Cheney fullstock percussion plains rifles were designed by the same Mark Cheney that designed the parts for the Johnathon Browning Mountain Rifle. It shares some common shaped parts and the majority of the lock. This rifle is used and is missing the cap box door. The barrel and furniture are much more highly decorated than other examples we have encountered. Trigger reach is 14" to fit today's average size shooter. Weight is 8.4 pounds.
The .58 caliber 33" long barrel is 1" straight octagon. The barrel has a brown finish and the muzzle and breech end of the barrel are highly decorated with engraving. The .58 caliber bore is rifled with a slow twist for a tightly patched round ball. The bore is bright, but does have some scattered pitting visible in the grooves. A nickel silver blade front sight is dovetailed 1-1/2" behind the muzzle. A semi-buckhorn rear sight is dovetailed 7" ahead of the breech. The right oblique flat is marked 375 near the breech and the oblique flat is marked Cheney and 58.
This fullstock rifle has a late Hawken style crescent buttplate. The browning on the buttplate shows a small amount of wear at the heel from loading. The capbox is missing the door. The maple stock has a whiskey brown stain that has been rubbed back to reveal a golden undertone to best display the figure. The stock has some light handling marks from use. The top view shows the short rounded tang of the breech plug. The barrel is retained to the forearm with the use of small screws that pass through the ramrod pipes up into the barrel.
The bottom view shows the long iron toe plate that is fitted to help protect this delicate area when loading. The iron triggerguard has a curved grip rail with a fish lip design found on many antique Ohio rifles. It is mounted with a screw in the rear and a pin up front. The muzzle is protected with a steel muzzle cap. The wooden ramrod passes through two browned ramrod pipes, no entry pipe is used on this rifle. The ramrod is fitted with a 10-32 threaded brass tip, we recommend our #RAMROD-C-36-10 to service this rifle. The buttstock is shaped with a large square cheek piece. The large side panel is fitted with a nickel silver sideplate with plains rifle styling found on rifles from the 1830's to 1860's.
The percussion lock plate is very similar to a Browning Mountain rifle and uses the same mainspring design. The percussion hammer is smaller with a slightly different shape. The lock is browned to match the barrel and has been engraved. The drum and 1/4-28 stainless steel nipple are well supported by the lock plate. The R.E. Davis double lever double set trigger will fire the lock from the set position only. You may cock the lock before or after setting the trigger, but it will only fire from the set position.
This .58 caliber plains rifle was a semi-custom gun offered by the same Mark Cheney that worked on the Johnathan Browning Mountain Rifles. The short barrel length and large caliber will make it a handy rifle to carry. 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.
