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Barn gun

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cephus

32 Cal
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Does any one make a basic, historically accurate barn gun? Just a no frills basic hunting gun.

Andy
 
Sitting fox sells a kit. How historically accurate? There were a lot of guns that were restocked with mismatched parts and guns that were altered in many ways. Randomly cut off, stocks cut back, converted from flint to percussion.
I don’t know if any gunmaker made a on purpose barn gun.
The poor boy plain guns made in Southern Appalachia, inexpensive plain guns and trade rifles in Pennsylvania Maryland and Connecticut.
 
You hear of the "Schimmel" rifles of the east, mainly Pennsylvania. These were very plain guns, often with no butt plate or ramrod entry thimble or nose cap. Single triggers were the norm with simple locks. Look at guns presented in "Foxfire 5" for some examples.
 
I am wondering because I want a woods gun I don't have to worry about. You know a true work horse. What caliber or gauge would you think have be most common. Thank you guys for the replies.

Andy
 
Andy, I just sent you a private message. It will help to know what you are going to hunt with it. Flintlock or percussion? Single or double triggers? Custom or a production rifle? If you are looking for a production rifle, give a good look at the Pedersoli's. If you are looking for a custom, there are many options - your specific needs will help determine a general direction to start.
 
Andy, so you are thinking smooth bore? Call the guy I sent you the number for. I think he has one that is about finished right now. Very basic, but I don't know which caliber/gauge it is.
 
A .62 smoothbore is most always a good decision. Plain, authentic rifles are around if you look, think Jim Kibler's SMR kits.
 
I have a double barrel 12 gauge unmentionable that qualifies as a barn gun. The exterior is covered with light rust. The stock retains almost no finish and is stained and dirty even after cleaning with some cracks in the buttstock. It has a slight bulge close to the muzzle from probably being fired with an obstruction. Now the good! The action is tight, it only has one serious pit in the barrel and after replacing a lost hammer it shoots. It must have been left unattended in a garage or barn for some time. I would describe a muzzleloader in similar condition as a barn gun. It could have a long barrel or short, be a rifle or shot gun as long as it is functional.
 
Barn gun: ie gun in barn, big brother of canoe gun and uncle to blanket gun. Butchered, rebuilds, Frankenstein gins and old guns that look like today’s ‘fantasy guns’, hog guns and ‘po’r boys’, and nice guns not taken care of till they were only fit to be used in barn.
 
I can't authenticate this offhand, and maybe somebody can chime in with a more factual answer. It's my understanding that "schimmel" means something old and dusty left in the barn. Somehow in our more modern times the frontstuffer community has decided to call old simple guns "barn guns".

I suppose many old basic guns have been found in barns or elsewhere collecting dust.

Anyway, there were probably plenty of basic guns built with not much more than the essential "lock, stock and barrel". Sheezamm, A barn gun!

So, if that's the making of a barn gun then the formula would not be hard to follow.
 
If the OP wants plain, no frills, run-of-the-mill 18-19th century guns, I'd recommend a couple of books by authors such as Charles Hanson, and James Hanson. "The Northwest Gun" and "The Trade Rifle Sketchbook" have illustrations taken from examples in the Museum of the Fur Trade.
 
Give Jackie Brown a call. He can make a simple, no frills, every day "barn gun" very reasonably and right quick. If you just want a plain jane shooter, he can fix you up. I have a .62 smooth bore from him that looks like it was made with parts from several other long guns, on a wormy maple stock.
 
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