what do I have

all the talk of different styles and locks and such is greek to me. So what do I have here? My Dad won it in a raffle at the Historical Society of Shelbyville IN back in 2010. Its .40. A blast to shoot and a real tack driver. I have no clue as to maker. Value or anything else.

sooooo to my inexperienced eye...it almost looks like there are a few different styles of rifle going on there. But moslty for some reqason it stikes me as very mid 19th century looking. The butt looks an awful lot like my ohio rifle. And the small side plate would be southern rifle ...yes? also maybe its me but thos lock panels look very large..... however you slice it...its a decent looking rifle to be sure. Id be happy to own it.

To begin...it was made by an inexperienced builder. The lock panels are too wide and the trigger guard isn't inletted deep enough or not at all. A late style for a flintlock...should have been a caplock.

Overall not a bad looking LR if the above "mistakes" are ignored. Most people would say "it's a Kentucky rifle".....Fred

Kinda Ohio-ish. Agree with the above critique. The sideplate looks like the commonly available Vincent style.

looks like a fun gun!

It's an all-'merican gun -- a mutt! But nice and worth the price of admission.

While it does (to me) look much like an amalgam of styles - or "fantasy gun", if you please - it looks pretty nice and I'll bet it is a fine shooter and certainly deserving of the moniker "Kentucky rifle".

Is there barrel markings?..made in Spain?...looks as if a fellow re-stock a kit gun with nice wood, and a better lock....just call it a southern kentucky, :thumbsup:
Just because your dog don't have papers....doesn't mean he won't hunt! :haha:

Just ignor the puritanical's comments here....they tend to magnify, and I tend to kick the stool out from under them :rotf:

Marc n tomtom

Thanks to all. It has zero markings other than .40 above the vent and SCHS (Shelby county historical society).
@ 50 yards she will shoot one jagged hole groups.
Dad paid ten dollars for a single ticket and won it. Never shot it. He passed away may of 2013.
It's my first rocklock .... won't be my last.
Love it.

Sorry to hear of your Dads passing. But glad to know you're putting that flinter to use. Just remember the good times with your Dad when you shoot her. By the way I would just simply call it a muzzleloader and have fun shootin her :thumbsup:

It is a nice looking long rifle, probably supposed to be from the Golden Age but with no discernible style, i.e. school. It appears to be solidly constructed and pretty well done. It is not a kit gun. Shoot and enjoy it.

I do not know styles or history, I love the gun. It looks to me like it would fit well and be fun to shoot. I am uncomfortable with the amount of drop in well styled rifles and this one looks a little straighter. Nice piece of maple. Any thing that shoots groups as small as you are getting is a good gun.

It is an original SCHS. And a memory.
Shoot and enjoy. :grin:

That it is :grin:

And I assure you I will :thumbsup:


I do believe I will inlay that trigger guard. it does detract from the looks.

Good looking gun and it's unique. I like it.

davescott said:

I do believe I will inlay that trigger guard. it does detract from the looks.

Click to expand...

I like it ! :v

Take care with sinking the TG deeper into it's inletting - it looks like you might run into an interference issue with that rear trigger.

.

Shoot it and enjoy it for what it is, and as it is. If you're satisfied with the accuracy now then be happy there Something that your dad got for you, warts and all. And you can tell the story of how he got it for $10. If you start changing it (and there is certainly a lot to change to make it more HC) it will become your gun, rather than something dad got for you. There's a difference.

If you want a correct HC / PC gun then get one or build one from the ground up. But remember, pretty or ugly, the only thing you see or concentrate on when shooting it are the sights, target, and trigger. And the heart of any gun that determines most of your gun's intrinsic accuracy is the barrel.

well said and taken to heart.

no sense fixin what aint broke

Pete44ru said:

davescott said:

I do believe I will inlay that trigger guard. it does detract from the looks.

Click to expand...

I like it ! :v

Take care with sinking the TG deeper into it's inletting - it looks like you might run into an interference issue with that rear trigger.

.

Click to expand...

I thunk the same thought. :hmm:
But, that curly behind the sett trigger might just bump into the wood and help keep the triggers clear.

You have a flintlock muzzle loader in 40 caliber that to you is worth a million dollars because it was your dad's and he gave it to you. Although it's your first it won't be your last, but will always be your favorite even if it's not the most accurate, most powerful or the most P/C or H/C of all your muzzle loaders.

A dying friend gave me his custom flintlock, Bill Large barrel, Roller lock and stunning wood like I have never seen in a longrifle. The guy who built it picked the best parts but wasn't an accomplished gun builder, nothing is inletted properly, the forestock is fat on one side, skinny on the other, the buttplate has a huge gap at the top and accuglass is evident in almost every inletted part. The lock panels are defined by a gouged pattern, don't know what the builder was thinking when he did this;



One shot with my friends rifle and I knew I wanted to build one myself. It was a magical experience for one who had only shot TC guns to this point, instant ignition and a ragged one hole group at 50 yards.

I build a pretty good gun now, every now and then I get the feeling I should straighten out the poorly done things on my gifted rifle but I LOVE it warts and all. It wouldn't be the same special gift if I changed it in any way.

I have lost track of how many deer I have killed with this rifle, it is a bunch. This is from last week;