This Early Southern Mountain longrifle is stocked in maple with limited brass trim in true "Poor Boy Fashion." This rifle represents a working man's gun, made from recycled parts, at a time when nothing went to waste on the frontier. The rifle features a .40 caliber swamped barrel that measures 46" long. The bore has been well maintained and is ready to shoot. This rifle has a wonderful patina finish and its own unique charm. This long slender rifle balances nicely in your hands, just ahead of the rear sight. Trigger reach is 13-3/4", to fit today's average size shooter. Weight is a modest 7.7 pounds.
The .40 caliber 46" long swamped barrel is cut rifled with seven equal sized lands and grooves with a slow twist for shooting patched round ball. The bore is bright, clean, and ready to shoot. The barrel is light weight due to the taper and flare of the swamped octagon barrel. The thick breech makes the barrel very strong. The thin waist saves weight, and the muzzle flares to bring the front sight to the same sighting plane as the rear sight. A low silver blade front sight set is a brass base is dovetailed 1-1/2" behind the muzzle. The flat top rear sight is dovetailed 9-1/2" ahead of the breech. The barrel is finished to a brown-gray patina.
Shaped from a blank this curly maple stock is stained to a whiskey brown with a golden undertone. Maple is a very correct choice for stock wood, often found on antique Southern rifles. The stock has a few minor handling marks, which adds to the patina finish of the rifle. No buttplate is fitted to protect the end grain of the buttstock. Buttplates were often omitted on Southern rifles to save the 19th century customer money. The heel does have some wear from being placed on the ground during loading and cleaning. The top view shows that three decorative flats were shaped along the top of the comb. The flared tang is surrounded by a raised shell carving that transitions down to the tear drop shaped lock panels. A look at the handmade sliding wooden patchbox shows the mountain influence on this rifle. Lift the spring and the patchbox door easily slides back to reveal a deep cut cavity for storing extra shooting supplies.
The bottom view reveals the short horn toeplate secured with two screws to protect this delicate area of the stock when loading. The dark patina finished brass trigger guard is recycled from an English fowler and is correctly pinned into position. The wooden ramrod is mounted through two simple round brass ramrod pipes. No entry pipe is used on this rifle. The forearm has a slight palm swell at the location where the ramrod enters the stock. The wooden ramrod is fitted with an iron tip threaded to accept 8-32 loading and cleaning accessories. No muzzle cap is fitted to protect the end grain of the stock, instead the forearm is relieved to provide room for a secure grip when removing the ramrod. The lock bolts pass directly through the stock without the use of sideplates to secure the lock on the opposite side. The buttstock is shaped with a square cheek piece with molded edge. Simple raised and incised scroll carving decorates the buttstock behind the cheek.
Ignition for the rifle is provided by an engraved flint lock made from Rifle Shoppe castings copying a lock originally found on a fancy Jaeger rifle. The plate is engraved Caspar Peter, and the tail has a landscape scene featuring a mountain goat. The cock, frizzen, and pan have further scroll work, as does the top jaw. Truly a rifle made to represent a gun made from recycled parts! Fast ignition is assured by the vent liner, positioned well above the bottom of the pan, centered on the heat of the flash. If your flint longrifle suffers from that infamous slow whoosh-bang ignition delay, study the work of today's best gun makers, and position your vent well centered on the pan, high above the bottom, to serve as a window on the center of the flash. The single trigger provides a smooth release of the lock.
Made to represent a rifle made from recycled gun parts, this Southern Mountain rifle is ready to shoot. It has a wonderful patina finish and its own unique charm. This rifle will look great hanging on the wall of your cabin, or out on the range for a day of shooting. Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.
