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Zonie, tell us about SoBell

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AZ-Robert

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Over in the "Name of Your Rifle" thread, Zonie posted this pic:

gungroup1.jpg


Fine looking rifles all, but I really admire SoBell. Zonie, would you tell us a little more about that gun? What 'school' does she represent? What's she made of? Have any more pics of her you would share with us?
 
AZ-Robert said:
Fine looking rifles all, but I really admire SoBell. Zonie, would you tell us a little more about that gun?

I would venture to speculate that Zonie named it SoBell after "Sobell Instruments", seeings how Zonie plays guitars... (however, I could be wrong)
 
I believe you are referring to the third rifle from the left which looks like this?
0bab77e8.jpg


This is the result of a piece of wood at a price I couldn't pass up.
At the Western Nationals in Phoenix Vern Davis had his tent set up in the Traders Row and he had brought a large number of pre-carved stocks with him. This guns stock had some of the finest curl of any I had ever seen and he only wanted $125 for it!
I think part of the reason his price was so low is it was cut for a 1 inch straight octagon barrel, and it was a Left Handed rifle to boot.

I looked at that stock not less than 6 times, each time saying to myself, I don't shoot Left Handed guns. I don't like the idea of a 1 inch barrel...Too heavy for packing around or shooting.

Well, of course, finely I couldn't pass it up so I bought it along with a .54 caliber Green Mountain barrel and a Siler Flintlock (Right hand). I later wished I would have bought the .58 caliber barrel he had but, as you know, hindsight is always better than foresight. The .58 caliber barrel would have gotten some of the weight out of it plus it would be (IMO) a better gun for sending those .570 balls downrange than my PH Enfields.
The trigger is a simple single type with some nice fancy decorations cast into it's backside.
The trigger release pressure is about 2 1/2 pounds with no noticable creep. :)

Because it was a Left Hand stock, the cheek piece was on the wrong side for me so the left side of the gun looks like this:
c7ba0684.jpg


Without a cheekpiece, I didn't know of a "style" it would fit into but the stock does have a Lancaster straight comb so I got to thinking maybe some of the more Southern guns were made without this feature so, I called it my Southern Gun. (I have sense learned that there are examples from several Penn. Schools as well as Southern Schools which don't have cheek-pieces.)

Because it is brass mounted, I figured that some of the people in the coastal areas might have had access to brass so that was the plan when I put it together.
I also felt that if any carving would be appropriate it should be incised and rather simple.
This is the result:
531a61ca.jpg



It is IMO a heavy gun weighing in at almost 11 pounds but I think that weight might be part of the reason it shoots so well.
It's hard for a Flintlock Flash Flinch to effect where it's pointed before the ball has left the muzzle. :grin: :rotf:

Zonie
 
Yep, that's the one. Nice... it turned out a beauty. Do you remember what you used to give it that nice color?

Thanks!
 
Thanks for the kind words. :)

No, I really don't remember exactly how many coats of stains I used but at that time, it would have been a water base stain like Birchwood Casey Walnut and Colonial Brown.
The Colonial Brown was a rather redish brown stain (no longer made by BC) and I really liked the color of it.
I believe I used several coats of the Colonial Brown and then darkened it with coats of Walnut to get the colors I like.

Speaking of the Colonial Brown stain, although it is no longer made, it still sometimes turns up at Gun Shows so if you like the color, you might keep your eyes peeled for it. :)
 
Well, let's just say I assembled and finished them so we don't get folks pointing out that these all used pre-carved stocks and factory bought hardware. :grin:

I am also sure that some of them won't pass the Period Correct tests, but I'm happy with them. :)

Zonie :)
 
Zonie ,That is one heck of a 8 pack.

I would think I was very lucky guy to own any one of the above. They are works of art! I am most impressed!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

Jim1911
 
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