FOR SALE William Beck Half-stock Rifle, .44 cal

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For your consideration is a William Beck half-stock rifle in excellent condition. I believe this rifle to have been made sometime in the middle or late 1800’s. When I initially purchased this piece, it was listed as being a .45 cal. My calipers show that it’s more like a .44, and it would probably do well with .430-.435 balls. Barrel has some light surface rust, but no substantial pitting to speak of. Rifling is strong. Although the stock has some minor nicks and dings, there are no cracks whatsoever and it is in excellent shape for its age. It’s my opinion the stock has been refinished. Trigger is exceptionally light and is of the double-set, single-phase variety. The lock functions well with a positive half and full cock. Barrel appears to be marked “Remington” on the bottom flat.

For those who aren’t aware, William Beck was the grandnephew of John Phillip Beck, a master gunsmith in Lebanon, PA. A rifle built by J. P. Beck was presented to President George Washington, and is currently exhibited in the Frazier Museum in Kentucky. This firearm will be accompanied by an original document from W. Beck & Son.

I’m asking $1,450 (shipped anywhere in the CONUS) and I accept most forms of payment. Thanks for looking!
 

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For your consideration is a William Beck half-stock rifle in excellent condition. I believe this rifle to have been made sometime in the middle or late 1800’s. When I initially purchased this piece, it was listed as being a .45 cal. My calipers show that it’s more like a .44, and it would probably do well with .430-.435 balls. Barrel has some light surface rust, but no substantial pitting to speak of. Rifling is strong. Although the stock has some minor nicks and dings, there are no cracks whatsoever and it is in excellent shape for its age. It’s my opinion the stock has been refinished. Trigger is exceptionally light and is of the double-set, single-phase variety. The lock functions well with a positive half and full cock. Barrel appears to be marked “Remington” on the bottom flat.

For those who aren’t aware, William Beck was the grandnephew of John Phillip Beck, a master gunsmith in Lebanon, PA. A rifle built by J. P. Beck was presented to President George Washington, and is currently exhibited in the Frazier Museum in Kentucky. This firearm will be accompanied by an original document from W. Beck & Son.

I’m asking $1,500 (shipped anywhere in the U.S.) and I accept most forms of payment. Thanks for looking!
Darned nice rifle. Good price too.
I would buy it myself if I didn’t already have a custom rifle being built that I will have to pay for in a couple of months.
 
For your consideration is a William Beck half-stock rifle in excellent condition. I believe this rifle to have been made sometime in the middle or late 1800’s. When I initially purchased this piece, it was listed as being a .45 cal. My calipers show that it’s more like a .44, and it would probably do well with .430-.435 balls. Barrel has some light surface rust, but no substantial pitting to speak of. Rifling is strong. Although the stock has some minor nicks and dings, there are no cracks whatsoever and it is in excellent shape for its age. It’s my opinion the stock has been refinished. Trigger is exceptionally light and is of the double-set, single-phase variety. The lock functions well with a positive half and full cock. Barrel appears to be marked “Remington” on the bottom flat.

For those who aren’t aware, William Beck was the grandnephew of John Phillip Beck, a master gunsmith in Lebanon, PA. A rifle built by J. P. Beck was presented to President George Washington, and is currently exhibited in the Frazier Museum in Kentucky. This firearm will be accompanied by an original document from W. Beck & Son.

I’m asking $1,500 (shipped anywhere in the U.S.) and I accept most forms of payment. Thanks for looking!
What would you guess it weighs?
 
Interesting. I have a Remington Hepburn #3 Sporter from the late 1800's/early 1900's with an extremely similar rear sight. The elevator bar was tapered to a point towards the back, and the tang on mine, from sight to dovetail, is engraved with a design. Someone with some knowledge told me years ago, that the engravings were a custom touch from an early days owner. Or maybe a Remington custom shop detail. Those rifles were ordered individually in different configurations. Or so I was told. I wonder who made the sights ???
Nice rifle, Fellow. SW
 
Interesting. I have a Remington Hepburn #3 Sporter from the late 1800's/early 1900's with an extremely similar rear sight. The elevator bar was tapered to a point towards the back, and the tang on mine, from sight to dovetail, is engraved with a design. Someone with some knowledge told me years ago, that the engravings were a custom touch from an early days owner. Or maybe a Remington custom shop detail. Those rifles were ordered individually in different configurations. Or so I was told. I wonder who made the sights ???
Nice rifle, Fellow. SW

Very interesting, indeed!

I know Remington frequently used sights by both Lyman and Marbles. Additionally, they sometimes made their own basic iron sights in-house, especially for their rolling block rifles and early repeaters.

The fact that this W. Beck has a Remington barrel, it’s certainly plausible that our rear sights were manufactured by the same company.
 
Wow ! Thank you for taking time away from your sales to educate me on this. I did not mean to hijack your post, but it jumped out at me and I had to grab that Hepburn and look at the sights. Hepburn had the falling block patent [Hepburn Pat. Oct.7th, 1879 on the receiver] and Remington built the rifles until the early 1900's. Then, to find out that your rifle has a Remington barrel, could be an explanation. Fascinating.
Your posts are a wealth of info and I do appreciate them. Thank you.
BTW, the Marbles post style peep sight is still available at Buffao Arms. The holes are properly spaced for the Hepburn [and rolling blocks, I believe] but I see no holes in your barrel tang and would strongly advise anyone from doing that. So much to learn. SW
 
This is your opportunity to own a fine half-stock by a notable builder, folks. What’s more, it’s in perfectly functional (and shootable) condition! Reasonable offers considered.
 


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