For the past six years I have owned and hunted with a percussion T/C Renegade. I have had a blast shooting, hunting with, and maintaining it, so I decided I would like a flintlock. Having a great interest in early American history was also a big part of my decision, and my Renegade with a Lyman peep sight and modern sling swivels doesn't quite fill that niche. I wanted to get my feet wet with an at least mostly historically accurate flintlock rifle that I could also hunt whitetails with.
So on saturday I attended the Baltimore Antique Arms Show to look around and hopefully find a rifle. The show had an incredible 4,200 table of muskets, rifles, and other stuff in that realm. Most of it was pretty high-dollar as expected. Between admission to the show and the price of the rifle (after some haggling), I walked out having spent just under $400, which I think is a good deal.
From what I can gather, this is a 1970s-80s Tennessee Mountain Rifle from Dixie Gun Works, made in Japan. It's a .50 caliber. I did 5 minutes of research after looking at the gun (thanks to this forum) and it seemed like it's a quality rifle, especially to start with, so I bought it.
Overall it is in good used condition. The stock is mostly very nice with a few minor handling marks. The guy I bought it from said these had a grease hole in the stock, but someone covered it with a brass inlay. The metal has some scratches and patches of minor surface rust that I have already mostly buffed out. Most importantly though, the bore is great with crisp rifling and the lock, for all I know, functions smoothly. It came with a flint that throws some sparks but might need some work/replacement. I already broke down the lock and trigger assembly and oiled/greased it up. I'm glad I did because there was some minor rust that I caught there too. I could not get two of the barrel pins out so I could not give the barrel a full inspection, but from what I can see I'm not concerned. I'll work more on that. Anyone have any ideas? I didn't go crazy trying to punch them out.
There is one kicker - it's a lefty, and I am right handed. It didn't concern me at the time and doesn't now, but I am curious to hear from some of you that shoot an opposite-handed gun.
I have some .490 lead balls, .015 patches, and a new flint on the way from Track of the Wolf. I just need to track down some powder and I can't wait to shoot this thing. Looking forward to reading what you all think, especially from anyone with experience with this model or willing to throw out some advice for a flintlock newbie.
Dave
