamer down and cycled it. The sellers about died!!

Shot it on the way home.

Don

Until you fired it, that was only a sculpture of a rifle.

 

[BJm]

I have a Charlieville smoothbore. It was carried by me during the filming of a made for TV movie about Tecumseh. In one "battle scene", I used the musket to block blows from an Indian warclub. The stock took some dents and dings but it now has history. Those dents tell a story.
Dents and dings are a part of life. I have scars that tell stories and so do my firearms.

 

[BJm]

Hammers? 40 years ago my wife and I had an auction business for a few years. There was an old guy who came to most of the auctions. He collected hammers. I had forgotten about that until the hammer collecting reference came up. I wonder how many hammers he had when he died. You could always get him to bid on one and sometimes big money if it was unusual.

 

[BJm]

I was fortunate to find a few years back an original Charleville (validated) with original bayonet in a country pawn shop. 1816 was over stamped 1822. It had been sent to France & converted from flintlock to percussion, smoothbore rifled out to .71 cal & a 1,000yd sight fitted. All the metal parts have a light patina , the rifled bore is shiny & the timber dark from handling. Information was validated by a dealer in Gettesburg who said that I had an original Charleville sniper rifle & it should be in a museum for people to view. The timber has minor dings & dents but what a fantastic story this musket, now rifle could tell. I brought it back home to Australia & shoot it occasionally. Best $800US I ever spent.

 

[Capnball]

Hammers? 40 years ago my wife and I had an auction business for a few years. There was an old guy who came to most of the auctions. He collected hammers. I had forgotten about that until the hammer collecting reference came up. I wonder how many hammers he had when he died. You could always get him to bid on one and sometimes big money if it was unusual.

I watch restoration videos on YouTube. I love that stuff. I just watched a guy restore a turn of the century hammer with leather heads for bumping in fire bricks on coke ovens. Every tool has a story as well.

 

[Enfield58]

I don't have this rifle. It's on sale at TVM for a mere $5200. There's is no doubt that it is worth every penny. If I had the money, this would not be a safe queen and would be shot a lot. With that said, if everyone here could afford this rifle, would it be a safe queen or would it be shot a lot?

PS: There's a saying about rifles like this. They are like two-piece cue sticks. If you show up with one, then you better know how to use it.

 

[appalichian hunter]

their made to be shot and admired also, why just look at it take her to the woods and use put it through the paces.

 

[Bob McBride]

I don't have this rifle. It's on sale at TVM for a mere $5200. There's is no doubt that it is worth every penny. If I had the money, this would not be a safe queen and would be shot a lot. With that said, if everyone here could afford this rifle, would it be a safe queen or would it be shot a lot?

PS: There's a saying about rifles like this. They are like two-piece cue sticks. If you show up with one, then you better know how to use it.

View attachment 33268View attachment 33269View attachment 33270View attachment 33271View attachment 33272View attachment 33273View attachment 33274

Though that is 25-50% more expensive than any gun I own I don’t baby any of my stuff. I understand the mind of the collector, and know some that wouldn’t touch a $5k gun without white gloves, but, as I’m not a collector, I’d be blasting away....

 

[Enfield58]

I was wondering if he took Betsy with him to the Alamo. This rifle was a beauty. You can bet that he got it to put to good use.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I don't think they are anything like hammers. Do you see hundreds of forums with thousands of posters about hammers? Do you see people fawning over hammers, engraving them, carefully applying 20 coats of a secret elixer finish after staining with some ritualistic procedure handed down over 3 or 4 centuries? Not really. Rifles are tools meant to be used, but they are anything but like hammers.

Brent love the Dog Pic Avatar!
Sm

 

[Carbon 6]

One of you said the first ding is liberating. I'm in that camp.

That was me.
I'll share a story. I had one of the last factory finished CVA rifles that I bought right before CVA filed bankruptcy and one of the last to be sold by catalog from Gander mountain before they filed bankruptcy. It sat in new -unfired condition in my cabinet for 20 years. It was exceptionally well finished for a CVA. Then one day I bumped into the cabinet and a revolver fell inside the cabinet and put a big gouge in the stock from the front sight hitting it.
The newness was gone.
I've been shooting it ever since.

 

[Capnball]

That was me.
I'll share a story. I had one of the last factory finished CVA rifles that I bought right before CVA filed bankruptcy and one of the last to be sold by catalog from Gander mountain before they filed bankruptcy. It sat in new -unfired condition in my cabinet for 20 years. It was exceptionally well finished for a CVA. Then one day I bumped into the cabinet and a revolver fell inside the cabinet and put a big gouge in the stock from the front sight hitting it.
The newness was gone.
I've been shooting it ever since.

Don't you hate that? I bought a brand new helmet once. I was determined to keep it in pristine condition. When I was done riding, I'd store it in a soft bag on a shelf I built in my garage just for that helmet. I hung the helmet on my handlebar during a stop. I've done this a thousand times before and a thousand times since. I've never dropped my helmet. I come out of the place we stopped and for no reason I could see my helmet was directly under the bike . A vent was knocked off and a nice big gouge was next to it. I swear, my first thought was "man, I'm glad that's over!"

 

[Brokennock]

I don't have this rifle. It's on sale at TVM for a mere $5200. There's is no doubt that it is worth every penny. If I had the money, this would not be a safe queen and would be shot a lot. With that said, if everyone here could afford this rifle, would it be a safe queen or would it be shot a lot?

PS: There's a saying about rifles like this. They are like two-piece cue sticks. If you show up with one, then you better know how to use it.

View attachment 33268View attachment 33269View attachment 33270View attachment 33271View attachment 33272View attachment 33273View attachment 33274

While I would spend that much on a nice rifle or fowling piece, if I had it to spend, I would not spend that much on that rifle. But, whatever gun I spent that much on would get shot, hunted with, and cared for. Probably the only thing I would do differently than I do with my current guns is I'd be a little more consistent with putting the gun in a case or sock for transport.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Well ---- I have a flintlock rifle that was made back in 1975, that is a close copy of an original built by Wolfgang Haga in Pennsylvania 200 years earlier. It's had a lot of use these last 45 years, and shows a few scratches, scars, and scuff marks but still shoots plumb center. As a good friend of mine is inclined to say, "Adds patina!"

 

[Capnball]

Well ---- I have a flintlock rifle that was made back in 1975, that is a close copy of an original built by Wolfgang Haga in Pennsylvania 200 years earlier. It's had a lot of use these last 45 years, and shows a few scratches, scars, and scuff marks but still shoots plumb center. As a good friend of mine is inclined to say, "Adds patina!"

That's the noise it makes every time it gets a new dent, "Patina!"

 

[Dale Lilly]

I recently bought a Kentucky style Rifle Made by Pedersoli and marked Euroarms Brescia Italy. I have seen an identical one advertised as an Ohio rifle. I intend to strip and brown the barrel but … it has numerous dents and dings on the stock. I tried steaming them out but it did not work. Now I think keeping the stock with dents and dings is a good thing. I only regret that I did not put them there by use. They look more like careless handling marks. I could strip the stock and try to take out the dents but I think browning the barrel will be enough. All of my guns have some blemishes from use and handling but I like that look. I don't think a mountain man/longhunter would have an unblemished gun very long.