I Wanna Build A New Rifle

I read a recent post by Smokestack about how to get started building and that prodded me to write this post. With three in-the-white kits behind me and watching Bill Raby's videos I want something a little more challenging. Some months ago I tentatively wanted to guild a Bedford County rifle. Did some research and backed ďown. Something a little less daunting would be better. But what? Where do y'all get the profile information to base my decision on? I have "The Gunsmith of Grenville County" (an excellent book) and Mr. Alexander hints at choosing a builder rather than a school. The Internet is a useful tool but it is really a high tech vending machine and not useful for real historical research. So, now that I have bored you to tears can you guide me to some sources?

I'm not sure I totally understand your question.

Are you looking for some history/facts to decide what builder or school you might be interested in or looking for sources with examples of the rifles themselves.

I have found if you find a builder that interests you, you can typically google enough information to see examples of their work, history on them (if they were even somewhat notable). There is usually good information in the listings on auction houses that have sold their pieces or at the very least, google can indicate a book that may be helpful.

Hi,
If you aspire to building a long rifle, you should check out www.americanlongrifles.org. They have a large photo library of original guns by schools and regions.

dave

If you want to build a Bedford, then go with that. Don't be intimidated by any certain style. Every one is going to have some little thing that looks like it will be hard to do. No style of rifle is really any harder than any other. They are just different. And by the way, carving is not the hard part.

galamb said:

I'm not sure I totally understand your question.

Are you looking for some history/facts to decide what builder or school you might be interested in or looking for sources with examples of the rifles themselves.

I have found if you find a builder that interests you, you can typically google enough information to see examples of their work, history on them (if they were even somewhat notable). There is usually good information in the listings on auction houses that have sold their pieces or at the very least, google can indicate a book that may be helpful.

Click to expand...

I did ramble on a bit. I was quite frustrated with looking for a particular gunsmith on the Internet because I was always being led to purchase something. I am following Dave Person's advice to look at American longrifles website. I will also check the auction sites too.

Just be aware, that most (original) Bedfords were built toward the close of the Golden Age. Most decoration was in the form of incise carving, with metal inlays and generally they were fairly plain guns (in the decoration spectrum). Engraving on the inlays is almost a given. It looks a little odd if it isn't actually. While a few were built as flint, the vast majority were done as percussion guns. That said, they are a very slim and distinctively styled gun with a lot of drop. Therefore, finding a suitable blank can be a bit of a challenge.