Who Made The Rifle Heston Is Holding

[Mulebrain]

The rifle from the "Cold Dead Hands Speach". Anyone know the background on it??

 

[Gametracker]

I know where it's at. I saw it in Dixie Gun Works a couple of weeks ago. No info on the builder, though, unless I overlooked it.

 

[SAJones]

If memory serves me right, it is a Cecil Brooks rifle given to Heston for addressing the annual NRA meeting before he was selected as President. Cecil made all the rifles given to the keynote speaker for years, but he is now semi-retired & his apprentice is doing most of the work. Had a good write up in the American Rifleman about Cecil sometime this year, don't recall which issue. All his work is quality.

 

[lanedh]

March or April issue, I think. Old Salt tipped me to it just after I registered with the Forum. Brooks has been making those fine rifles for over half a century--makes me feel like a kid!!

 

It does not look like a Cecil Brooks rifle. Brooks made fancy PA longrilfes and this one is a plain southern rifle.

 

Plain Southern rifle?

That thing has a nose cap, ramrod tubes and a real store bought trigger guard!

Even has little brass inlays where the screw heads snug up!

That ain't plain!

:crackup:

 

LOL, well you know what I mean...actually alot of southern rifles had brass parts (see Jerry Noble's books and others). But Cecil goes whole hog, inlays, engraving, fancy box covers, etc. This rifle does not even have a sideplate. I remember when I first saw this pic wondering what happened to Cecil...

 

[Darkhorse]

Its also seems to be percussion with a blued iron trigger guard. With brass nosecap and pipes. I wonder what the butt plate looks like?
I've seen photos of this gun for years but never noticed this stuff before. Maybe because all the other pics were little tiny things with no detail.